The OCTA to host a 2013 bus fare increase community meeting on 9/20

The OCTA Wants to Hear from You

Community: OCTA Proposes 2013 Bus Fare Adjustment Community Meetings & Public Hearing

SANTA ANA, CA (September 14, 2012) – The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is proposing a bus fare adjustment in 2013 to help offset rising operational costs and dwindling revenue due to high unemployment and slow job recovery. Without an increase in revenue, OCTA may not meet the Transportation Development Act (TDA) mandate that passengers pay at least 20 percent of bus operating costs in order for the operating agency to qualify for sales tax funding.

Therefore, the OCTA Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on Monday, October 22 at 9:00 am in room 154 of the OCTA Headquarters – 600 South Main Street, Orange, CA to consider a proposed fare increase of 25% per boarding, beginning in February 2013.

With this increase, the annual fare revenue is projected to be $55.9 million with operating costs for FY 2012-13 projected to be $267.5 million. At a 20.93% farebox recovery, OCTA will meet the 20% minimum threshold to continue receiving funding under the TDA.

A description of the adjustment will be available for public viewing from September 20 to October 22. Please contact the Clerk of the Board at (714) 560-5676 to view these documents in person at the OCTA offices. You can submit comments by calling Customer Relations at (714) 636-RIDE, option 2, or from South Orange County at (800) 636-RIDE, option 2, or provide your comments online.  For more information visit www.octa.net/2013fareadjustment.

Over the next few weeks, OCTA will hold five community meetings throughout Orange County to explain the changes to riders and to offer the public a chance to voice their opinions:

• Thursday, September 20 – Southwest Senior Center – 2201 W. McFadden Ave. – Santa Ana 92704
• Friday, September 21 – Laguna Hills Community Center Heritage Room B&C – 25555 Alicia Parkway – Laguna Hills 92653
• Thursday, September 27 – Fullerton Library Community Room – 353 W. Commonwealth Ave.- Fullerton 92832
• Tuesday, October 2 – St. Anselm’s Cross-Cultural Community Center – 3707 W. Garden Grove Blvd. – Orange 92868
• Thursday, October 4 – Los Alamitos Community Center – 10911 Oak St. – Los Alamitos 90720

All meetings will take place from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. For more information, please visit OCTA online.

Translators and Accessibility

Spanish translation services will be available at all community meetings and Vietnamese will be available at the October 2 meeting in Orange. Any person with a disability who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in these meetings should contact the OCTA Clerk of the Board at (714) 560-5676 no less than two (2) business days prior to this meeting to enable OCTA to make reasonable arrangements to assure accessibility to these meetings.

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Ajuste Propuesto de la Tarifa de Autobús 

Reuniones Comunitarias y Audiencia Pública 

La Autoridad de Transportación del Condado de Orange (OCTA por sus siglas en inglés) propone una modificación en su tarifa de autobús en el 2013 para ayudar a compensar los costos operativos elevados e ingresos menores, debido a la alta tasa de desempleo y la lenta recuperación de empleos. Sin un aumento de los ingresos, OCTA no podrá cumplir con la ley de desarrollo del transporte [Transportation Development Act (TDA por sus siglas en inglés)] que exige que los pasajeros deben pagar al menos el 20 por ciento de los costos operativos de un sistema de autobús para que la agencia pueda calificar para los fondos de impuestos de ventas. Sus comentarios son importantes para nosotros.

Por favor asista a una de las siguientes reuniones y denos sus comentarios sobre el ajuste propuesto de la tarifa de autobús en el 2013.

Traductores y Accesibilidad 

En todas las reuniones comunitarias habrá servicios de traducción al español disponibles y en la reunión del 2 de octubre en Orange habrá servicios de traducción al vietnamita. Si alguna persona con una discapacidad requiere una modificación o servicios especiales para poder participar en estas reuniones, debe comunicarse con la secretaria de la junta de OCTA al (714) 560-5676 con un mínimo de dos (2) días hábiles de anticipación a la reunión, para permitir que OCTA haga los arreglos razonables y asegurar la accesibilidad a estas reuniones.

Para más información o brindar sus comentarios en línea, visite
www.octa.net/2013fareadjustment

Para planificar un viaje en autobús a las reuniones comunitarias o la audiencia pública, visite www.octa.net/tripplanner o llame al (714) 636-RIDE (7433).

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Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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