PR from Supervisor Steve Bennett’s office:

Following the Ojai City Council’s decision to withdraw from Gold Coast Transit, a period of painful readjustment has been in store for both Ojai Valley transit riders and the other member agencies of Gold Coast Transit who would have to absorb portions of the reallocated costs.

Gold Coast Transit Route 16, which connects Ventura to Ojai, is the second most heavily used bus route in Ventura County, carrying 320,000 passengers in 2011. Prior to the City’s truncation of the route in 2009, the downtown Ojai park-and-ride stop was the most heavily used stop on Route 16.

Supervisor Steve Bennett said: “Serving transit dependent persons and helping get people out of their cars has long been a high priority for me and for the residents of the Ojai Valley. Fortunately, the County has enough State transportation money available to bridge this funding gap, and to improve regional transit by restoring bus service to downtown Ojai. What was getting lost in all this was the riders, and we need to put them on the bus first.”

Supervisor Bennett presented his proposal to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, January 24th, and it was approved by a unanimous vote. Supervisor Bennett said: “This one just made sense. The Board saw that rather than chopping up a successful transit line and transferring the cost to other agencies through a complicated restructuring of a regional agency, the best way to serve the taxpayers was for the County to step in and cover the cost for a couple of years.”

State legislation adopted in 2010 requires that all State “Transportation Development Act” funds be spent on transit starting in year 2014. The Ventura County Transportation Commission has been leading a countywide study of transit service in response to this mandate, and the opportunities that it presents to improve regional transit service in Ventura County. The County’s cost of the Ojai bus service can be absorbed within the unexpended County transit funds. Coordination of Ojai Valley bus and trolley schedules and stops will be worked out cooperatively between the County and the City over the coming months to assure that riders can smoothly transfer between the bus and trolley. The result of these actions will be greatly improved transit services in the Ojai Valley, as bus service will again reach the downtown park and ride while trolley hours will be extended.

At the January 24th Ojai City Council meeting, Steve Offerman informed the City Council of the approval of Supervisor Bennett’s proposal by the Board, noting that the City’s approval of extended trolley hours and the resumption of bus service to downtown Ojai will together result in the Ojai Valley receiving the best transit service it has ever had.