Amador County – The Amador Regional Transit System board of directors last week approved a new Mobility Manager position, and also added a dispatch position, both part time.
New Transit Manager Carla Meyer said she met Jan. 14 with Caltrans, and “we received tentative approval” to hire a person to fill a 25-hour Mobility Manager.
Meyer told the ACTC board last week that she has been working to rewrite one grant that is “so far out of its original scope” that it is becoming a problem. One option would be to create a fixed route for a vehicle that assists disabled riders, with door-to-door exclusive service, on call. The route would be designated differently.
Supervisor John Plasse said it was similar to a “dial a ride” program. Ione Councilman David Plank asked where the Mobility Manager position would be housed, and Meyer said it would be at the ARTS Transit Center in Sutter Creek.
Plasse said Meyer did a good job working with Caltrans on both the dispatcher and Mobility Manager positions. He said it was hard to imagine that ARTS “are on the last six months of a two-year grant” for the Mobility Management program, which was delayed due to a contract issue and hiring questions.
The Commission unanimously approved the addition of a 25-hour a week Mobility Manager position and also a 35-hour a week dispatch position, and to amend the budget accordingly.
Meyer said Monday that ARTS faces potential budget cuts as the state looks to be planning to continue making a gas tax swap for county road funding. She is looking at bus route funding grants, and rewriting a grant to better fit new plans for existing programs.
She is working on increasing bus routes that go to Sacramento, and also adding to the efficiency, of the ones that go there now. She is looking at a deviated fixed route that will go without stops from Amador County to Sacramento.
“We are looking at streamlining our Sacramento run,” Meyer said. “It would carve a significant amount of time” from the bus ride, and make the mass transit option as fast as driving a car to Sacramento.
It now runs twice a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, and she said it already connects with a Sacramento bus route that goes to the Sacramento International Airport. Meyer said she is “looking for funding to reestablish some of the midday runs,” because of the good links to the airport.
It would allow commuters to park for free at the ARTS transit center while they are on vacation, or “better yet, leave your car at home in garage,” and “spend the savings on your vacation” instead of parking fees at the airport.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
