About 30 attend OCTA's bus cuts community meeting in Orange; riders irate about overcrowding, funding raids, Night Owl cancellation, and route cancellations

Roughly 30 riders attended OCTA's March 2010 bus cuts community meeting last Thursday, with quite a few speakers (at least 20) including seniors, working professionals, blue-collar workers, students, disabled persons, a homeless person and a former bus driver. Even a member of the Orange County Grand Jury attended. Mayor Pro Tem Cathy Green and Greg Winterbottom — both OCTA directors — chaired the session with Ellen Burton, External Affairs Director of OCTA staff.

The comments made by the public were extremely interesting and engaging. A lot of riders opposed route cuts that would diminish geographic service area, as this would then cannibalize ACCESS, Orange County's current paratransit network, which only services areas 3/4 of a mile from regular bus routes. One Night Owl rider said he, plus many others, use the 24-hour bus routes to get home from work; OCTA staff responded by saying cutting Night Owl would save 5% of the funds as Night Owl requires not just paying the bus driver, but also maintenance, central dispatch, and ACCESS drivers. And a new issue also emerged: a growing number of riders were worried about overcrowded standing-room only buses, particularly those buses that travel at high speeds on the freeway.

Community leaders from the Transit Advocates of Orange County also asked OCTA's board about funds OCTA already has and could use for saving bus service; Jane Reifer mentioned that not printing the quarterly system map would salvage $2 million that could preserve the 24-hour Night Owl routes. I myself asked why OCTA declared a financial crisis and are cannibalizing bus service when they're about to expand the 5, 91, and 405 freeways. OCTA director Greg Winterbottom replied that many of these funds — such as funds dedicated to the freeways — couldn't be switched over as the "color of money" is dedicated to specific purposes. But others argued why OCTA wouldn't be more aggressive with finding funding when OCTA used bus service funding for non-transit programs like the purchase the 91 Express Lanes, widening Bristol Street, and promoting non-public transit programs of Measure M and M2.

I followed the meeting throughout on my HTC Touch Pro2's with a live Twitter session @TransitRiderOC, posted below, from first tweet to last tweet:

