Gold Coast Transit District
(Oxnard, CA) – Gold Coast Transit District (GCTD), Ventura County’s largest public transit provider, will be implementing its bi-annual service changes this Sunday, January 24, 2021. The changes will primarily consist of restoring service where it is most needed at this time, and that includes the Route 1 (Port Hueneme – Oxnard) and the Route 6 (Oxnard – Ventura), as well as making a few other adjustments to improve on-time performance.
Historically, GCTD makes service changes two times each year to improve connections, incorporate passenger feedback, and improve the overall quality of the service. However, since the county was initially placed under a stay-at-home order in March 2020, GCTD has had to adapt by adjusting service levels, in addition to having periodic cancelled trips due to the changing dynamics resulting from COVID – most notably, a reduction in workforce.
In the past two months, GCTD has seen periodic staff shortages of over 20% for reasons due to quarantine, caring for a family member with COVID or recovering from COVID themselves. Since early December, the COVID-positive cases among employees have tripled from just three reported as of December 4th, to nine active cases as of January 14th. GCTD’s human resources department has rigorous COVID-19 protocols in place once it receives notification of a positive case and based on contact tracing, most of the cases are from exposures occurring outside of work hours, and not a result of the transit system.
Since the onset of COVID-19, GCTD has implemented an aggressive health and safety plan, which includes daily cleaning and disinfecting of all fleet and facilities by its newly hired team of professional cleaners that work both out in the field throughout the day and at the GCTD facility. Additionally, PPE is provided to all staff, masks are required for all and are provided to passengers upon request, fare collection remains suspended, boardings are from the rear door only, and on-board passenger capacity is set at 40%. Most recently, transparent protective shields were installed around the bus operator cabin on the entire fleet of buses to further increase physical distancing between the operator and the public.
While GCTD is confident it will have sufficient staff to provide the trips scheduled to begin on January 24th, GCTD asks for the public’s patience in the event it finds itself unable to fulfill some trips due to lack of available staff. We appreciate your patience.
For real time information and bus tracking, download the GOVCbus app available on Google Play or your Apple app store. You can also follow us on social media, or contact our Customer Service Team at (805) 487-4222, Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm for the latest updates.
About the District: Gold Coast Transit District provides safe, responsive, convenient, efficient, and environmentally responsible fixed-route bus and paratransit public transportation that serves the diverse needs of the cities of Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ventura, and in the unincorporated County areas between the cities. Utilizing a fleet of 61 clean natural gas-fueled buses, and 26 paratransit buses and
vans, GCTD carries 3 million passengers annually on its 20 bus routes. GCTD is the largest provider of public transit in Ventura County and is governed by a Board of Directors made up of an elected official from each member jurisdiction. For more information or to plan your trip, visit www.GoldCoastTransit.org.
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