Seniors Air Concerns About Public Transit

Nearly 30 speakers took the opportunity Tuesday to explain why public transit is working and not working to a panel of City Council members and transportation officials.

More than 100 senior citizens turned out for the meeting.

“We conveyed to them that there’s a definite need,” said Russell Murawski, who helped organize the forum at the Salvation Army Community Center in Ventura.

Murawski and others have lobbied for dial-a-ride and minibus programs as well as more convenient bus stops.

“What it felt like was a whole lot of people coming together to find a solution for a common need,” said Sue Smith, manager of programs for seniors and the disabled for the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

She said the panel will begin to look at where dial-a-ride programs may be implemented and how transit for the disabled can be improved.

“Not all of the comments heard today were negative,” Smith said. “It was a mixture of good things . . . along with the needs we know exist that we need to work towards filling.”

A handful of task forces made up of members of the public also will organize and begin to address specific transportation needs throughout Ventura County over the next two months.

“They’re going to do something because we’re not going to let loose,” Murawski said.

“We’re not going to give up. This is just the start.”