Fountain Valley restores ‘Hop On’ program ride fare to former, lower rate

A Fountain Valley senior transportation program known as “Hop On” is having its previous lower rates reinstated.

The Fountain Valley City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to lower the rate of a one-way trip for the program’s participants to $2, down from the $3 it had cost to use since the council approved an increase in November 2019.

The “Hop On” program allows Fountain Valley residents who are at least 60 years old to register and receive rides within the city, as well as to some preapproved locations outside of it. It is available daily between the hours of 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, qualified residents were utilizing the service to the tune of an average of 893.2 trips per month, according to a staff report. That figure dropped precipitously beginning in March 2020. In 2021 the service saw an average of 205.6 trips per month.

Mayor Pro Tem Kim Constantine said she had been “heartbroken” when the former members of the City Council had raised the rates.

“I don’t think solely that the ridership is down just because of the pandemic,” Constantine said. She added that she believed that in some seniors’ minds the increase was just too steep.

Measure HH funds could have been used to subsidize the program, she said.

The transportation program is run by California Yellow Cab for $12 per one-way trip. Funds from Orange County Transportation Authority Measure M2 account for 80% of the funding during the current fiscal year, with the remaining 20% coming from an agreement with Memorial Care Orange Coast Medical Center and rider copay fares.

“I think it’s a good idea to revisit the fee, although we do need to, going forward, monitor the cost,” Mayor Patrick Harper said ahead of the vote. “That was one of the reasons it was raised in the first place.”

With the demand experienced prior to the pandemic, the program was expected to operate at a loss of $41,400 annually, prompting the rise in fare, but with ridership down significantly, the return of the old rate is geared toward encouraging more seniors to use the service.

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