Enthusiasm, Confusion Mark VISTA Debut : Transportation: New countywide bus system survives first-day glitches, makes history.

The buses were late, the schedules missing and the riders confused.

But despite the glitches, the launch of the new countywide VISTA bus service Tuesday was met with enthusiasm by skeptics and supporters alike.

For one thing, VISTA, or Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority, provides bus service linking every city in Ventura County except Ojai for the first time in county history.

For another, its $1.9-million annual cost is covered in large part by federal funds in a two-year trial program designed to coax residents onto public transportation.

Simi Valley City Councilman Bill Davis, who also serves on the Ventura County Transportation Commission, has been an outspoken VISTA critic, arguing that the program will be costly and unpopular.

“I’ve been very skeptical of this ever since the idea was proposed,” Davis said. “But now that it’s under way, the thing to do is set that aside and let the service speak for itself.”

Mary Travis, spokeswoman for the Transportation Commission, said she is confident that once residents learn about the new bus service, they will be eager to try it. And once they try it, she said, they will return for its comfort, cost and convenience.

The new bus system provides far more connections than the old one, uses luxury coaches with restrooms and costs only $1 for a typical adult ticket. Travel time compares with that on the few old routes--about an hour, for example, from The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks to the Buenaventura Mall in Ventura.

*

Travis said the commission is planning to wait several months--until all the kinks in service are ironed out--before launching a major advertising campaign.

“There are always last-minute problems to be taken care of,” Travis said. “All in all I think Day 1 went pretty well, and we’ll be smoothing things out even more over the next few weeks.”

On Tuesday morning, buses were running about 15 minutes behind schedule as drivers figured out their routes and took extra time to answer questions from passengers and curious passersby.

Halfway through the morning, driver Ted Martinez had answered dozens of questions, but had not picked up a single passenger on his Oxnard-area route.

Yet the veteran bus driver--who was hired for the trial period--seemed unfazed.

“I’ve had lots of people come on board to ask me what this bus is for, and then say they’ll be back to ride it,” Martinez said. “I think once people find out about it, it’s going to be very popular.”

Martinez’s effort to spread the word was stymied a bit by a shortage of schedules.

Travis said almost all of the 5,000 pre-printed schedules had been scooped up ahead of time, and schedules from a second printing were not yet available.

“We’ve had much more interest than we expected in the past few weeks,” Travis said. “We should have another batch of schedules out by Friday.

By the end of the first year of service, transit officials are hoping to attract between 200 and 400 riders a day on each of VISTA’s four lines.

The hope, said Travis, is that riders will find the 44-passenger coaches--with their restrooms, luggage racks, air conditioning and reclining seats--an easy, comfortable way to get around.

*

In Oxnard, South Coast Area Transit rider Idolene Spann, 32, was pleased to discover that VISTA could get her to her hairdresser at Silver Strand.

“That’s great,” she told the driver. “I am always looking for easier ways to get around.”

At The Oaks mall, VISTA caused confusion as riders accustomed to taking the Interconnect bus to Camarillo and Ventura puzzled over the new service.

They discovered that their old timetables were no longer any good, and that the old green Interconnect buses had been replaced with freshly painted turquoise, sky blue and purple VISTA coaches running on a different schedule.

Planning to visit her daughter in Ventura, Jaye Maria, 78, had arrived at the Thousand Oaks mall at 8:30 for the 9:10 Interconnect bus she has taken for the weekly trip.

When the bus did not show, Maria scoured the bus stop, searching in vain for a new bus schedule or notice of the change.

By the time another waiting passenger told Maria that Interconnect had been replaced by VISTA, she had failed to board the 9:05 VISTA bus to Ventura.

“It’s really confusing,” Maria said as she folded up her old Interconnect schedule and tucked it in her purse. “I’m glad they’re expanding the service, but if they’re going to change the times, they should at least give us a schedule.”

The VISTA service consists of four fixed routes and five Dial-a-Ride routes.

On VISTA schedules, the fixed routes are identified as follows.

* VISTA Highway 126 from Fillmore to Ventura, including stops at the Buenaventura Mall and the Ventura County Medical Center.

* VISTA Highway 101 connects with VISTA Highway 126 and runs through Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo to Thousand Oaks. Stops include Ventura College and the County Government Center in Ventura, the Camarillo Metrolink Station and The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks.

* VISTA Central runs between Oxnard and Camarillo, including stops at the Oxnard Transportation Center, Point Mugu Naval Air Center and Camarillo State Hospital.

* VISTA East serves Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, crossing into Los Angeles County with a stop in Agoura Hills.

In less-populated areas, residents who live far from bus routes can call VISTA and arrange to be picked up at their homes and taken to the nearest bus stop.

Areas offering this type of service, called Dial-a-Ride, are Santa Paula, Fillmore, Agoura Hills, Oak Park and Westlake Village.

*

VISTA buses run Mondays through Fridays from about 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Some routes offer hourly service. On others, buses run every half hour. There is no weekend service.

Fares on fixed routes are $1 for adults, 75 cents for students and 50 cents for senior citizens. Drivers do not make change.

Monthly passes, which can be purchased by phone or at any city hall in the county, are $34 for adults, $26 for students and $15 for senior citizens.

The passes may be used on VISTA and on city buses throughout the county.

Tickets on Dial-a-Ride service cost $1.50 for adults, $1 for students and 75 cents for senior citizens.

Monthly Dial-a-Ride passes are $50 for adults, $42 for students and $31 for senior citizens.

New VISTA Bus Service A new countywide bus system began running Tuesday,w ith service to every local city exceptOjai. The new service operates as VISTA, or Ventura Intercity Transit Authority. Source: Ventura County Transportation Commission (information compiled in 1993); Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.