Hollister
– County leaders weighing in on the future of San Benito’s
transit system Friday said the County Express bus system serves an
important need, but that both its ridership and its
cost-effectiveness need to improve.
Hollister – County leaders weighing in on the future of San Benito’s transit system Friday said the County Express bus system serves an important need, but that both its ridership and its cost-effectiveness need to improve.
Friday’s meeting came in the middle of an update to the county’s short-range transit plan. When completed later in 2007, the plan is expected to serve as a roadmap for changes to the transit system over the next five years.
“The County Express is at a major crossroads,” said Jim Moore, whose consulting firm Moore and Associates is handling the update process.
The “visioning” session was attended by the directors of the Council of Governments – whose Local Transportation Authority branch handles the county’s mass transit – and by COG’s Social Services Transportation Advisory Committee.
One of the meeting’s major themes was efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
COG’s ridership report shows that the overall farebox recovery ratio – the share of operating cost paid by riders – during the final quarter of 2006 was 13.46 percent.
During that time, overall County Express ridership was down. But there were more riders on the standard in-county routes, which averaged 11 passengers per hour.
When county Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who sits on the COG board, asked if it’s possible to increase the farebox recovery ratio, Moore said, “That’s not an unrealistic goal, as long as there are supporting elements to it.”
Moore noted that his firm has succeeded in increasing both ridership and farebox recovery in other counties.
In Calaveras County – where the population and land area are slightly smaller than in San Benito – Moore and Associates was able to raise ridership by 35 percent and cost-effectiveness by 25 percent without increasing spending, he said.
“Public transit is our cornerstone,” Moore said. “Non-urbanized providers … are our bread and butter.”
Moore repeatedly emphasized that public transit is never going to be profitable.
“But we’re going to be able to make it more productive,” he said.
The update process, which is expected to cost some $120,000 in primarily state and federal funds, is already rolling.
Moore and Associates has conducted on-bus surveys and sent out 1,000 questionnaires to county residents. The consultants have also helped COG revamp its Web site.
However, there have been a few roadbumps.
For one thing, Moore said, only about 18 percent of the people who received the survey have responded. He said he would expect twice that number of respondents.
At the prodding of the directors, the company plans to explore alternatives for increasing the responses, including putting the survey on the County Express Web site and reaching out to the Latino community.
The overall update is proceeding about three to four weeks behind schedule, Moore said, which could mean the plan won’t be finalized as scheduled in June.
“But this is not something we’re going to be talking about in October,” Moore said.
The directors also received comments from the public. Local attorney Joseph Thompson, who often attends county government meetings to criticize transit spending, called the system “a failed experiment” and noted that adding riders means increasing costs.
San Juan Bautista Councilman George Dias, who chairs the COG board, responded that transit is funded by state and federal tax dollars.
“It is taxpayer money,” Dias said. “But the Board of Supervisors is not cutting a check to COG. I guess we could shut transit down right now. But we’re still going to pay that tax.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
