This article was written by BenitoLink intern Camille Mattish. Lea este articulo en español aquí.
Transportation Planner Douglas Kean says less than 1% of county residents use San Benito County’s public transit system and that transit operations need to be fundamentally restructured.
Kean gave a presentation on Feb. 15 to the Council of San Benito County Governments (COG), which is made up of representatives from the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and the city councils of San Juan Bautista and Hollister, suggesting ways to increase ridership on San Benito County Express.
Kean said the systems previously used to measure and collect data on bus timeliness have not translated to accurate or good reports that can easily be analyzed. In response, he said his team will be installing new software on the buses. The data collected will be used to set performance measures such as timeliness, predictability and frequency.
Transit operations affect not only the bus system’s performance, but also land use, said Kean.
“Land use is key because it allows you to have an efficiently run transit system that is not just picking up people from three or four houses that surround a bus stop,” he said. If only three or four houses are near a bus stop, “you are limiting your rider base.”
Kean said that transit planning, land use planning, and park planning cannot operate independently because the transportation plan influences the transit plan, the transit plan influences the development codes (land use regulations) and the development codes influence the recreation plans. They all work hand-in-hand.
According to COG’s website, its transportation plan, known as the San Benito Regional Transportation Plan, “considers future growth and the transportation investments needed to support the planned expansion of residential, commercial, and industrial sectors” for the next 20 years. The transit plan, known as Short-Range Transit Plan, is a “detailed blueprint for service expansion in Hollister, San Juan Baustista, northern San Benito County, and to/from Gilroy for implementation over the next five years with a general concept for improvements for an additional five years.”
Kean recommends building “transit awareness.” He added that COG staff has created new signs and bus stop shelters that are going to be put up soon to help in increasing transit awareness. BenitoLink asked COG where the signs will be placed and what the new shelters look like but did not receive a response before publication.
Several directors said they were excited about some of the changes Kean presented. Director and San Benito County Supervisor Mindy Sotelo said she supported the efforts and that it would be incredible if next year ridership increased by around 10%, but that “it’s really hard to sit up here and allocate funding with less than 1% of our population using it.”
Director and Hollister Mayor Mia Casey said the agency is on the right track.
“I’m really excited to see some of the potential things we could do this year. So it is the year of transit,” Casey said.
Kean also spoke about features to increase road safety.
He said installing “raised intersections” would improve road safety by serving as both a speed bump and a crosswalk.
Kean added that “mobility hubs” would also increase safety. Mobility hubs are where various modes of transportation interact. The hubs could have lockers.
COG is also conducting the unmet transit needs survey, which can be filled out in English and Spanish here.
Douglas told BenitoLink there is a public hearing scheduled at the March 21 board meeting.
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