COUNTYWIDE : Bus System to Start Discount Programs

Beginning this summer, riders using the South Coast Area Transit system in western Ventura County will be able to purchase discounted passes and tickets good for 20 or 30 rides without limits on when they can be used.

SCAT board members last week approved the sale of monthly passes for $30, allowing passengers unlimited trips on the transit system, which covers 80 square miles from Port Hueneme to Ojai. The pass would save customers $1.90 if used at least 42 times a month.

The service will also offer a prepaid block fare beginning in July or August. A 20-ride ticket will sell for $14, giving a discount of 6.7%, and a 30-ride ticket will cost $20, a discount of 11.1%.

SCAT is offering the discounted tickets to encourage more people to use mass transit as the county implements an ordinance requiring medium and large employers to reduce the percentage of employees driving to work alone, said Maureen Lopez, SCAT’s director of planning and marketing.

“The 20- and 30-ride tickets are for people more inclined to use the bus on an occasional basis,” Lopez said. “With no time limitation, they don’t feel they have to get all of the use out of it this month in order for them to have gotten their money’s worth.”

The monthly passes are for current users who wish to ride the bus more frequently, Lopez said.

SCAT now sells 10-ride tickets for $7.50. Those tickets can be purchased at the SCAT office in Oxnard or through the mail.

Lopez said SCAT will work with local city halls and Chambers of Commerce to sell tickets, making distribution easier.

The transit district’s buses had 2.4 million boardings last fiscal year, and 2.6 million boardings are expected by June 30, Lopez said.