Dial-A-Ride Cutbacks Hearing
by Jack McCurdy
A special hearing to review the curb-to-curb transportation service that some Morro Bay seniors rely on heavily has been called for Wednesday, September 15, after complaints were registered about the cutbacks in the Dial-A-Ride program that were approved by the Morro Bay City Council as part of the 2010-2011 budget.
The meeting of the city Public Works Advisory Board will be held in the Community Center Multipurpose Room starting at 3:00 p.m. Free rides to and from the meeting will be provided by calling 772-2744, the city said in announcing the hearing.
Pauline Stansbury, president of Morro Bay Citizens, said she told the Council at its meeting on August 23 that "a lot of seniors are upset" about the cutbacks. Some are unable or have a hard time going to locations to catch buses, rather than being able to be picked up at their residences under the previous system, or find it difficult to call in the day before to schedule pickups. Previously, those needing a ride could call in two hours before on the same day to make arrangements for rides.
The new curb-to-curb service has been named "Call-A-Ride," which at the time of its approval in the budget was termed a flexibile fixed route or fixed-flex system—a reduced Dial-A-Ride (DAR) flexible door service, as city manager Andrew Lueker characterized it.
There were no fixed routes for pickups under the Dial-A-Ride system. Vehicles took people of all ages door-to-door while making minor detours on the way to pick up and deliver other passengers traveling in the same general direction. Users were asked to call DAR at least two hours before seeking pickups. Under the new system, transit vehicles use a fixed route, much like regular public buses do, although people can be picked up at their doors if they call for service a day ahead of time.
During the budget discussions on DAR cutbacks, the Council or staff reportedly was asked, as alternatives to the fixed-flex system, to consider having the conventional DAR operate only a half a day, instead of a full day, or operate a full day for less than five days a week in order to cut costs but still maintain the type of service that has been offered since 1977. Whether either of those alternatives was considered is not known.
Another proposal was to have the city review the impacts of the DAR cutbacks on residents on a regular basis to determine if funding and scheduling adjustments might be warranted. But it could not be determined at that time whether such an ongoing review was agreed on. But Janeen Burlingame, a city management analyst who helps supervise the transit system, said there had been an agreement between the Council and city staff that Call-A-Ride would be monitored to determine its effectiveness.
The city announcement of the meeting, which was prominently displayed on the face page of the city's web site, asked: "How Is Morro Bay Transit Doing? Now that you have tried the new Morro Bay Transit fixed route and Call-A-Ride service, what do you think of it?"
It described Call-A-Ride as curb-to-curb service available to K-12, senior and disabled individuals. The fixed route bus will flex off route up to three-quarters of a mile to pick up/drop off the rider, the announcement said, then return on route before the next scheduled stop. Be ready when the bus arrives by being out at the curb at your scheduled pick up time, it added.
To schedule a Call-A-Ride trip, it advised, call between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 am, Monday through Friday, to schedule a ride for the next day. Monday trips will need to be scheduled on the Friday before, it said.
For those who cannot attend the special meeting, the announcement said, and would like to submit comments, they can contact Janeen Burlingame, Management Analyst, at 955 Shasta Ave., Morro Bay, CA 93442, or via email.
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