A cost-cutting move by the Valley Transportation Authority could
leave Jackson Oaks and Holiday Lake residents without bus service
this summer.
Morgan Hill – A cost-cutting move by the Valley Transportation Authority could leave Jackson Oaks and Holiday Lake residents without bus service this summer.
The VTA’s proposal is rooted in an attempt to streamline service and cut routes with low ridership, but nevertheless some residents say they rely on line 15 to get home from school or reach downtown destinations.
“A lot of kids take the bus up to Holiday because there are no sidewalks and we can’t drive,” said 15-year-old Fianna Larsen, a Live Oak High School sophomore who depended on public transportation to get to and from summer school last summer while her parents worked. “A lot of kids going up there take the bus because they’re worried about their safety. A car could come around the corner and not notice they’ve just hit a student, and cell phone service doesn’t work up there.”
Larsen shared her concerns at a Tuesday afternoon forum hosted by VTA officials at City Hall. The meeting’s purpose was for VTA officials to gather public input on a proposed “community bus” program, where 40-foot buses will be replaced on local routes by 25-passenger shuttles. Morgan Hill and Gilroy were targeted for the program and some local routes are being redesigned to maximize efficiency. The VTA’s board of directors still needs to approve the program before it’s implemented in July.
As of now, no changes are proposed for line 16, Morgan Hill’s other local route, serving Sobrato and Live Oak high schools and the civic center. Additionally, line 68, linking Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose, would remain intact for the most part except for a stretch between Gilroy’s Gavilan College campus and the Gilroy Transit Center, which would be served by a new line.
In Morgan Hill, the proposal to cut service to upscale Jackson Oaks and Holiday Lake is based in interest to bring busses to the senior center on Edmunson Avenue.
“I think it’s extremely important for seniors,” said Patricia Wyman, nutrition site manager at the YMCA senior center, which is housed in the Centennial Recreation Center. “Seniors are the most frail of our population and transportation is a major part of their lives.”
Wyman said about 75 seniors use the center every day and those numbers would increase if bus service was provided.
Serving Jackson Oaks, Holiday Lake and the senior center in one continuous route would be impossible, said VTA Service Planning Manager Bill Capps, because of budget constraints.
“It’s the distance, the frequency and the money,” Capps said, adding the main expense would be adding more drivers. The VTA’s goal is to provide hourly pick-ups on all routes during the week.
A possible compromise discussed Tuesday included rotating service at different times of the day. Keeping one morning and evening trip would make Holiday Lake resident Kris Shepherd happy.
“I think it’s important to cover all our community, and Holiday Lake and Jackson Oaks are part of our community,” Shepherd said.
The VTA’s concept of introducing fuel-efficient busses to Morgan Hill and Gilroy is part of an effort to increase revenue from fares from 15 percent to 25 percent all over the county. The agency’s operating costs are $275 million, including $240 million for labor costs and $10 million for gas, funded largely by a half-cent sales tax in Santa Clara County approved by voters in 1976.
