Lancaster, Palmdale to Help Pay for Bus Costs

Los Angeles County officials are preparing to end an unusual 7-year-old free ride that has allowed Lancaster and Palmdale to avoid paying for any of their community bus service, a move that could cost the two cities as much as $1.5 million annually starting this year.

County officials said Monday their move to require the two cities to begin helping fund their bus system--as most other cities already do--is part of a broader county plan to expand and improve routes and service in the booming Antelope Valley.

Antelope Valley bus riders are expected to be hit too, with an increase that would raise the standard fare from 50 cents to 75 cents, and the fare for senior citizens, students and the handicapped from 20 cents to 35 cents.

Fares pay for only about 12% of the service, and the county, which has been paying the remainder, wants the cities to begin paying their share.

City officials are not expected to like the new plan, because it would force them to shift money they now use for other purposes. The matter will be a subject of negotiation in coming months, county officials said, but they added that the county has the ultimate power to dictate its terms.

Palmdale Traffic Engineer Doug Dykhouse said the City Council had yet to hear the proposal, and added, ‘It will be interesting to see what happens when they do hear about it.”

Dykhouse said he expects that council members would favor spending the money on other mass transit needs, such as park-and-ride services for the many residents who commute to Los Angeles.

The county, which is responsible for unincorporated areas, is proposing to proportionately split the costs not covered by fares with the two cities. Lancaster could pay about $858,000 a year, with about $726,000 from the county and about $616,000 from Palmdale, projections show.

County officials said the change is necessary because of the county’s plan to double the number of buses in the Antelope Valley from 14 to 28 to meet growing service demands in the area. That is expected to boost the cost of the bus program from $1.5 million for the coming year to about $2.5 million.

“The service has doubled in the past two years and the costs have increased. There’s more need than there is money in the county’s coffers,” said Richard DeRock of the county Transportation Commission. “It’s time for the cities and the county to get together to fund the service.”

Antelope Valley bus service is unusual because the region is not served by the RTD. For years, the county has contracted for buses with a private company and paid most of the cost. But since at least 1983, the cities have not shared in the costs.