Why Improved Transit Continues to Be a Need Unmet

As a member of the senior community in the city and county of Ventura, I have devoted my time and energies to extending transit capabilities, first for seniors but in the long run for everyone. You might even call it an obsession with me!

But there are many others, not only seniors, involved in seriously upgrading our transit ability. For four years we have battled for a wider scope of service.

It was reassuring to read that the Transportation Development Act is still the law of the land (“Funding Limits Determine What Transit Services Are Offered,” Ventura County Perspective, Jan. 23). This law states that transportation funds can only be used for transit, road maintenance and bicycle lanes in that order. Cyclists were smart; they went to Sacramento and had 2% of the transportation budget set aside in special funding for their cause.

The two key phrases in the TDA law are “unmet needs” and “reasonable to meet.” To allow the public to point out any transit needs that aren’t being met, meetings are held once a year. Those meetings are going on right now and will conclude with a hearing on Feb. 14. They are generally held at Camarillo City Hall or the County Government Center--neither of which has convenient bus service.

The phrase “reasonable to meet” is the escape clause that allows public officials to decide which transit needs to continue to leave unmet. Despite the hundreds of complaints and requests for better service, through creative interpretation of these two phrases better transit has been denied by officials who decide that requested services would not attract enough riders to meet the minimum levels set by the law. People are becoming discouraged from attending the unmet-needs meetings.

Transit in Ventura County took a great step forward in 1972 with the advent of South Coast Area Transit, which operates buses in Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Ojai and unincorporated areas. Some 28 years later SCAT remains viable but local transit is almost nonexistent. SCAT uses big buses not suitable for city streets, either in maneuverability or weight. They are comparable to 18-wheelers in the trucking industry.

I note with great pride that my very own Ventura City Council led the way in asking SCAT to apply for federal funds to buy 19 new minibuses, with seven designated for Ventura . . . back in November 1998. They should be in use later this year or early 2001. The council started the ball rolling in the county.

But this whole program is under the auspices of the Americans with Disabilities Act with stringent rules and regulations such as phone calls, appointments, pickup/delivery times--a far more structured service for those that are in need of it.

Freedom-loving seniors need smaller capacity, neighborhood-friendly minibuses plying their streets on a regular basis enabling them to do business with local stores, shopping centers, enjoy local entertainment venues and keep medical appointments at will.

Why has this been denied them? One of the principle reasons is the “Silence of the Seniors” and the ingrained habit of making do even when they are in dire need. What were their losses? The sense of freedom and self-sufficiency and, in a greater measure, the loss of social interaction that inspired retention of mental and physical ability.

On a final note, isn’t it obvious that our various public works departments cannot build city streets, highways or freeways wide enough, or parking lots big enough, to accommodate the influx of cars coming into our city?

Speak up about your unmet needs for transportation by calling (800) 438-1112 or by sending letters to the Ventura County Transportation Commission, Unmet Transit Needs, 950 Country Square Drive, Suite 207, Ventura CA 93003 or by sending e-mail to mlopez@goventura.org.