Bus, light rail services cut Bus, light rail services cut (January 09, 2004)

VTA action hits local routes hard, reduces service to seniors

By Jon Wiener

Mountain View bus riders are scrambling to adjust their schedules after the Valley Transit Authority announced 3 percent service cuts effective Jan. 5. Although VTA officials and a riders advocacy group are characterizing the size of the cutbacks as a victory of sorts, the reductions have hit northern Santa Clara County particularly hard.

Nearly every local route is targeted for cuts. Lines to San Antonio Shopping Center, Foothill College and El Camino Hospital will all see their off-peak schedules limited. The light rail line from Mountain View to Milpitas will run fewer trains and stop services earlier in the evening. And Line 34 will no longer serve the Mountain View Senior Center.

All told, 24 of VTA's bus lines will see cutbacks. Most come during what are called "low ridership time frames," periods when usage tends to be least and cost-per-passenger is highest. The cuts will save cash-strapped transit agency $8.9 million over the next year and a half, according to VTA spokesperson Brandi Hall.

Eugene Bradley, founder of the VTA Riders Union, fears the cuts will contribute to increased congestion in Santa Clara County. Bradley specifically targeted the elimination of service to the Senior Center. "That will just put more seniors on the road, many of whom are mentally or physically unfit to drive," he said.

On Monday morning, the first day the cuts took effect, officials at the Senior Center reported that many of the center's users were searching for revised route maps and schedules as they tried to figure out how to get around town without their regular bus route.

As recently as last spring, VTA was considering a 21 percent reduction in service to deal with declining ridership and evaporating sales tax revenue. With permission from a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge, VTA issued a bond against future funding from Measure A to stave off some of the reductions.

"A 3 percent service reduction is a far better option for our ridership," said VTA spokesperson Kat Mereigh, who touted the fact that VTA only eliminated two routes, line 30 and line 86.

While VTA will continue reviewing ridership numbers on a quarterly basis, Mereigh says no further reductions are planned.

Bradley said he is glad to have avoided the larger cuts, but doubts the need for the smaller ones. "If VTA is in a fiscal crisis, why does it continue to spend money as if it is water?" he asked, referring specifically to the planned BART expansion to San Jose. Bradley also criticized the agency's proposal to spend $5.5 million on private security and other budget items.

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