SENIOR TRANSPORTATION: The need
for transportation has been a concern identified in a recent survey of Siskiyou County
seniors. A group of people has been working on the challenge of meeting the need for
public transportation for Senior citizens and the disabled in Siskiyou County. Under the
current system, there are just not enough riders of this type to support the costs.
Compared to Redding and Chico, our costs per mile are lower, however, the number of miles
STAGE (Siskiyou Transit and General Express) has to travel and the low number of
non-commuter riders using the service creates a large per rider cost. This can make fares
too high to entice riders.
At least 25 percent of the costs of the service must be recovered. (A
recent experiment in Saturday service had to be discontinued as ridership returned only 6%
of the $24,000 in costs.) The rest of the costs is subsidized through one quarter of a
cent revenue from local retail sales taxes. This revenue is anticipated to decrease. It is
also currently being split between cities for their roads and STAGE for its subsidy.
Public transit is considered the priority, but a shift means less money for local city
roads. The State Transit Assistance (STA) grants for operating expenses have been cut to Siskiyou
County from $500,000 to zero. Other grants, such as Prop. 1B for public transit
modernization, are not in the State’s budget because the State’s fiscal
situation has deteriorated to where it can’t sell its bonds. The County is waiting on
up to $1.9 million in STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) funds to be used for
buses. Original plans were to purchase some smaller 10 passenger buses.
In addition, vehicles must be specially fitted for the disabled
– wheel chair amenable. Routes must be
flexible and provide curb to curb and in some cases door to door service.
A working group is trying to figure out how it can combine STAGE
resources with many of the buses and transportation services currently provided separately
by County agencies and non-profits to create a network of “paratransit” services
for Seniors and the disabled that can accommodate others as well – such as Human
Service clients or students traveling between the Yreka and Weed campuses. Some regular
routes might be established in high rider areas. Some may require reservations for
services a few days in advance. There might be the possibility of subscription services
for regular trips by a rider to a nutrition site, etc. It has been determined that this
would probably require the coordinating services of a “mobility manager” to
choreograph the various resources with needs. How would that individual be paid?
The logistics of identifying potential partners; inventorying buses
and their capabilities; deciding on the form of agreements between partners; figuring out
how liability and insurance would work; determining the need for the service in planning
routes; determining the real willingness of riders to use the service if it is put in
place is very complex. It is hard to get your arms around what the relationships, system
and physical reality of buses or vans on the road would look like. For instance, one
possibility discussed would be to gather people through a flexible pre-reservation route
through Scott Valley two or three days a week and bring them into the Family Resource
Center or another site along the regular bus route so they could transfer to a larger bus
to move them between the cities in the County.
A questionnaire has been developed by STAGE to inventory potential
partner resources and partner needs. If you are interested in partnering in the
paratransit network or are an agency or non-profit and can let us know your needs, please
contact STAGE at 842-8295. A needs assessment will likely be done in the near future to
determine senior and disabled interest in such a service. I invite anyone with prior
expertise in this area or with suggestions on how to approach to work with us. You can
also e-mail me at marmstrong@co.siskiyou.ca.us
CHILD
ABUSE PREVENTION: Mark your calendars – the annual Walk/Run hosted by the Child Abuse
Prevention Council will be held on Saturday, April 4 at the Yreka
High
School
track. There is a $10 cost ($20 per team) for pre-registration (including T-Shirt) http://www.fisrt5siskiyou.org or $12 per
individual or 3 cans of food on the day of the event. Please call Amy Conroy at 926-5927
for additional information. |
