Okay, let us get down to politics. We have public transit agencies because of federal matching sans. The feds try to tell the local communities to take care of the business they should be taking care of that is why they make the programs.
The people who have to make this decisions locally are the Ventura county transit commission. These people have control of the first rings, the federal funds and state highway taxes that come to our county. They listen to the voices of the community and decide what services are in demand.
You can see with so many voices speaking it is an overwhelming burden. Ah, that was sarcasm. There are individuals and small groups with a cause or special interest but this is not a crowded meeting. Some of the requests are obviously ridiculous or self-serving, others are reasonable. Then, there are some very logical requests that are simply against the law.
Seriously, the laws and regulations the government what we can and cannot do are like the ultimate limitation. It is like the old line of middle management suck-ups. They prevent good things from happening.
Here is an example. Some private school children might better be able to use a public bus ticket to and from school. It would be a lot safer if on those days and on those routes the school bus were to go on the school property to pick up and deliver the kids but is it legal?
The only bus that can go on the school grounds is a yellow school bus. To put things in perspective I have come to the Ventura Transportation Commission to interview retiring executive director Ginger Gerardi. She has been there on the inside as many of these systems have been developed.
If you live in a big city where it is convenient it would be normal to you. It is not normal in this type of environment with things that are spread out and we try to make transit a realistic option that is available to every body and we do the best that we can without but understanding that it is a big job to her to get that across.
It starts from childhood. School kids wait for the day they can get off the bus and drive themselves to and from school. And what do we get outside the school, traffic.
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