Public Transportation Failing in Orange County

Southern California was designed with the automobile in mind. It was never designed from the standpoint of making public transportation a major feature in moving people around.

We do have a public bus system, and despite having lived nearly my entire life in the county, I've never set foot on one. I don't know what the fare is or where I could go. Not interested.

Some in the Orange County political leadership are now questioning whether a public transportation system is even worth the cost and effort:

Revenue at the county's transportation agency continues to shrink amid drops in bus ridership – leading one board member to question whether bus service is necessary in Orange County.

Weekday ridership on Orange County Transportation Authority buses was down about 20 percent in June compared to the same month a year earlier, said Kenneth Phipps, OCTA's executive director of finance and administration.

Fare revenue is now projected to be $4 million to $5 million less than the $63.4 million budgeted for the current fiscal year, Phipps told the agency's board on Monday.

A 25-cent fare increase in January, a 7-percent reduction in bus service, and a rise in unemployment contributed to the drop in ridership, Phipps said. Another factor is lower gasoline prices.

Including weekends, there were 4.75 million boardings of OCTA buses in June, compared to 5.86 million in June 2008.

Board member John Moorlach, also a county supervisor, said OCTA's board should look at whether the agency should even offer bus service. He asked the agency's staff to find out what percentage of the county's population regularly rides the bus, and how that compares to other counties. He also asked for data to compare ridership declines with drops in population and job losses.

"Is there a point where maybe a bus system isn't even necessary?" Moorlach said in an interview. "That's maybe a radical thing, but it seems to me every once in a while you need to have that kind of dialogue."

Art Brown, an OCTA board member and a Buena Park councilman, believes the drop in ridership is related to a decline in the population of core riders – working immigrants. They are increasingly leaving the state to find work, he said.

"I think it's because of the lack of jobs and the cost of living here," Brown said. "It doesn't make much difference if you're here legally or if you're undocumented – if you can't find a job, you're going to go somewhere where you can."

Art Brown may describe the core ridership as "working immigrants", but my guess is you could also accurately describe most of them as "illegal immigrants". I have read elsewhere that fewer illegals are coming into the area because of the lack of jobs, and more who have been here are headed home. That would certainly take away a chunk of ridership.

Of course, raising fares in the middle of a down economy is not exactly a recipe for success either. If they really want to see if a bus system is needed, cut fares and see if ridership dramatically improves. They could even end up making more money that way and justify increased routes. All too often governmental organizations think that increased rates automatically guarantees increased revenues. Not necessarily.

I'm sure we'll always have a public bus system because there will always be people without cars or other reliable ways to get around. Besides that, the local teens who haven't got a license yet still need a way to get to the beach.