The Council of San Benito County Governments may soon be raising
the rates and extending the hours of its County Express bus
service.
HOLLISTER
The Council of San Benito County Governments may soon be raising the rates and extending the hours of its County Express bus service.
The changes would come as part of COG’s update to its Short Range Transit Plan, which could receive final approval in February. Transportation Planner Betty Li noted that rates haven’t increased since the County Express system began in 1998.
“We have to look at increases as our costs are increasing,” said County Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who sits on COG’s board of directors. “We are the lowest fare around.”
Consulting firm Moore and Associates, which is preparing the transit plan, suggested gradually increasing regular fares from 75 cents to $1.10 over a five-year period, Li said. But it may make more sense to raise fares just once from 75 cents to $1 to avoid the “negative image of always increasing fares,” she said.
Supervisor Pat Loe, who was filling in for Supervisor Don Marcus on the COG board, said the seemingly small increase of 25 cents could be a burden for County Express riders.
“If you look at (going from) 75 cents to a dollar, that’s a 30 percent increase,” Loe said.
It might be difficult for someone on a fixed income to pay for that hike, Loe said. She also emphasized that no increases have been approved yet.
COG, which oversees the transit system in its capacity as the Local Transportation Authority, held a public hearing to discuss the transit plan Thursday. At the hearing, Patricia Marquez of the Hollister Youth Alliance said she supports continuing bus service later in the day.
Buses currently run until 5:45 p.m., but Marquez said her group’s after-school programs don’t end until 6 p.m.
“For it to run a little later would be great,” she said. “It’s a daily issue for us to get these kids home.”
Bus service currently lasts from 6:30 a.m. until 5:45 p.m., according to a COG staff report, while the short-range transit plan recommends starting the buses at 6 a.m. and continuing service until 6:30 p.m.
The plan also presented a number of possible changes to the county’s bus routes. Li said the COG board, as well as the Hollister Downtown Association and County Express staff, supported going back to the system used in 2004, with a few tweaks. That means the Fourth Street line would be eliminated and the business district route would run all day instead of half a day, she said.
Gordon Machado, an HDA board member, said he supports maintaining bus service along the essential routes.
“(The system) is important to those people that use it,” Machado said. “We have to recognize that.”
Final comments on the Short Range Transit Plan are due by Dec. 20.
