VTA pumps brakes on service cutbacks, will add more buses
South Bay bus riders are in for a temporary reprieve after Valley Transportation Authority leaders announced Nov. 17 that they are pressing pause on proposed cuts to the bus and light-rail network that could have seen local transit service slashed to its lowest levels in decades.
VTA instead plans to do the opposite, at least in the short term. The agency will increase the frequency of buses on several of its most popular routes where coaches frequently hit tight capacity limits to allow for social distancing, forcing drivers to leave would-be riders stranded at stops.
It’s a problem that has happened thousands of times since the spring — recently, VTA data showed its buses went into “dropoff only” mode 285 times per weekday on average. Monica Mallon, a VTA rider and activist who founded the group Turnout 4 Transit, says buses have passed her by at stops along route 22 on several occasions in recent months because coaches were full. She said that can add 15 minutes to her trip as she waits for another bus.
“It’s really frustrating,”
Mallon said. And she considers herself fortunate — Mallon works from home, taking the bus for other trips where she typically can afford to be late, unlike workers who rely on VTA.
“There’s only so many times that you can be late to work before you buy a car or you get fired,” she said. “People need to get picked up. They need to have reliable service.”
Authority leaders announced the plan with few specifics Nov. 17 — it’s not yet clear what lines will get more frequent service, when the extra buses will start or how an agency that had been considering severe cuts amid a dire longterm financial outlook will pay for the extra service.
Spokeswoman Brandi Childress warned that adding more frequent buses on some routes could have consequences elsewhere. VTA officials are considering running fewer buses on less popular lines to shift coaches and drivers to core routes, Childress said, in which case the better service for some riders would mean longer waits for others.
“We are still in the same financial situation,” Childress said.
She estimated that three to six especially popular lines — perhaps including routes 22, 23 and 66, where buses now come every 15 minutes — could see more frequent service in a matter of “weeks, not months.”
Before the decision, VTA officials had been considering a plan to reduce the frequency of bus service across much of their network and shut down lightrail service earlier each night compared to prepandemic levels to save tens of millions of dollars per year. The agency so far has not sought any staff layoffs or furloughs to reduce expenses.
“This is something that we can shelve right now,” Childress said of the cuts, though she warned, “It’s just a pause — it’s not going away.”
Though the plan announced Nov. 17 would amount to an increase of service over temporary cuts made during the pandemic, transit riders and advocates have warned the result would be longer and less reliable trips for those who rely on public transportation in the post-coronavirus world and millions more trips taken by car instead. Mallon said she plans to continue lobbying against any permanent cuts next year.
“We have a very difficult battle ahead of us to preserve transit service,” Mallon said.