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Transit Authority says no more cuts in services |
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Thursday, 24 July 2008 |
Minimal fare increases preferable to cuts in service
By Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 PHOTOS COURTESY OF SELENA BARLOW/TRANSIT MARKETINGS
“The services we've already reduced since the last meeting should be the extent of the reduction in bus route services,” board member Skip Harvey said.
Many people who rely solely on ESTA for their transportation are very concerned about the possibility of an additional reduction in services. “Much of the correspondence we've received regarding the potential reduction in services reflected what the people who have been attending the meetings have been saying,” said John Helm, Executive Director of ESTA. “They are concerned that they won't be able to get to where they need to be.”
“Some people were concerned that if services are cut, they will have to wait longer for the buses to arrive,” said ESTA board member Linda Arcularius. “In the Owens Valley they can't be sitting in the hot sun for long periods of time waiting for a bus.”
Bridget Solomon lived in Mammoth for years and now resides in Bishop. She is newly disabled and uses the Dial-A-Ride, sometimes several times a day, and said this is often her only means of transportation. “I don't expect ESTA to make the disabled a priority but maybe servicing us before the able-bodied people might be something to consider,” Solomon said. “I beg you as a person who uses the service daily to not cut the service but increase the rates. It makes much more sense to increase the rates than it does to cut the services.”
The disabled also need to know that they can use the fixed route buses. “We are making sure that everyone knows they can use the fixed bus routes. Most of our buses have space available for wheelchair accommodation,” Helm said.
Dan Owen, an advocate for the disabled for more than eight years and someone who is disabled himself, said that cutting the services would be worse than increasing the rates.
The proposed bus fare increase of fifty cents is doable for most people who use ESTA services as a way to get to where they have to be. Another option would be to increase the fixed-route fares by twenty-five cents and the Dial-A-Ride rates by fifty cents. “This could raise an additional $66,000 in the upcoming fiscal year to help achieve a balanced budget,” Helm said.
Helm said that the federal government has passed legislation that would bring forth $100 million dollars to be spread among rural communities that are having difficulties because of rising operating costs. “If this passes President Bush, we could be able to get a share of this money over the next two years,” Helm said. “It's for those of us dealing with higher operating costs due to the increase in gas rates but the Web site for the American Public Transit Association is already saying that President Bush will come out strong against the bill.”
“Our primary mission is to provide transportation for those who cannot drive themselves and cannot get transportation any other way,” said board member Jeff Griffiths. “Over the long term gas prices are not going to go down and we have to find the most efficient way to continue with the services we have, like the fixed routes.”
This is the logo and color scheme the Eastern Sierra Transit Board agreed upon for their branding choice. All transit buses in the region will eventually look similar with distinctive 'postcards' so the public knows their route.
Eastern Sierra buses headed for a certain 'sameness'
Selena Barlow from Transit Marketing out of Tuscon, Ariz., was hired by ESTA as part of the Short Range Transit Plan project and is developing a complete marketing plan for ESTA as well as branding designs. “Branding is the first step in regional integration,” Barlow said. “It's marketing at its most basic because it's how we identify the transit services and anything associated with them.”
The goal of ESTA is to have consistent signage throughout the region to let people know that transit is available and how to use it. “Out of the hodgepodge of looks and services in the area, our challenge was to create a cohesive brand for everything that is used for transportation in the Eastern Sierra,” Barlow said.
“We are committed to moving ahead as quickly as we can to make this happen,” said Mammoth/Yosemite Airport Manager Bill Manning
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 July 2008 )
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