Oxnard Council Votes to Charge Fare for Minibus Program

Even at $1.50 per round trip, the Oxnard minibus program is sorely needed and should be preserved, a group of senior and handicapped residents told the Oxnard City Council Tuesday.

Pressed by state and federal mandates, the council agreed.

Without comment, it voted to fund the service that hundreds of disadvantaged residents rely on to go shopping, see doctors and visit friends. But beginning in July, the minibus service will no longer be free.

About a dozen minibus riders attended Tuesday’s hearing. They said the new fares would be hard to absorb, but were grateful that the council chose not to drop the program altogether.

“Does that mean that my husband and I would have to pay $3 for every ride? We have a terribly low income,” Elaine Cox said. “But we’ll put up with the cost if we have to.”

“If you don’t OK the minibus program, you might as well sign our death warrant, because we can’t afford taxis,” Yvonne Tartar, who is blind, told the council.

The council voted in July to stop funding the $85,000 minibus program as one of its budget-slashing measures to avoid a $2.4-million deficit. The program provided 10,200 rides last year.

But the Swift Memorial Foundation of Oxnard agreed to fund the program for one year.

However, foundation officials have told the city that they will not fund it again this fiscal year, and the city has been unable to find a new sponsor, said Gary Davis, the city’s Parks and Recreation director.

City officials told the council Tuesday that unless the city continued to provide services to its more than 21,000 senior and handicapped citizens, it would lose state funds for street and road repairs equal to the cost of the program.

The city would also have to return the program’s two minivans to the county and could face a civil rights suit under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Davis said.

Davis said he tried to find cheaper ways to provide senior citizens with door-to-door transportation but was unsuccessful. Minibus rides cost the city $8.50 per person, he said.

Hiring taxis for the same purpose would cost the city only $8.02 per ride, Davis said. But since taxis don’t have handicapped-access equipment, the city would not qualify for the state funds.

The other option, hiring a local company to do the job, would cost $20 per ride plus $1.50 per mile, Davis said.

To qualify for state funds, the city cannot charge more than 10% of the cost of providing rides.

Councilman Manuel Lopez said the $7,500 per year that the city expected to collect by charging minibus fares may not be worth the cost of creating a fee-collection and bookkeeping system.

But city officials responded that such cost would be minimal. They said that in addition to the bus fare proceeds, the city will apply for an $18,000 grant from the county to subsidize the program.