Transportation in 2: Impact of Bus Reductions
Monday, Oct. 26 is an important day for Orange County, especially if you're one of the 80,000 people who rely on OCTA buses to get to school, work, doctors office, grocery store or other important destinations.
The OCTA board of directors is conducting public hearing at 9 a.m. to hear from the community on proposed strategies to reduce bus services to address the devastating impact of state budget cuts and dwindling sales tax revenues because of the economic recession.
Tell me what you think. How should OCTA proceed?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Raising the rates could make all the difference: bus riders have indicated in the past that they are in favor of a rate hike as opposed to losing the service. Orange County residents depend on OCTA to get places. Keep routes that GO SOMEWHERE. Cut routes that serve the wealthy neighborhoods, usually those buses are empty. Cut routes where driving a $40,000 to $80,000 car is nothing, and keep the routes where there are people who can't afford cars.
ReplyDeleteIt's critical that bus service remain intact.
Orange County is a very transit-dependent place and cutting bus service would be a step backwards for its residents. CSU Fullerton, where I go to, has gained a reputation as being a commuter school and parking problems have persisted here for years despite ongoing efforts to rectify those problems. I see a lot of students here taking the buses and even a single service cut to buses around here would have a catastrophic effect. Currently, all proposals set forth by the OCTA call for the cancellation of route 24, citing it as being one of the least used bus routes. Absolutely not true. I see the buses on this route packed with standing room only buses every weekday. What OCTA needs to do is to find ways to minimize the number of service cuts, whether its through fare hikes and making such marginal cuts that it won't affect the system as a whole. I already submitted a comment card to them letting them know about what a mistake it would be to cancel 24 and I plan on attending the public hearing Monday to hear what more they have to say.
ReplyDelete