OXNARD — Gold Coast Transit District, the largest provider of public transit in Ventura County announced that it will be operating reduced bus service in Ventura and Ojai due to impact of Thomas Fire, potentially impacting hundreds of daily bus passengers.
Due to heavy smoke in the Downtown Ventura and Ojai areas, two of GCTD’s busiest routes, Route 16 and Route 6, which provide on average 3,700 daily trips, as well as it’s GO ACCESS paratransit service will be operating at reduced service levels due to the Thomas Fire. As of 5pm on Tuesday December 5th, bus service north of the Ventura Transit Center (Pacific View Mall) has been halted. GCTD is maintaining bus service to Community Memorial Hospital and Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura via Loma Vista Rd. “While we strive to keep all buses running, due to the levels of smoke and embers in the air, to keep our passengers and staff safe, we will be detouring away from the Ojai and Downtown Ventura area as conditions persist.” said Andy Mikkelson, Director of Operations.
Gold Coast Transit District is also prepared to provide the use of its buses, including wheelchair equipped vans for evacuations if requested by emergency personnel.
GCTD staff is monitoring the situation closely and will be restoring service as soon as it is safe to do so. For questions about current detours in effect, customers are advised to call GCTD’s Customer Service Office at 805-487-4222 from 7am-7pm or visit our detours page at www.GoldCoastTransit.org. Customers can also follow us on Facebook at @GCTransit or Twitter@GoldCoastBus for the most up to date public transit alerts.
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 the unincorporated County areas between the cities. Utilizing a fleet of 56 clean natural gas-fueled buses, and 26 paratransit buses and vans, GCTD carries nearly 4 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.GoldCoastTransit.org.