Ventura’s Seniors Call for Better Bus Service

Calling the lack of public transportation a major concern for the city’s elderly population, senior advocates have vowed to turn out for a community forum Tuesday to voice their concerns.

Problems include bus stops that are too far away and inefficient services for the frail and disabled, said Russ Murawski, who organized the forum.

“I have people calling me all the time telling me they’ve got problems with transportation,” said Murawski, who also sits on a citizens advisory committee for the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

The latest concern is a bus stop that was recently moved from the front of the Buenaventura Mall to Telegraph Road, tacking on a more than seven-minute walk for bus users, said Murawski, who recently timed the trek.

But the move was necessary because of the mall’s expansion, said Ventura City Councilman Jim Monahan.

Residents of Silvercrest, a Salvation Army apartment complex for seniors, also plan to ask the city to put in a bus stop at Darling Road and Petit Avenue. A proposal for the stop was brought before the City Council this spring but was rejected after other area residents said they didn’t want bus traffic in their neighborhood.

But Silvercrest resident Art Kinne said his neighbors must walk nearly half a mile to the nearest South Coast Area Transit stop on Telephone Road. This 15-minute walk prevents many of the approximately 80 residents from going out, he said.

“They say we don’t have any unmet needs, even though I can’t get from point A to point B,” Kinne said. “To me, that’s an unmet need.”

But officials at SCAT and the county Transportation Commission say putting a stop at that location is not feasible.

“It would throw off our bus route seven minutes, which is a lot,” said Lori Risque, SCAT planning and marketing assistant, noting that such a delay would cause other bus passengers to miss transfers.

Kinne is also proposing a shuttle from Silvercrest to the Telephone Road stop. But officials say that would cost too much.

Other concerns are expected to focus on SCAT’s Access service, which provides transportation for the disabled. Murawski, who is blind, says it is sometimes difficult to schedule pickup times, especially when he needs a ride the next day.

“It does a job for a lot of people, but for a lot of people it doesn’t,” Murawski said.

Risque said that although SCAT Access provides 1,600 rides a month, she receives fewer than a dozen complaints monthly.

Risque and Ginger Gherardi, executive director of the Transportation Commission, will be among officials at the forum, which will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Salvation Army Community Center, 650 S. Petit Ave.

Officials say they understand that not all Ventura senior citizens are content with available transportation programs. They say they are trying to provide as many services as possible with limited funds.

“You can’t always meet everyone’s needs,” said Maureen Hooper Lopez, director of transit programs for the Transportation Commission.

But Murawski said the seniors won’t give up.

“They’re going to be dealing with us for years, if it takes years,” he said.