SANTA MARIA (California) TIMES June 11, 2007 Farmworker transit plan gaining speed
It has been a long road for advocates of farmworker transportation, but a pilot program designed to get people to and from the fields could debut this year. Santa Barbara County staff and officials for a local nonprofit transportation group are working with community advocates to develop a van-pool program that would be operated by the users, managed by the group, using vehicles and insurance purchased by the county. Officials are looking to a successful van-pool program in Kings County as the model, although this service will be slightly different to meet northern Santa Barbara County needs, said Matt Dobberteen, the county's alternative-transportation manager. A plea for some sort of service for the thousands of people who work the Santa Maria Valley farm fields, and help fuel the county's billion dollar agriculture industry, first came to public officials in 2004. Since then, a large contingent of farmworkers has attended the annual Transit Needs Assessment sessions held by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, which identify transit needs in the community and whether they are feasible to meet. The workers have been asking that some of the millions of federal dollars that are divvied out at those meetings go toward creating a transit system to get them to the fields. Each year SBCAG has concluded that funding a service specifically for farmworkers is not feasible. However, last year, after a lawsuit was filed over the issue, the county and city of Santa Maria decided to allocate $100,000 and $50,000, respectively, to create the pilot program. After months of work, an effort to hire a private company to operate the program using the $150,000 fell apart, Dobberteen said.
A new plan develops Dobberteen is working on two items to take to the county Board of Supervisors to solidify the new plan. First, the county needs to officially accept an additional $70,000 that has been allocated in state grant funding. The board also needs to decide on a contract with Santa Maria Organization of Transportation Helpers to manage the project, Dobberteen said. SMOOTH would help with outreach efforts to farmworkers and driver training for the program. The project is designed to have the farmworkers organize themselves into groups with their own driver, who will have added training on driving the large vans. Any driver in the program must have a driver's license with a clean driving record, and have a driver physical, Dobberteen said. For a daily fee, which officials are still determining, groups of farmworkers would be able to use the vans to get to and from the fields. Although SMOOTH hasn't officially been given the project contract, the group has been working with Dobberteen to develop the program. A partnership with SMOOTH is a natural connection, according to those working on the project. “We believe they are uniquely qualified in terms of their experience with the region and their ability to take on an operational program like this,” Dobberteen said. Jim Talbott, SMOOTH executive director, said he is excited to be working with the county on this project. “There are a number of benefits to the community,” he said. “We are helping farmworkers with a safe legal method of getting into the fields to work.” He added that he hopes the program will be able to save people money and reduce the number of vehicles on county roads.
The need Vibiana Saavedra, a Santa Maria resident, has been working on behalf of her farmworker neighbors, she said. “I know farmworkers ... they are the most disenfranchised and most needy of transportation of anyone living here, and they receive the least amount of service,” she said. She has attended most of the public meetings regarding farmworker transportation and spoken up for those she says can't speak for themselves - either because they don't speak English or they are working when the meetings are held. Advocates have criticized SBCAG and other officials for not providing service for this segment of the population when services are provided for commuters to other jobs. The transit route between Santa Maria, Vandenberg Air Force Base and Lompoc has been held up as an example of officials willing to serve those commuters but not farmworkers. Officials have said that service is used by more than commuters, making it a route that benefits a larger segment of the population. Stories abound of workers paying exorbitant amounts for a ride to work from private people who are in it for profit and may not even be qualified to drive in this country, Saavedra said. She said she wants to see workers “get a fair rate with insured, safe vehicles with well-qualified drivers.” Saavedra and other community activists are working on outreach to find drivers to help get the program started. The model; a 7-year-old Kings County farmworker transit program Those working on the Santa Barbara County farmworker transit program are looking to a 7-year-old Kings County program called Agricultural Industries Transportation Services (AITS). The Central Valley program, which is sponsored by the Kings County Area Public Transit Agency, runs 113 15-passenger vans. Each van pool must have a minimum of nine passengers, said Angie Offenburger, administrative analyst for the program. It is up to the individual drivers to ensure that they have nine daily passengers, she said. The drivers collect a fare from each passenger, and then turn the money over to AITS officials. Riders must sign in, and the program is monitored for payment and ridership, plus each van is equipped with Global Positioning System equipment. Offenburger added that the GPS monitors the speed of the vans, and the vehicles have a mechanism that limits the amount of gas it can take in one day. Drivers keep the vans with them as long as they are working. Offenburger said there haven't been any problems with people taking off with vans or not turning in their money. “There is a lot of monitoring and outreach, and most of the people are just happy to get a ride to work,” she said. AITS began after a 1999 van accident that killed 13 farmworkers, said Ron Hughes, the program's executive director. Using state and federal money, the transit agency was able to start the van pool program, which now contracts with Madera, Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties in addition to its work in Kings County, Hughes said. Other communities with agriculture industry, such as Imperial, Ventura and San Benito counties, also have begun contacting Hughes and other officials for advice. However, he noted that Santa Barbara County seemed to be the furthest along. Last month the program collected $110,000 in revenue from the vans, Hughes said. The program's operational budget for next year is set at $1.2 million, he added.
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