Oxnard, CA) Beginning this Sunday, July 26, Gold Coast Transit District will be making service changes to restore some service frequency, and implement long planned changes including adding the new Route 23 on Ventura Road, speed up service by consolidating bus stops, and discontinue a limited number of low ridership route segments to strengthen and make the core transit network more efficient.
A key goal of these service changes is to support the community by providing more frequent service to essential commercial corridors. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, GCTD’s ridership has decreased by more than 50%. At the same time, GCTD has taken unprecedented measures to protect riders; fare collection has been suspended to allow for rear door boarding, increased strenuous cleaning activities, limiting passenger loading capacities, and masks and face coverings while waiting for or riding the bus are required for all. Despite these circumstances, a recent passenger survey revealed a majority of respondents plan to continue to ride the bus to reach essential destinations including grocery trips, medical appointments, and work. Additionally, 42% of respondents indicated they are essential workers who depend on the bus to get to work in the food service industry, agriculture, and healthcare.
“Restoration of critical transit services is a major step in helping the community stay connected to essential services”, said Steven Brown, GCTD General Manager. “These changes will help make transit faster and save time for those who rely on it – seniors, veterans, disabled populations, and essential workers. We are committed to making our core system work better and faster, and offer more reliability during these uncertain times.”
While temporarily suspending fare collection has resulted in a significant loss of fare revenue, GCTD is able to preserve core transit service due to a one-time allocation of federal CARES ACT funds and is adding the New Route 23 using a separate federal grant. While this funding will cover much needed gaps for the next year or two, GCTD must continue to work diligently to evaluate its services and make cost effective changes where needed.
At this time, GCTD is focused on restoring and preserving frequency on its core routes and making changes to routes with historically low ridership. The changes being made are based on a combination of ridership data, community input gathered via previously held outreach meetings, operator input and recent passenger surveys – and are based on travel pattern changes that have occurred in the community over the last few years.
GCTD typically makes service changes twice a year, usually in July and January. It is important to note that with the changing dynamics of COVID-19, GCTD staff is continually reassessing its services and may need to make more frequent changes as conditions change in the County.
All of GCTD’s service changes are possible because of the dedicated work of our essential bus operators and maintenance staff, the cooperation of our customers, and our member city’s staff who have worked hard to make the bus stop changes possible.
Below are details of the service changes starting Sunday, July 26th:
Routes 1, 6, 17, 21 will have their frequency increased to pre-COVID levels. Fully restoring bus frequency to every 20-30 minutes weekdays on these routes will help alleviate overcrowding and improve on-board physical distancing.
The NEW Route 23 will provide a new two-way bus route from South Oxnard/Oxnard College to Port Hueneme and the Naval Base, up along Ventura Road to Vineyard Avenue and the Esplanade. Route 23 will connect to Route 17 (which are interlined at the Esplanade Shopping Center) providing a one seat ride to The Collection, El Rio and the Rose Shopping area. Both the new Route 23 and the Route 17 will run every 30 minutes on weekdays and every 45 minutes on weekends.
Routes 3/9, 4A/B, and 8 will be restructured. These route changes are in response to analysis of ridership, travel patterns and public input received, as well as to eliminate duplicate service in very low ridership areas.
New Route 3 will now serve the Lemonwood neighborhood instead of Route 8/9. The new route design will allow faster more direct access between Oxnard Transit Center, Centerpoint Mall, and the Lemonwood neighborhood. The new route will run every 45 minutes. The Teakwood neighborhood will be served by the new Route 23.
New Route 4A/B will no longer service the Lantana Street stops. This area will be served by the new Route 23 on Ventura Road. Using Gonzales Road will shorten the trip between M Street and Rose Avenue by a full 5 minutes. Route 4A will run every 45-50 minutes. Route 4B will run every 25-30 minutes
Route 8 – Route 8 will continue to service Rose Avenue to shorten the trip from Oxnard Transit Center to Oxnard College by more than 5 minutes. Service to Lemonwood will be provided by Route 3. Route 8 will run every 45 minutes.
Route 1 bus stops will be consolidated for better spacing and faster speeds. Bus stop consolidation makes trips faster for passengers by reducing the amount of stops on a route and balances spacing of bus stops to every ¼ of a mile. This will allow buses to run more frequently, every 20 minutes, and have more reliable schedules.
GCTD also continues to operate GO ACCESS, an accessible shared ride curb-to-curb transit option for people with disabilities, seniors over the age of 65, or those who have a temporary disability that prevents them from using the bus. This service is available via reservation and will take eligible passengers to any destination in the community within the district boundaries.
A full listing of the planned changes for July 26, 2020 including maps are available online, and bus books will be available one week before the changes take effect on all GCTD buses. If you need trip planning assistance, please contact our Customer Service Center at 805-487-4222, or you can email our Planning Department at [email protected]. Customers can also follow us on Facebook @GCTransit or Twitter @GoldCoastBus for up to date alerts.
Get Citizensjournal.us Headlines free SUBSCRIPTION. Keep us publishing – DONATE
