Steven's blog

UC Irvine's weekly student newspaper, The New University, published an op-ed highlighting one UC Irvine's student viewpoint on OCTA's bus service cuts. Minhquan, a 5th-year journalism student, takes the 29 and 178 from Huntington Beach to UC Irvine each day. Republished here with Minhquan's kind permission.

OCTA Cuts Leave Riders Stranded

by Minhquan Nguyen - Volume 42, Issue 23 - Apr 06 2009

When the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) posted its annual report for 2008, the figures seemed promising for the county’s central transportation agency. Despite sharp increases in the price of gasoline – or, perhaps, because of it – bus rider-ship reached an all-time high of nearly 69 million, a very decent figure for a county as car-obsessed as ours.

Yet despite the growth of riders, OCTA continues to face budgetary stresses, which are exacerbated by the Great Recession sweeping the country at the moment. It should be understood that in addition to the bus system, OCTA is responsible for the improvement of streets and highways as well as improving the service of Metrolink rails within the county. Although OCTA draws funds from fares, tolls, interest on investments and federal support, most of the money in its 2008-09 fiscal budget comes from its own reserves (28 percent), state sources (23 percent) and local sources (29 percent). The latter two sources are largely derived from a state quarter-percent sales tax and a county half-percent sales tax, which were, respectively, originally estimated to total almost $400 million out of a $1.06 billion budget. read more→

And it's accessible by bus (see below for the bus pass deal)!

It was a little over a month ago that my friends and I held our Grand Opening with the Chancellor of UC Irvine, along with many special guests. The UC Irvine Outreach Clinics serves the growing uninsured population in Orange County, those who can't afford basic primary care services. Our clinic has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Southern California Public Radio KPCC, and on the front page of UC Irvine's main website.

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I'm very happy with a personal goal I set out for myself this year: to lose weight, despite the crushing workload of med school!

Although I definitely don't have, like, big muscles, I've noticed I fit comfortably in medium-sized shirts. My clothes have gotten considerably baggier. I'm also surprised I've been able to commit at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. Before 2009, I wouldn't have lifted a weight to save my life.

My body fat has been decreasing, too. I've been using different methods of estimating the body fat with different formulas, so my chart below (the screenshot of My Personal Diet on my phone) zig-zags quite a bit. But I definitely feel thinner: my clothes have gotten baggier and my belts are all too long. read more→

More bad news for transit riders, particularly those riding Southern California's commuter rail provider Metrolink. Their website has the gory details:

"Metrolink is considering an average annual fare increase ranging from 3.5% to 5.5% in 2009 to offset anticipated increases in costs to operate commuter train service.   If approved by the Board, the new fares would go into effect on July 1, 2009."

Metrolink is also ending free transfers: "Metrolink one-way and round trip tickets would no longer include the transfer privilege for connections with EZ Transit Pass or TAP-enabled operators in Los Angeles County. Customers using one-way and round trip tickets would be required to pay the regular fare to use connecting transit services." read more→

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This article in Tuesday's Orange County Register did a very good job at dispelling the myth that the bus is just for the "undocumented" and shows how hard OCTA's 25% cut in transit service impacts students. (read below)

I myself have had a lot harder time getting around Orange County since buses are more crowded. Line 57's less frequent scheduling has caused buses to show up late (it takes additional time for more riders to alight), along with some crazy bus bunching issues. I've had to abandon using my full-sized bicycle since the racks are almost always full. Now, I wouldn't have a problem with less service if Orange County weren't also studying a $3.8-billion tunnel to lengthen the 57 freeway under the Santa Ana River. Oh, and the 91 freeway expansion. And the proposal to double-decker the 55 freeway through Newport Blvd. And the freeway expansion along the 405-22 junction. The imbalance in transportation makes me pissed beyond belief. read more→

This past Monday, OCTA officially voted to axe 25% of its bus service and lay off 400 bus drivers, supervisors, and maintenance personnel to cope with the zeroed State Transit Assistance funds and loss in local revenue to support the transit system.

Riders will endure longer waits at bus stops for more crowded buses, as OCTA is turning down service frequencies. My take: this is much more preferable to axing whole bus lines (San Diego's approach). Since Orange County is such a sprawling suburban area, there are unfortunately no "redundant" bus lines to cut. read more→

During last Wednesday's OCTA customer roundtable, the unofficial word from staff members was that rapid bus service couldn't begin this year because implementing it means dipping from the same financial pot as local service. They're hoping to launch both the Westminster Line and the Harbor Line at the same time in June 2010, and then the Brea-Irvine rapid bus later in 2010. read more→

The cuts will keep on coming. This June, OCTA will reduce bus frequencies and service times (bus lines may end service earlier or begin later). The major service reduction comes to line 60; full trips will go only as far as 7th/Channel at the Long Beach Memorial V.A. Hospital, forcing riders to transfer. This also makes 24-hour travel impossible between Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Orange County as Long Beach Transit offers no 24-hour service. So much for my plan to rely on OCTA while I'm doing my hospital rotations.

Although OCTA enjoyed double-digit increases in bus ridership last year, ridership plunged 7% in January and 14% in February, according to OCTA staff. They're attributing this to the rising unemployment rate in California and lowered gas prices. read more→

OCTA seems to be doing its best to stem the budget hemorrhage by not eliminating any routes, but instead slashing frequencies.

Schwarznegger and state Republican leaders forced the elimination of 100% of state transit funding, so now it's up to the county and cities to fend for themselves. OCTA has even dedicated a whole section of their website to the cuts taking place to public transit and to employees. They write:

Plummeting state sales tax revenue also will result in a $19 million loss for OCTA. The transportation agency is facing a more than $35 million shortfall in this year’s $263 million budget. read more→