Hollister
– On Friday afternoon, two women were waiting for a County
Express bus on Fourth Street. One of the women didn’t speak
English. The other, who asked not to be named, said she’s been
riding the county’s buses since they started running in the
1990s.
Hollister – On Friday afternoon, two women were waiting for a County Express bus on Fourth Street. One of the women didn’t speak English. The other, who asked not to be named, said she’s been riding the county’s buses since they started running in the 1990s.
At the very beginning, she said, there were far fewer riders than there are now, and the biggest increase has been the number of children.
“The kids know how to work it,” she said.
But the increased ridership doesn’t mean things have improved. In fact, she said, since the county stopped regularly sending buses to Hope Services on Technology Parkway, she’s had to use the Dial-a-Ride program to get there.
“Who wants to walk?” she said.
And her complaints may be heard, because San Benito County is looking at ways to nip and tuck its mass transit program.
The county’s Local Transportation Authority – the mass transit branch of the Council of Governments – has hired public transportation consultants Moore & Associates to revise San Benito’s Short Range Transit Plan, which was last updated in 1995. When the update is completed in June, the plan will provide a roadmap for transit improvements over the next five years. According to former COG Executive Director Bob Davies, the consultants have been asked to take a hard look at what works and what doesn’t.
“I’m very happy with (the transit system), but I’ll be the first to admit that it needs to be fine-tuned,” said San Juan Bautista Councilman George Dias, who chairs COG’s board of directors. “Adjusting routes, adjusting times, consolidating lines or even adding. Basically, getting it cleaned up.”
The update process is already under way, with an on-board survey of transit passengers completed and a community survey mailed to county residents. Also part of the update is the new County Express Web site, www.sanbenitocountyexpress.org, which offers schedules, maps and other transit information in English and Spanish.
Transportation planner Veronica Lezama said the old County Express site had been prepared by a COG intern, and was considerably clunkier. Lezama also said it’s too early to tell whether the site, which was unveiled earlier this month, is a hit with bus riders.
“We’re not at that point yet,” she said.
The revision to the short-range plan is occurring in addition to the county’s annual unmet transit needs hearings, which are required by the Transportation Development Act and scheduled for Feb. 13 and 15. Lezama said the turnout at the hearings is often lackluster, but “we’re trying to do a better job of getting the community involved.”
Lezama also said the hearings have led to changes in the past, including the addition of more bus service to Southside School.
The county’s transit program has been the target of some residents who see it as a waste of tax dollars. Local lawyer Joseph Thompson told the new COG board at its meeting Thursday that the majority of San Benito taxpayers who don’t ride the bus need to be protected. He also argued that an increase in bus ridership could actually be financially disastrous for the county.
“The emperor of transit-first is naked,” Thompson said.
COG’s ridership report shows that County Express ridership was actually down during the final quarter of 2006 – 41,148 trips, compared to 44,410 trips during the same period in 2005.
However, the buses’ standard in-county routes are actually seeing more riders; they averaged 11 passengers per hour, exceeding the six-passenger-per-hour goal set in 2004. Overall, the farebox recovery ratio – the amount of the trip cost that’s paid by riders – was 13.46 percent.
Lezama acknowledged that only a small percentage of San Benito residents are riding the buses. She said Moore and Associates’ recommendations in June should help bring that percentage up, but even as things are now, Lezama said, the buses benefit the county by getting cars off the road and getting employees to jobs they might not be able to reach otherwise.
“It has an impact,” she said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
