- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Lake Transit receives funds to expand evening bus services
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake Transit Authority is among a number of public transit agencies and projects statewide that have been awarded funding to expand services to low-income residents who use buses to commute to work.
Caltrans said it has awarded approximately $17,465,068 to 105 public transit projects across California under the Job Access & Reverse Commute and New Freedom programs.
The agency said the projects that received the funds are designed to help low-income people and those with disabilities to access employment and employment-related activities such as job training and job interviews more easily. It also includes transporting people to employment opportunities in suburban areas and city centers.
“We want to make it easier for people to get to work,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “People who rely on transit will have more opportunities, and that’s the point of a good transit system.”
Lake Transit received $250,000 to pay for expanding is service hours to 10 p.m. or after for service to Clearlake, Lakeport, Lower Lake, Clearlake Oaks, Glenhaven, Lucerne, Nice, Upper Lake and Kelseyville.
The total estimated cost of expanding Lake Transit’s services hours is $378,438, according to a Caltrans report.
In addition, Lake Transit received $54,000 to fully cover services for seniors that include nonemergency medical transportation trips, senior center and project partner shuttles, door‐to‐door trips, volunteer driver and pay‐your‐pal programs serving Lakeport, Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks and Clearlake.
Over the past several years Lake Transit has experienced record-breaking ridership as gas prices and the troubled economy have made riding the bus a more economical and reliable option, as Lake County News has reported.
Lake Transit General Manager Mark Wall told Lake County News in a previous interview that passenger fares – which went up at the start of this year – account for only 25 percent of the transit agency’s income, with state funds and federal grants making up the other 75 percent.
The agency has managed to expand its services, rather than make significant cuts as have been seen in other areas, by successfully going after state and federal money.
In June, Lake Transit received $1,366,525 for five replacement buses, which followed an October 2011 state transportation bond fund award of $309,288, also for upgrades to its aging fleet, as Lake County News has reported.
In addition to pursuing grants to expand its routes and purchase new buses, Lake Transit also amassed half a million dollars in grant funding over a several-year period that helped pay for new shelters and benches around the county.
Other projects around the North Coast and among Lake’s neighboring counties that received funds included:
- $174,708 for continuation of the Mendocino Transit Authority’s highly successful evening bus service;
- $100,000 to Yolo County Transportation District for operating assistance to continue service on Route 215, which provides service to low income and rural individuals to access employment;
- $300,000 to to Yolo County Transportation District to continue evening, weekend and holiday service on Route 42, which services Sacramento International Airport;
- $101,000 to Petaluma Transit to begin fixed route and complementary paratransit service on selected routes on Sundays.
For more about Lake Transit, its routes and schedules, visit www.laketransit.org .
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