City Drops Plan to Pull Out of SCAT

Pressured by union members and passengers, Oxnard City Council members have dropped a plan to consider pulling out of South Coast Area Transit.

The decision came late Tuesday in a packed City Hall, where more than two dozen bus drivers and riders told council members that any change in the way SCAT operates would greatly disrupt their lives.

“What will happen to all the people who use SCAT?” asked Oxnard College student Patricia Weeks, who uses the buses to get to school and part-time jobs at The Esplanade mall and Blockbuster Video. “How will they get to work and school?”

Oxnard officials were considering spending $25,000 on a study to explore whether the city could save money by pulling out of SCAT, which serves several west Ventura County communities, including Ventura, Ojai and Port Hueneme.

In Oxnard, planners said officials need to look at whether the city could run a cheaper bus service by hiring another public agency, having city workers drive buses or hiring a private company. A city report said Oxnard might be able to run a different bus service for $1.3 million, as opposed to the $1.6 million it gives SCAT each year.

The session was marked by some rancor between Councilmen Tom Holden and Dean Maulhardt and SCAT General Manager Peter G. Drake, with Drake dismissing the city’s statistics and Holden and Maulhardt accusing Drake of not cooperating with the city.

But Drake ended up apologizing for his comments, and Holden and Maulhardt joined Councilmen John Zaragoza, Bedford Pinkard and Mayor Manuel Lopez in rejecting the proposed study.