Local Government
County Board Approves Late-Night Bus Service on Three Routes
The 5–2 vote extends the 14, 22 and 60 lines to 1 a.m. on weeknights beginning in September, paid for out of unspent capital money rather than new taxes.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted 5–2 late Tuesday to extend weeknight service on three of the county's busiest bus lines, ending a debate that has run through four public meetings since March.
Beginning September 8, the 14, 22 and 60 will run until 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, with the last outbound departure from the downtown transit center at 12:40 a.m. Weekend schedules are unchanged.
The extension will cost an estimated $2.4 million a year and will be funded by reallocating capital money left unspent after a shelter-replacement program came in under budget. No fare increase is attached to the change.
"The people who need a bus at eleven at night are the people who clean the buildings the rest of us work in," said Supervisor Lena Whitcomb, who introduced the measure. "We have been asking them to arrange their lives around a schedule that was set in 1998."
Supervisors Ray Delgado and Fran Oyelaran voted against, both citing the funding source rather than the service itself. "One-time money does not pay for a permanent obligation," Delgado said. "In three years we will be having a different conversation, and it will be about cuts."
Thirty-eight residents spoke during public comment, which ran past midnight. Most supported the extension. Several hospital and hotel employees described hour-long walks home after shifts ending at 11 p.m.
The transit authority said it will need to hire eleven additional operators and expects a six-week training period. Officials said riders should expect the first two weeks of the new schedule to run with occasional gaps while staffing fills in.
A performance review of the extended hours is scheduled for next July.
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