Edhat Staff
Source: Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG)
The Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Board of Directors unanimously approved new peak hour passenger rail service connecting Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties today.
Authorization of the new peak hour service will also be considered by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Board of Directors at the Thursday, March 15th SBCAG Board meeting in Santa Maria.
SBCAG Executive Director Marjie Kirn attended the LOSSAN Board meeting and said “We are extremely pleased by the LOSSAN Board decision today. The work to bring this new passenger rail service to 101 corridor travelers has involved collaboration from many partners over a long period of time. SBCAG has been working diligently to deliver on the “lane and train” strategy envisioned in the ‘101 in Motion’ planning effort and promised to the voters in the Measure A Investment Plan for many years. This is a big day to celebrate!”
Michael T. Bennett, Goleta City Councilmember and the SBCAG Board representative on the LOSSAN Board of Directors participated in the LOSSAN Board meeting and said “The 15,000 residents who daily travel the 101 corridor will soon have a new transportation option that can get them out of traffic. Passenger rail is an excellent alternative to driving alone that saves time and money. This new service is coming at the perfect time as traffic congestion on the 101 has recently increased because of impacts from the Montecito debris flow and the closure of Highway 192”.
Santa Barbara Mayor and SBCAG Board member Cathy Murillo testified at the LOSSAN Board meeting in support of the new service. After the meeting, Mayor Murillo said “I am excited about this new rail service and expect it will be a huge success with local employees who want an easier way to get to south Santa Barbara County. I will be welcoming the train passengers at the Santa Barbara train station on opening day!
A new early morning Pacific Surfliner train from Los Angeles and Ventura counties to Santa Barbara and Goleta is planned to begin on April 2, 2018. When combined with existing southbound Pacific Surfliner service in the afternoon, the new morning train will make it possible to travel to work in Santa Barbara county via rail. A partial list of the new schedule and train stations is listed below:
|
Northbound (AM) #759 |
|
|
Camarillo |
5:46 |
|
Oxnard |
5:58 |
|
Ventura |
6:12 |
|
Carpinteria |
6:34 |
|
Santa Barbara |
6:47 |
|
Goleta |
7:16 |
|
Southbound (PM) #792 |
|
|
Goleta |
4:25 |
|
Santa Barbara |
4:40 |
|
Carpinteria |
4:55 |
|
Ventura |
5:26 |
|
Oxnard |
5:40 |
|
Camarillo |
5:56 |
Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District shuttle buses will be available from the Santa Barbara and Goleta train stations to connect train passengers to worksites downtown and in Goleta as well as Cottage Hospital locations. Bike lockers will also be available for passengers who’d like to store bicycles to ride the last mile to work. Train passes will also be valid on all VCTC Coastal Express buses if commuters prefer to take the train one direction and a bus on the other leg of their commute.
Passengers interested in riding the new train service can call Traffic Solutions at (805) 963-SAVE or visit www.trafficsolutions.org/
Commuters have been asking for this time of service for over 20 years. This story isn’t about a successful solution to easing rush hour traffic; it’s an example of years of bureaucrat failure to act. There isn’t any bus connections at any of the train drop off points. Why, because that would make too much sense.
Am I missing something here? This is just the addition of an extra train. There are no new tracks, no new stations, just one more train during peak hours. Shouldn’t this just be standard operating procedure for a transit service? Why does SBCAG even need to get involved? And, why does Murrillo need waste here time welcoming passengers? Don’t these people have better things to do? Like someone else this is a failure of government not a win.