1. OCTA Greg Winterbottom: "No one on this board wants these cuts." Hahahaha....
2. #OCTA Ellen Burton (ext affairs director): "There's a lawsuit pending" to stop state transit funding raid. Won't know outcome for months.
3. #OCTA "This is a statewide problem affecting other transit agencies... we're looking for ways to cut costs."
4. #OCTA Early November, OCTA staff finalizes whether cuts are less or MORE than 300,000 service hours. Final decision TBD on Nov 23.
5. #OCTA presenting 4 ways to cut bus service: (1) cut whole routes, (2) reduce frequencies... 26 weekday routes and 19 weekend will be cut.
6. #OCTA Option 2 maintains current network, least impact on ACCESS. Opt 3 (modify days/hours, restructuring) would eliminate least-used svc.
7. #OCTA Opt 4 will focus on cutting weekend svc, some restructuring, some ACCESS impacts.
8. #OCTA Winterbottom: Opt 2 would affect the most num of ppl b/c there would be pass-bys?
9. #OCTA They're presenting maps of route cuts on the overhead monitors, but it's completely unreadable. :-(
10. #OCTA Risk of opt 2: riders will be passed up and experience crowded buses, but ACCESS not impacted as much.
11. #OCTA Q&A. One speaker: "Upset of character of OCTA gone. I'm here as homeless man." then launches into questioning American policy soapbox.
12. #OCTA Disabled rider travels to South County, Anaheim, Cypress College: "I need the buses!"
13. #OCTA "OCTA will disrupt so many lives. If cuts must be made, only ethical decision is Strategy B. I'd rather stand in a bus than no bus."
14. #OCTA "Why are smaller buses replaced with full buses? It seems like bigger buses cost more than the smaller ones..."
15. #OCTA "John Moorlach calls for deleting all bus service, and should resign immediately." Applause ensues.
16. #OCTA Winterbottom: "Cost of running larger buses negligible, and costs due to driver & maintenance. Can be cheaper than switching buses."
17. #OCTA Low-income rider: "Could there be a way to recover a bus pass, if it gets lost or stolen?" & "New Santa Ana transit ctr coming?"...
18. #OCTA "42 is jam-packed full. ... I've heard this nonsense that you don't have money for 19 years. Buses are so overcrowded..."
19. #OCTA "I've had it with OCTA! You haven't heard the last of me!"
20. #OCTA Q: "which of you have ridden the bus here?" None of the boardmembers raise their hands. "So you're not affected."
21. #OCTA "The dentist doesn't need a toothache to know how to fix it."
22. #OCTA Winterbottom: "We have one function: transportation. The main diff is that the more riders we get, the more it costs us. ..."
23. #OCTA Phil Capo of TAOC: "Upset that owl service will be eliminated. And why is OCTA's cuts much higher?"
24. #OCTA Director Cathy Green: "Cutting one bus in the middle doesn't cut all the other staff needed to support..."
25. #OCTA Public member: "Hard to visualize what the new routes in options C, D look like." Ellen Burton: "Maps made today; will post online."
26. #OCTA "Bike racks getting full... Why didn't you buy more articulated buses if there's going to be overcrowding?"
27. #OCTA "It's not safer or faster anymore. More standing routes... I saw a wheelchair roll around on one of your bus!"
28. #OCTA "No schedules posted, fewer phone operators, fewer bus books...unless I have a laptop and wi-fi, I don't know what's going on."
29. #OCTA "I need the Night Owls b/c I live in Orange and work in Anaheim...I go home at 1am. I can't walk for 3 hours."
30. #OCTA Public: "There's no more low-hanging fruit, but Ellen says you're looking for other funding sources."
31. #OCTA "There are other options, besides cuts. Your staff is looking into this."
32. #OCTA Winterbottom: "We've hit a lot of easy funding. The Board may decide to use funding reserves, but I doubt it..."
33. #OCTA Winterbottom: "Most of our riders don't drive cars so this poppulation won't affect traffic if there are bus cuts."
34. #OCTA TAOC's Roy: "There are transit funding sources OCTA's using for non-transit purposes, and the public should know about this."
35. #OCTA Public: "From 1993 to 2000, OC Sheriffs maintained security for OCTA. Then transit bureau was raided..."
36. #OCTA "...for many years, Sheriff special officers are assigned to things like airport. Sheriff special officers aren't lumped in w union...
37. #OCTA "...and deputy sheriffs cost $30,000 more and have more benefits. They do a great job, but (somehow deputy sheriffs took...
38. #OCTA ...control of transit security.) You might not be aware of these items..., but special times call for creative measures."
39. #OCTA Jane Reifer: "Bus booklets never said 74 line would be cut. But cuts were made. Riders need to know what cuts will be made..."
40. #OCTA "...since service levels are down, ridership is down. OCTA should acknowledge this."
41. #OCTA Jane Reifer: "$80 or $90 million could be found. Last year, OCTA used transit moneys to purchase toll lanes. OCTA Board decided...
42. #OCTA ...You could save $47 million from Metrolink's Commuter Urban Rail Endowment which hasn't been executed, and can be used for buses."
43. #OCTA Winterbottom: "This Board is very reluctant to use 1-time funds."
44. #OCTA Jane Reifer: "OCTA could save Night Owl service by stopping printing of bus system map. That's $2 million right there."
45. #OCTA Disabled: "Representing Dale Mackintosh Ctr seniors & disabled. Route 56 is up and that serves us. Option A bad b/c of no ACCESS svc."
46. #OCTA Disabled person: "Elimination of routes will be a catastrophe for our county."
47. #OCTA Meeting ends. Will post blog summary.