Transit Advocates: Volunteers needed, and attend the meetings about March's bus cuts
Submitted by Steven on 13 September, 2009 - 8:25pm
Here's a recent mailing from the Transit Advocates of Orange County. I'll try to make this meeting tomorrow morning and blog about this afterwards; keep your ears posted on @TransitRiderOC on Twitter.
Attend Sept 14 OCTA Bus Cuts Board Meeting
Agenda Item 10 - Possible March 2010 Service Change Scenarios
OCTA Board Meeting, Monday, 9 am at OCTA headquarters at 600 S. Main St, south of La Veta in Orange
We were expecting OCTA staff to unveil their proposed March cuts at tomorrow morning’s board meeting, but it seems like they are only going to rehash concepts of possible theories of how to cut. The board is not being asked to make a decision on the item, just “receive and file”. With a series of community meetings and a public hearing coming up, bus riders need to know what the proposed cuts are going to be so we can give OCTA our best feedback.
Please plan on attending so you can stay informed and let them know that we need to see specifics before the community meetings or we won’t be able to give appropriate feedback. If you are going to speak, just fill out a blue speakers card outside the room and hand it to the OCTA Clerk of the Board staff in the front row of the audience. Your name will be called for the appropriate agenda item.
Please let us know if you’re planning on attending. We’d like to meet you afterward, so we’ll gather outside the building 5 minutes after the agenda item ends. We’ll also have flyers and sign-up sheets for you to pick up.
Save the Dates
Key dates – If you can only attend one, attend the public hearing* and / or the vote**:
Sept. 14 – Monday, 9 am, OCTA HQ - Share March Cuts options
*Oct. 26 – Monday, 9 am, OCTA HQ - March Cuts public hearing
**Nov. 23 – Monday, 9 am, OCTA HQ – March Cuts board vote
Community meetings about March cuts - encourage local bus riders to attend:
Sept 24 – Thursday, 6-8 pm – OCTA Headquarters, 600 S. Main St., Orange, CA.
Sept 29 – Tuesday, 6-8 pm – Anaheim Community Center, 250 E. Center St.
Oct 1 – Thursday, 6-8 pm - Laguna Hills Community Center, 25555 Alicia Pkwy., Heritage Room, Laguna Hills
Volunteers Needed
1. Most important: Sign up bus riders
2. Pass out our flyers (attached to this post)
3. Attend OCTA board meetings
4. Event Coordinator
5. Translate our flyers into Spanish
6. Translate at meetings into Spanish
7. Research
8. Report on Rt. 42 cuts
9. Printing
Comments
Please OCTA, continue
Please OCTA, continue supporting the key routes, even if it means totally cutting service on a few of the lessor used routes.
29, 43, 50 and 60 should be untouched. They are the backbone of the system. Cut elsewhere if you must.
Comments anyone?
Backbone
I think they're doing a pretty good job of preserving the backbone of the system (e.g. September's service changes don't touch 57 and 60). However, ridership will likely decrease on these core bus lines because of less service with connecting bus lines. That's my take.
On a useful bus system, the
On a useful bus system, the wait is 20 minutes. On a useless bus system, the wait is 30 minutes. It does not take that much to destroy a fine bus system. That is exactly what is happening to the OCTA bus system.
It is an ideology of cutting service while raising fees that we must resist. The same is happening to state parks and universities. We must resist these cuts, because nothing else will stop them. The scale of the problem in no way justifies the size of the cuts. Use you common sense, people.