Local News in Brief : Simi Valley Bus Fares, Routes Will Change

Bus fares in Simi Valley will rise from 40 cents to 50 cents beginning Nov. 1, and there will be changes in transit routes, city officials announced Friday.

Besides the 10-cent fare increase, the city plans to implement a 25-cent zone charge for passengers traveling to the San Fernando Valley. After Nov. 1, passengers who used to pay 20 cents for a transfer to a Rapid Transit District bus will pay the 25-cent zone charge and receive the transfer at no extra cost.

The fare increases are the first since December, 1981, said Catherine Unseth, the city’s interim transit administrator.

The city’s four bus routes will also change on Nov. 1. Routes A and B, the most heavily used, will no longer end at Yosemite Avenue, but at Stearns Avenue. Four times a day, the buses will run to Stow Street to accommodate riders from Simi Valley High School.

Route C, the commuter line to Mason Avenue and Devonshire Street in the San Fernando Valley, will travel along the Simi Valley Freeway instead of Santa Susana Pass Road.

Route D, which runs from Moorpark College on the western end of the city and loops through the city’s northern section, will instead loop through the southern part of town, where studies have shown there is a potential for more riders.