OAK PARK : Low Use Threatens Bus Service’s Future

Citing low ridership, a Ventura County transportation manager has warned Oak Park officials that they might lose the bus service they fought so hard to bring to the small, unincorporated area.

Members of the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council said last week that they could not dispute statistics that show fewer than two Oak Park riders per week using the intercity bus service, VISTA East.

“We fought tenaciously to get it,” Councilman Kent Behringer said. “We felt the community needed it. But if they don’t use it, there is nothing we can do about that.”

When the state-funded bus service was instituted in July 1994, it served Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills. After intensive lobbying by the Oak Park advisory council, the county agreed to add Oak Park in November 1994.

Now, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills also stand to lose the service due to low ridership, said Mary Travis, a county manager for transit programs.

Barring strong public opposition, the Ventura County Transportation Commission will probably decide next month to end service to those areas on Feb. 1, she told the council.

But, pointing to the popularity of the county’s recently expanded Dial-a-Ride service, Travis assured the council that Oak Park residents would not find themselves without public transportation.

In October, the Dial-a-Ride service--which previously allowed Oak Park residents to travel anywhere within the unincorporated area and Agoura Hills--was expanded to include travel for seniors and the disabled to Thousand Oaks.

About 300 Oak Park residents use the county-subsidized cab service each week, Travis said.

“It’s fairly simple when you think of it,” she said. “People would prefer to be picked up at the curb and dropped off at the curb rather than walk to a [bus stop.]”