OXNARD : City Wants Bus Route Extended to Beaches

Oxnard’s beach bus may be making a comeback, following a City Council decision to ask that a federally funded bus route be extended to the city’s beaches.

The beach bus--which originated at the Centerpoint Mall in south Oxnard and served the beach areas--was eliminated last summer because of low ridership.

Since then, hundreds of residents have signed petitions demanding that city officials resurrect the route. After the city argued that ridership levels could be skewed, the Ventura County Transportation Commission agreed that service should again be tried in that area.

“There really wasn’t a proper analysis of what was going on out there,” said Rita Johnson, the city’s senior transportation planner.

To accomplish that goal, Councilman Tom Holden on Wednesday asked county transportation officials to extend the “VISTA Central” route to the beach areas.

Current plans call for that route--part of a federally funded demonstration project designed to meet regional transit needs--to originate in Camarillo and end at the Oxnard Transportation Center. Holden will ask that the route be extended to Oxnard’s beaches.

The county’s transportation commission is scheduled to make a decision on the matter on June 3. If approved, beach service would begin July 5.