Guaranteed Confidence Builder

They are questions business executives ask all the time but public agencies too rarely do:

What’s keeping us from serving more people, and how can we remove those obstacles?

Congratulations to the Ventura County Transportation Commission for asking those questions about potential Metrolink users, bus riders or car-poolers and finding a workable way to solve part of the problem.

About 20% of Ventura County’s commuters use such ride-sharing strategies. If more people did, the county’s roads would be less congested, its air would be cleaner and its cumulative driver stress level would decline.

But for even the most dedicated ride-sharer, the decision to leave the car at home requires a leap of faith. What if the boss asks me to work late? What if my child needs to be picked up from school? What if a neighbor calls to say my house is on fire?

To give commuters confidence that they would not be stranded in such circumstances, VCTC established Guaranteed Ride Home in September 1997. Funded for three years with $75,000 in state and federal transportation money, the program offers free trips home to residents who usually commute via carpools or public transportation but because of an emergency have missed their evening ride.

In its first year and a half, this safety net has attracted more than 5,800 potential users from 146 work sites in Ventura County. As of the end of February, the service had provided 164 rides, most of them by taxi, for about $5,000.

Although it’s too soon to say how much credit the Guaranteed Ride Home program deserves for boosting ridership of buses and trains, VCTC officials say use of all transit systems in Ventura County is growing steadily, if slowly. As a bonus benefit, this program makes public transportation a viable option for welfare recipients just entering the work force or attending job-training courses--sparing them the need to spend their scarce money to buy, insure and maintain a private car.

In the year ahead, VCTC will begin advertising the Guaranteed Ride Home program at movie theaters and has begun to approach companies to organize registration drives.

Although other problems such as infrequent trains and buses remain to be addressed, Guaranteed Ride Home is a step in the right direction. We applaud the Ventura County Transportation Commission for finding such a sensible way to remove one roadblock to wider use of Metrolink, buses and carpools.

Many other public agencies could benefit from the common-sense approach of asking why they aren’t serving more people, and then taking action to do a better job.