Let Them Ride Buses

Members of the Ventura County Transportation Commission got a good giggle out of a suggestion from the grand jury that those who make the decisions about the county’s public transit system actually ride it now and then.

Not us, they chuckled, we don’t have time to wait all day for some pokey bus or train.

And that’s exactly why we second the recommendation. Like chefs who won’t eat their own cooking or school board members who send their kids to private schools, we think the officials whom county residents have empowered to oversee our transit systems ought to sample the product regularly. Otherwise, they’ll never know just how minimal Ventura County’s public transit system is.

The grand jury called it “sadly inadequate”--frustrating to those who have no choice and untempting to motorists who might be persuaded to leave their cars home now and then.

The report was critical of the way the VCTC routinely diverts state Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds, intended for public transit service, to be spent on road and street improvements. Such diversions are legal if VCTC has determined that “all reasonable transit needs are met”--which it routinely does. However, the grand jury found, “the definitions of unmet needs were so narrow and arbitrary that even manifest needs, such as the extension of the El Rio route to include a large subsidized housing project, were rejected.” Ask anyone waiting for a bus--or stuck in their car during a rush-hour traffic gridlock--if they believe all of Ventura County’s mass transit needs are being met.

The problem is that all local transit officials work under the direction of public works departments--exactly the outfits that receive any money not spent on public transit. The grand jury recommends correcting this blatant conflict of interest by severing transit from public works in each local jurisdiction.

The Times supports public transit. As our streets and highways become more crowded, the no-brainer thing to do is build more streets and highways. But in many cases the smart thing to do is to improve public transportation systems so people who would just as soon not drive have another option. In addition, efficient and reliable transit systems give independence to the young, the old, the disabled and others who cannot drive. As Ventura County’s population grows--and grows older--the value of all our public transportation efforts will grow.

We encourage the city of Ventura to move ahead with its plans to join the Metrolink system. We urge all elected officials to review the grand jury report and take a look at how they might improve things in their own area.

And we invite everyone--especially the people who decide whether or not Ventura County’s transit needs are being met--to ride a bus or train now and then.