Ledger-Dispatch

- Helen Bonner=20

Michael Martinelli gets ready to head = out for=20 another round of stops along his Amador Regional Transit System = route.=20 Transportation officials have been working to make transit more = accessible=20 to the public in recent months.

Photo by: Raheem=20 Hosseini
After recent workshops and = meetings with=20 more than 50 residents and officials, the Amador Regional Transit = System, better=20 known as ARTS, recently received a consultant's final plan to bring = expanded bus=20 service to all riders.

According to ARTS General Manager Patrick = Ireland=20 and Mel Welsh, consultant for the Amador County Transportation = Commission, the=20 public workshops showed the present system is well tuned to the needs of = the=20 disabled and elderly, but remains slow and unattractive to people who = own=20 vehicles. The new plan, based on demographics, hopes to solve that=20 problem.

"Cost is always an issue," Ireland said, "but we are = listening=20 to people and will respond with a more flexible, practical, thoughtful = and=20 usable service. By early September, ARTS will have an improved and = updated Web=20 site. A countywide route map will be included on user-friendly = schedules. Signs=20 at bus stops will show arrival and departure times."

The price of = gas has=20 not increased bus ridership, according to Ireland, but the new five-year = plan=20 may change that. Among its goals are transportation to the Jackson = Rancheria=20 Casino, the Indian Health Clinic, the Interfaith Food Bank and extended = service=20 to Sacramento. A second, faster Jackson-Sutter Creek service is also=20 planned.

"At present, the buses make many stops to pick up people = with=20 special needs. We will add a second, direct service with only one or two = stops,=20 making the bus more attractive for shopping, visiting or business," = Ireland=20 said. "Of course this will depend on continued funding."

That = could prove=20 an issue, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed stripping $1 = billion in=20 transit funding to help erase a $15 billion deficit in the state's = general fund.=20 Louis Boitano, the District 4 county supervisor and chairman of the=20 transportation commission, sent a letter to District 10 Assemblyman Alan = Nakanishi (R-Lodi) opposing the cut.

"ARTS began as a service for = the=20 disabled or elderly and many people still see it that way, even though = school=20 kids and young mothers are a large part of our ridership," Welsh said. = "But with=20 more people now considering the environment, crowded roads, air quality = and the=20 price of owning two cars per family, we are getting more calls at ARTS.=20 Perceptions are changing. We will step up public information, perhaps = offering a=20 free Get on the Bus day so people can try it out for = themselves."

Ireland=20 hopes to fill those returning buses by encouraging people from = Sacramento to=20 enjoy bus trips to Sutter Creek, the rancheria, Volcano or Lake=20 Camanche.

Jackson residents Peggy Bosch and Beau Bouscal reported = satisfaction with their recent bus trips from Jackson to Sonora. Both = found the=20 trip took little longer than driving, but cost much less. Bosch said she = enjoyed=20 visiting with friends at the Amador Senior Center on a short San Andreas = lay-over. "It was an adventure."

Other residents reported finding = the bus=20 drivers friendly and helpful. One said she takes ARTS to connect to = Amador=20 Transit "all the time" to catch the train in Lodi. "I enjoy the trip." = One=20 Amador resident complained that the Calaveras bus left "too late to get = to=20 work." Both Welsh and Ireland agreed that communication between = Calaveras and=20 Amador bus systems needs to be improved. They encourage Amador residents = traveling there to call Calaveras Transit about scheduling problems. No = one=20 could complain about the cost: General fare is only a dollar, half that = for=20 seniors, and a book of forty tickets is $34. Jackson to Sacramento is = $3.50,=20 less than one gallon of gas. "You can relax. It's fun. And for most = routes, it=20 is efficient," Bosch said.

"Its partly a matter of changing our = habits,"=20 Welsh said. "If people check with ARTS before they make their business, = travel=20 or medical arrangements, they will be more likely to take the bus and = leave the=20 car in the garage."

For ARTS information, call 223-BUSS or visit=20 arts@amadortransit.com.