GILROY
– A handful of local citizens grilled representatives of the
Valley Transportation Agency about proposed local bus route
reductions Tuesday afternoon.
GILROY – A handful of local citizens grilled representatives of the Valley Transportation Agency about proposed local bus route reductions Tuesday afternoon.
The dialogue came at a meeting called by the VTA in an effort to receive community feedback and concerns about five proposed bus route reductions in Gilroy. In November, the VTA announced its proposal to make reductions to or eliminate 65 of the county’s 72 bus lines due to a devastating $80 million budget crisis. Tuesday’s meeting in Gilroy was the second of nine similar meetings that will be held in different communities throughout Santa Clara County.
“If they make these changes, it means I will have to walk for 25 minutes to get to the bus I need to go to,” said Oga Carrillo at the meeting, a Gavilan College student who cannot drive because she is disabled. “This will be very inconvenient to a lot of people.”
Changes to local bus routes outlined in the VTA’s proposal include Lines 17, 18, 19, 68 and Express Line 521. Line 18 is the only route being proposed for elimination; the other four could be reduced, consolidating either distance covered, number of stops, operating times or any mix of the three. If approved in early February by the 12-member VTA board of directors – which includes District 1 Supervisor Don Gage and Mayor Tom Springer – the changes will be effective April 14. The majority of rider fares will stay the same.
Some of the more prominent changes proposed to Gilroy bus routes would reduce the amount of ground Line 17 covers downtown, eliminate Miller Avenue from Line 19, eliminate Gavilan College from late-night trips on Line 68 from San Jose and consolidate two morning trips on Express Line 521 from the Gilroy Transit Center to Lockheed Martin/Moffett Park into one.
Modifications to Line 17 would reroute the bus down Monterey Road instead of Eigleberry Street, something the VTA said was requested by the city to reduce the stress on an already collapsing Eigleberry Street.
But Cecilia Root doesn’t think that is a good idea.
“Changing that route means seniors like me have to walk a long block to the post office,” said Root, who does not ride the bus anymore because of a bad leg but showed up at the meeting to make sure the VTA heard the concerns of her friends who could not attend.
While six representatives of the VTA, including the chief financial officer, listened intently to the citizens’ concerns Tuesday, they used a barrage of charts and graphs to demonstrate the agency’s financial woes.
Facing a local economy that saw sale’s tax figures drop 21 percent below projections last fiscal year, the VTA – which receives 80 percent of its bus and rail operations funding from sale’s tax – is scrambling to make up the $80 million decline in agency revenue over the last year. The VTA is operating on a budget approaching $350 million this year, and in recent months it has cut more than $164 million in spending, downgraded services and eliminated more than 300 jobs – 11 percent of its work force.
“We are not happy to be here, but this is something that must be done if we want any buses to continue to operate,” said Scott Buhrer, the VTA’s chief financial officer. “We are spending $5 million a month in reserves right now, and that means by June 30 we will be broke.”
Proposed service reductions
• Line 17 (Gilroy Transit Center to Saint Louise Hospital): The routing would be modified to operate on Lewis Street between Forest Street and Monterey Road, and on Monterey Road between Lewis and Eighth Street. On weekends, service would operate every 60 minutes.
• Line 18 (Gilroy Transit Center to Monterey and Farrell): This line would be discontinued. In conjunction with this change, Line 19 would be rerouted to pick up the portion of Line 18 operating on Wren (between Sixth and First) and Montebello.
• Line 19 (Gilroy Transit Center to Sunrise and Santa Teresa): The routing would be modified to pick up the portion of Line 18 operating on Wren (between Sixth and First) and Montebello. All service on Miller would be eliminated. Service on Montebello would be limited to approximately 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. In coordination with school hours at Gilroy High School, one morning and one afternoon trip would operate to Sunrise, Rancho Hills and Longmeadow.
• Line 68 (San Jose Caltrain Station to Gilroy/Gavilan College): The routing through Gilroy would be modified to operate through downtown Gilroy via Monterey instead of Eigleberry. On weekdays, the 1:05 a.m. southbound trip would be deleted; the 10 p.m. northbound trip leaving Gavilan College would be shortened to start from Gilroy Caltrain Station; and the 8:05 p.m. southbound trip would end at Gilroy Caltrain Station.
• Express Line 521 (Gilroy Transit Center to Lockheed Martin/Moffett Park): The 5:21 and 5:44 a.m. northbound trips would be combined into one trip.
Changes would be effective in April 2003.
Comments on the proposed routes can be sent to the VTA via e-mail at www.vta.org. The deadline for comments is Dec. 13.
