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Yuba-Sutter Transit

 

Yuba-Sutter Transit Among
Most Improved Transit Providers


 Article from the May 2002 edition of  METRO MAGAZINE
 

10 Most Improved Transit Agencies
by METRO staff

Improving your transit agency may be as simple as adding new buses or extending into a previously unserved area.

Many of the following 10 agencies did just that and saw a significant jump in ridership. Other agencies faced more daunting challenges, such as a lack of community support, lack of interest from local governments and severe service cutbacks.

Those transit agencies rose to the occasion and altered either their service or marketing to make riding the system more appealing. Some agencies, like Yuba-Sutter Transit, had to do a complete overhaul to their system while others, like the Delaware Transit Corp., have constantly been improving since the day they began.

In the end, the transit agencies profiled on the following pages did what they needed to improve themselves — and the results speak for themselves.

To view profiles of the Top 10 click here. Or To view Yuba-Sutter only see below.

The Top 10 were chosen from entries submitted by readers via the Metro Magazine Website.

Yuba-Sutter Transit

Marysville/Yuba City, California

  Yuba-Sutter Transit has had its share of ups and downs — but mostly downs — since it began operating in 1975. The agency faced lawsuits over the services it provided and opposing political views about the direction the agency headed, as well as its very existence. Over the years, though, it has emerged as a highly successful transit agency and integral part of its community.

  Originally known as Hub Area Transit Authority (HATA), it began service in 1975 for seniors and disabled persons. A public interest group sued in 1979, accusing HATA of not providing for the unmet transit needs. The agency added a 13-vehicle demand-response system for the public. "In 1982 it became a fixed-route system locally," says Keith Martin, transit manager for Yuba-Sutter. "Over the next few years the fixed-route system floundered and never really caught on."

  After political pressure in 1988, service was reduced by 37%. "We eliminated the fixed-route system, Sunday service and a number of our rural routes," says Martin. In 1993, however, HATA reinstalled the fixed-route system and changed its name to Yuba-Sutter Transit.

  Since those tumultuous years, Yuba-Sutter’s ridership has soared. Ridership on the fixed-route service grew in 1995 - 1996 by 47% over the previous year, and has had annual increases each year since. Those increases coincided with fixed-route service improvements, additional bus stop benches and added Saturday service.

  In 1995, it purchased Blue Bird Q buses, giving the fixed-route buses a more transit-like appearance. "It started to look like a real bus service," Martin says.

  Martin says the agency’s staff of three is able to handle the daily pressures by contracting out to ATC/Vancom, allowing it to minimize overhead costs and maintain service to riders. Yuba-Sutter boasts being able to operate for about $42 an hour, while providing 70,000 service hours and 630,000 passenger trips this year. That’s a jump from 1991 - 1992, when it provided 30,000 service hours and 180,000 passenger trips.

  Metro Magazine Website, www.metro-magazine.com.