SIMI VALLEY : City Workers to Be Paid for Car-Pooling

The Simi Valley City Council has voted to pay city employees $3 a day to car-pool or ride the bus to work.

The council voted 4 to 0 Monday to implement a plan designed to reduce the number of car trips by employees at the Civic Center and the Public Services Center. Councilman Bill Davis was absent.

Under the plan, employees who drive vehicles that run on methanol or other clean-burning fuels will also be paid $3 a day.

Employees who car-pool or use the bus three or more days a week for six months will be eligible for a day off with pay. And department managers will be authorized to allow flexible work schedules for those who use the bus or other alternative modes of transportation.

The plan was devised under the direction of the Ventura Air Pollution Control District, which regulates air quality in the county. The district requires each city to come up with trip reduction plans for major employers.

Employers with 100 or more workers arriving between 6 and 10 a.m. are the first to be required to develop alternative transportation plans, district officials said. The goal is to achieve an average ridership of 1.35 people per vehicle by next year and 1.5 by 1997.

Failure to comply could result in fines or other penalties for the employer.

The city of Simi Valley was originally required to submit a plan to the district by March 1, but asked for an extension to April 1, city officials said.

The trip-reduction plan will go into effect July 1, said Michael Yelton, director of the city’s Department of General Services.