VENTURA, CA - Many VISTA bus lines have seen double-digit gains in ridership in recent months, an indication more Ventura County residents are turning to public transit as a travel alternative.

Ridership on VISTA’s CSUCI-Camarillo line shot up a whopping 32.1 percent over this time last year, while ridership on VISTA’s East County line climbed 25 percent and CSUCI-Oxnard rose by 20 percent. The Coastal Express – which links Ventura County with Santa Barbara and remains VISTA’s most popular service – along with the VISTA Highway 101 posted gains of 13.5 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively. VISTA Highway 126, which runs nearly at capacity on some trips, saw a 6.6 percent hike. Ridership on VISTA’s Santa Paula and Fillmore Dial-A-Ride services saw increases of 6.2 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively. Each of these increases exceeds national bus ridership growth of 3.29 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011. Only VISTA’s Conejo Connection service, which connects Ventura County with Warner Center, saw a modest dip in total ridership.

“While the VISTA service has grown steadily across the years, with this latest increase in ridership we are beginning to see ‘at-capacity’ conditions on some of our more popular lines,” noted VCTC Executive Director Darren Kettle. “We are thrilled to see more Ventura County residents select transit, and we are working to accommodate more riders on our busiest lines.” One such solution is the Coastal Express Limited, a limited-stop service between Ventura and Santa Barbara operated by Santa Barbara MTD and funded as a part of the region’s freeway construction mitigation.

One likely reason for the increase in transit ridership is recent increases in gasoline prices. The average cost for a gallon of regular stands at nearly $4.40 in Ventura. That’s up almost 50 cents over last month, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. Compare the cost to fill an average tank with the price of a bus pass (ranging from $20 for Heritage Valley Dial-A-Ride only to $105 for all fixed-route buses in Ventura County). Alternatively, the one-way adult fare can be as little as $1.25 per trip.

To learn more about VISTA bus services as well as all of VCTC’s programs and services, visit www.goventura.org or call (800) 438-1112.