OXNARD : Bus Agency Urged to Cut Its Budget

The Oxnard City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to send a letter to South Coast Area Transit, the city’s bus service for 20 years, pressing the bus agency to cut its budget.

Council members listened to a report by the city’s traffic department that concluded that Oxnard should explore alternatives to SCAT, which gets about 45% of its local funding from the city, or press the agency to cut expenses.

The report was prepared at the request of Councilman Michael A. Plisky, who believes that Oxnard is spending too much money on public transit.

It recommended that the council either:

* Analyze how much it would cost to have service provided by a private company, the city or another agency.

* Draft a letter to SCAT requesting that the agency prepare a cost-cutting plan by March.

The letter to SCAT says Oxnard’s budget shortfalls have forced the city to re-evaluate its services and cut spending. As a joint powers authority dependent on Oxnard and other member cities for funding, SCAT should also be cutting down, the letter states.

Plisky criticized Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez, who serves as vice president of SCAT’s board of directors, for saying that the agency may need to cut bus lines throughout Ventura County to pare its budget.

“The look into our relationship with SCAT was not to cut services,” Plisky said. “I don’t want the public to be concerned about services.”

Lopez countered that budget cuts usually result in a reduction in services, citing Oxnard as an example.

Formed in 1973, SCAT annually carries nearly 3 million passengers in Ventura, Port Hueneme, Ojai, Oxnard and unincorporated parts of Ventura County. About 40% of the ridership comes from Oxnard.