Beginning in January 2022, Santa Maria public transportation users will see 25 new bus stops, 45-minute frequencies, consistent schedules, and easier bus transfers, Santa Maria Regional Transit Manager Gamaliel Anguiano said.
Although the pandemic challenged the public transportation system, Anguiano said it also presented an opportunity to fix the system through service changes—which the Santa Maria City Council approved during its Dec. 8 meeting.
“We view transit as a lifeline service. We realize public transit helps some of the most vulnerable people have access to their jobs—not providing service is not an option,” Anguiano said.
The Santa Maria Regional Transit plan was data driven and relied on community feedback after a series of virtual workshops that more than 70 area residents attended to ask questions and add input, he said.
“Within the plan, we had comments, suggestions, and requests. Whenever they were operational, logistically feasible, they ultimately shaped the plan the council adopted,” Anguiano said.
One solution the transit team included is the “hub-and-spoke” approach, where the hub is the transit center and spokes are the routes. This provides a timed transfer between routes available at the transit center, making it more efficient for riders to get to their destinations and back, he said.
“[We’re] realigning and restructuring our routes in a way that we can support our community, [which] is a huge value to the city,” Anguiano said.
The changes add a new one-day pass for $3, discontinues fee transfers, adds a new $12 seven-day pass, and temporarily reduces the cost of the 31-day pass from $48 to $31. Eventually, the transit division would like to include a bus-tracking app, smartphone bus passes, and electric buses.
The weekday and weekend schedules will also be the same—focusing services from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.—and transit users will only have to learn one schedule, Anguiano continued.
“This makes it much easier for our riders to know what time the buses are coming. The current model has a separate schedule for the weekend; now, they align so they are one and the same,” he said.
The changes result in a need for fewer drivers, which is important for maintaining service levels during the driver shortage, Anguiano added.
“The whole industry has been impacted by a labor shortage. This has affected both school districts and people at a time where they rely on public transit like never before,” he said. “By shortening our routes, we are able to provide an equivalent level of service, but with less resources.”
Santa Maria’s transportation department understood that many of the school districts had to stop several school bus routes, and students moved to the public transit system to get to and from school, Anguiano said.
“By designing a route that was more amenable to students making that connection, we are able to better serve students and families,” he said.
These changes are “guidance documents” for the next five years, and can be adjusted with data and more public input in the years to come, Anguiano added.
“The plan is not prescriptive; it’s a living document. It’s flexible and understands that the world continues to change and evolve. The plan is there to reassure the public that their public funds are being invested in the best way possible,” he said.
This article appears in Dec 16-23, 2021.