Lopez Swings Vote to Bus Service

A feud between two west Ventura County cities and a transit operator ended Wednesday after Oxnard’s mayor dropped his threat to withhold his city’s share of funding for the bus program, despite months of complaints about spiraling costs and inadequate service.

Mayor Manuel Lopez had threatened to withhold $216,000 from South Coast Area Transit, which oversees bus service in four cities and the county. But after two hours of debate by the SCAT governing board, Lopez unexpectedly voted to give SCAT the increased funding it had sought.

Because of Lopez’s vote, which surprised some board members and their staff, SCAT will receive $1.39 million for its Dial-A-Ride service for seniors and the disabled, including $343,000 that board members representing Oxnard and Ventura had previously threatened to withhold in an attempt to get SCAT to better manage its finances.

Lopez, who along with Ventura Councilman Jim Friedman had asked to see documented improvements before freeing up the money, did not explain his reason. He did not return phone calls later Wednesday.

Friedman, who was the lone dissenter in the board’s 4-1 vote, said he was a “little disappointed” with Oxnard’s change of heart. But he hopes improvements will be made under the current contract between Laidlaw Transit and SCAT that will address the city’s concerns.

The seniors’ Dial-A-Ride service, which serves Ventura, Oxnard, Ojai, Port Hueneme and part of the county, has had growing pains since its October inception.

Riders have complained of spending 20 minutes or more on the phone trying to arrange a trip. City officials had said that at a time when cities were being asked to cut their own budgets, SCAT was asking for significant increases.

“We are not interested in micro-managing this,” Oxnard Transportation Manager Rita Johnson said at the meeting. “We are saying this is the amount of money and now make it happen.”

SCAT is funded by the four cities and the county. The service anticipates carrying 6,000 passenger a month in the coming year and said it needs the money to ensure the service can be provided.

The new contract will hold Laidlaw Transit to a much stricter set of rules than last year’s. For example, Laidlaw will be fined $200 for each day that scheduling and confirming a trip with a rider takes more than 10 minutes on the phone.

Also, bus drivers must pick up riders within 10 minutes of a scheduled time or the company will be fined $1,000 a month, according to the contract.

Citing that provision, Port Hueneme City Councilwoman Toni Young said she felt the contract established guidelines that would ensure efficient service.

“If I were Laidlaw I would never sign a contract like that. Those things will be darn hard to meet,” she said.

Laura Casky, SCAT’s director of planning, would not comment on Oxnard’s reversal, but said she felt the current contract would force improvements. “We had extensive problems with expansion because of our overnight increase in ridership,” she said.

“Staff has realized areas that can be strengthened and we brought this forward,” Casky said, indicating the contract with Laidlaw.

Art Kinne, a Ventura bus activist, spoke at the meeting about the problems with the current bus service. He said afterward that the board’s decision to give SCAT the money it wanted was a mistake because it maintained the status quo.

“The system hasn’t worked for seniors and we’ve suffered because of it,” he said. “[SCAT] will keep doing it the same way as long as they get their money.”