OCTA Votes to Limit ‘Access’ Van Service
Beginning next summer, elderly and disabled people using the county’s Access van service will have to pay an extra 80 cents to be picked up at their doors.
In addition, they will be able to get rides only within three-fourths of a mile of existing bus routes, will have to pay extra for longer trips and will be penalized for missing scheduled pickups.
The Orange County Transportation Authority approved these changes Monday to make the service more efficient, officials said, citing studies showing that Access is used by 2% of the agency’s riders but accounts for 19% of its operating budget.
“This is not an easy decision,” OCTA board member Laurann Cook said before voting for the changes. “It is not cutting services, it is how we can better use our services.”
Other changes will require riders to make pickup reservations seven days in advance, down from 14, and establish an appeals board to help determine who is eligible for the service.
The van service uses a fleet of 232 vans to transport an average of 1,050 elderly or disabled people a day countywide at a cost to them of $1.70 a trip.
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