OXNARD — Effective, Monday, May 3rd Gold Coast Transit District (GCTD) will resume fare collection and front door boarding on both fixed route and paratransit services. Last year, in response to the pandemic, GCTD temporarily suspended fare collection and requested that customers board through the rear door to support physical distancing. Now, with the number of COVID-19 cases declining, vaccinations increasing, along with a slate of safety measures in place, front door boarding and resuming fare collection can resume safely.
“GCTD has always prioritized the safety of its passengers and employees. As the county reopens and more riders board, we are committed to ensuring our buses are clean and safe for everyone on board.” said Steve Brown, General Manager. In support of this, GCTD has added five, full-time employees dedicated to the cleaning and disinfecting of buses, both in the field and on site, throughout the day. In January, GCTD increased service levels on core routes to accommodate more mid-day passengers. This summer, GCTD plans to increase service levels again, continuing the trend to restore services incrementally, as more of the County reopens. Other safety measures that will remain in place include:
- Disinfecting high-touch surfaces on buses frequently throughout the day
- Enhanced nightly disinfecting of every bus surface from floor to ceiling
- Installed driver barriers on all vehicles
- Dispatching additional buses when the number of passengers per bus exceed 50%
- Requiring face masks for everyone on the bus
- Providing single use masks for riders
- Facilitating vaccine appointments for all staff
GCTD is committed to supporting community-wide recovery, and to support this, GCTD’s GO ACCESS will continue providing free rides to anyone over the age of 16, to and from vaccine appointments. Additionally, starting April 19th, GCTD will launch a new pilot program to offer “Late Night Safe Rides,” a general public on-demand dial-a-ride service to ensure essential workers have a way to get home from work after more buses stop running.
“While we are working diligently to strengthen customers’ trust in public transportation by focusing on safety and creative ways to meet the needs of our riders, we ask the community to do their part to maintain a safe environment on our buses- wear a mask and stay home if you are sick”, said Brown.
Once fare collection resumes May 3rd, in an effort to help keep buses and flow of people moving, all passengers are strongly encouraged to use prepaid or contactless fare payment to pay the fare, by texting “TOKEN” to the number 41411 for a download link. Passengers can purchase prepaid passes and apply for reduced fare ID cards, starting Monday, April 19th, at the Customer Service Center. GCTD will continue to offer free rides to people going to vaccine appointments (by showing your appointment or vaccine card) as well as free rides for seniors over 75 or young children. Reduced fares (1/2 off) are available for seniors 65 and up. For more information on services, fares, reduced fare programs, please call GCTD at 805-487-4222, Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, or visit us online at www.gctd.org.
About the District — Gold Coast Transit District provides safe, responsive, convenient, efficient, and environmentally responsible fixed-route bus and paratransit public transportation that serves the diverse needs of the cities of Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ventura, and in the unincorporated County areas between the cities. Utilizing a fleet of 61 clean natural gas-fueled buses, and 26 paratransit buses and vans, GCTD carries 3 million passengers annually on its 20 bus routes. GCTD is the largest provider of public transit in Ventura County and is governed by a Board of Directors made up of an elected official from each member jurisdiction.? For more information or to plan your trip, visit www.GCTD.org.