Gold Coast Transit District, formerly known as South Coast Area Transit (SCAT), is a local bus operator in western

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, serving Ventura,

Oxnard Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

Port Hueneme Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits. P ...

Ojai Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

, and the adjoining areas of unincorporated Ventura County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

History

Gold Coast Transit District was founded in 1973 as South Coast Area Transit with the merger of the Ventura City Transit Lines and the Oxnard Municipal Bus Lines. Until 1994, SCAT also served

Santa Paula Santa Paula (Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pau ...

. Service to Santa Paula has since been replaced with VCTC Intercity fixed-route and dial-a-ride services. The system adopted the name Gold Coast Transit effective July 1, 2007. This accompanied a change in bus livery and the acquisition of 26 new buses. In October 2013, California Assembly Bill 664 was chartered as the enabling legislation to transition Gold Coast Transit from a

joint powers authority A joint powers authority (JPA) is an entity permitted under the laws of some U.S. states, whereby two or more public authorities (e.g. local governments, or utility or transport districts), not necessarily located in the same state, may jointly ex ...

to a special purpose transit district. On July 1, 2014, the agency officially became Gold Coast Transit District. The district's founding member jurisdictions include the cities of Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and Ventura and the County of Ventura. The bill allows other cities in Ventura County to subsequently join the district. In 2014, GCTD leadership was recognized with the District being honored as the “Transit Agency of the Year” at the Small Operators award ceremony hosted by the California Transit Association (CTA) as part of its 49th Annual Conference and Expo in Monterey, California. On May 10, 2017 Gold Coast Transit District broke ground on a new operations and maintenance facility in Oxnard. The facility opened in July 2019.

Service area

Gold Coast Transit District provides bus service to these cities and communities: *

* Ventura *

* El Rio * Saticoy * Oak View * Mira Monte

Routes

As of July 2015, Gold Coast Transit District operates 19 fixed-route lines as well as

paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...

service.

Fixed Routes

School Trippers

Gold Coast Transit District operates four "school trippers" that supplement school bus service to local high schools. While intended to serve students with service only on school days, these routes are open to the general public.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord missing, Ventura County, California Bus transportation in California Public transportation in Ventura County, California Transportation in Oxnard, California Special districts of California Ventura, California Ojai, California