CORRECTION: The routes previously mentioned as Route 24 and Route 26 were actually Route 21 and Route 25 respectively.

Route 24 travels from Fullerton to Orange down Malvern Avenue / Chapman Avenue and Tustin Avenue.

Route 26 travels from Fullerton to Yorba Linda down Commonwealth Avenue and Yorba Linda Boulevard.

By Simon Oh and Daily Titan Asst. News Editor Patrick Cowles

The Orange County Transportation Authority held a public hearing Monday Nov. 9 at their headquarters in Orange regarding proposed countywide bus service cuts that will go into effect in March 2010.

Students may be affected by bus routes cut by OCTA. Photo by Jeff Lambert/Daily Titan Staff Photographer

About 75 people attended the hearing to learn more about the service cuts while 25 to 30 speakers expressed their concerns to the OCTA Board of Directors saying that their lives would be adversely impacted if massive cuts were made.

“The general concerns we gathered from everyday riders included inability to make trips to school, work and medical needs,” said Joel Zlotnik, spokesperson for OCTA. “Other concerns include loss of independence and quality of life, loss of service for special needs customers and employment losses.”

Although OCTA initially expected to cut 300,000 hours, after the meeting adjourned, the OCTA board voted on a plan to reduce 150,000 annual revenue vehicle hours, also known as the hours a bus is in service on the street, said Zlotnik.

The reappraisal of reduced service hours occurred due to a recent lawsuit filed by the California Transit Association which claimed the state had misallocated $3.4 billion specifically set for transportation, said Zlotnik.

Due to the court ruling that the state’s actions were unconstitutional, OCTA is not sure how much funding it will receive. Zlotnik said that the Nov. 9 vote bought time for the board to find out how much funding they will receive before they decide how many service hours they need to cut.

The OCTA board has presented four different strategies to the public defining how bus service may be reduced or eliminated. The four strategies propose eliminating, reducing or restructuring bus routes as well as making cutbacks to ACCESS, a service for the disabled.

Attributed to a loss of state funding and plummeting sales tax revenues, the proposed service cuts will be significant countywide. The Transit Advocates of Orange County estimated bus service will be cut by 36 percent over the next year. The cuts include possible route elimination and reduction of bus services around Cal State Fullerton.

These proposals include the elimination of route 21 (Fullerton to Huntington Beach down Valley View Street / Bolsa Chica Street), increasing the frequency of route 25 (Fullerton to Huntington Beach down Knott Avenue / Goldenwest Street) from 60 minutes to 75 minutes on weekends and eliminating route 57’s late night service (Brea to Newport Beach down State College Boulevard / Bristol Street). However, each of the four strategies vary in their elimination or reduction of these bus routes.

Students at CSUF who rely on OCTA buses to get to their destinations expressed concerns about the possible service cuts that may affect service to the university.

“A lot of people take route 24 because of the parking situation here,” said Megan Schuster, 22, communications major concentrating in advertising. “I refuse to buy a parking pass because the parking here is terrible and the bus helps take away some of that problem. If bus service is taken away, it is a step backwards and a big mistake that would affect a lot of students.”

Emmanuel Noriega, 18, a psychology major said he takes two buses to get to CSUF and the commute is long enough as it is. In the morning Noriega takes route 33 to either route 24 or 26 depending on the time. On his return trip home to Garden Grove Noriega usually takes route 24 to route 33.

“If service is cut, people like me will have to deal with a longer commute,” Noriega said. “Students will have to reschedule classes, it ruins everyone’s time and if they take it away, there will be a lot of angry people.”

OCTA has been forced to reduce service due to state fund reductions, including the elimination of California’s State Transit Assistance Fund 2640, a loss in sales tax revenue, as well as losses in fare revenue.

The OCTA Board of Directors will vote on which strategy to implement Nov. 23.