SamTrans “Operation Sea Otter” to provide buses for this school year

SamTrans is adding an additional bus run in the afternoon and one in the morning, to help alleviate problems that have led to students and worker being left off buses in the last few weeks. SamTrans will also adjust the path of Route 294 to pick up the kids at the El Granada Mobile Home Park. This expanded service, which SamTrans calls "Operation Sea Otter", will last until the end of this school year, giving local agencies and the district time to find money, probably from grants, to serve these riders.

Cheri Parr, executive director of the Coastside Opportunity Center, which operates the buses under a contract with SamTrans, announced additional capacity at Thursday night’s meeting of the Cabrillo Unified School District.  SamTrans had added some additional capacity, but withdrawn it because it was concerned it couldn’t guarantee that level of service indefinitely. The new schedule is positioned as a temporary solution.

"Because of SamTrans, we no longer have an emergency," said Cheri Parr.  "Now it’s up the the Coastside community to solve the long-term problem."

At that meeting, the school board passed a resolution committing the district to working on the problem.

DISCLOSURE: Yes, Cheri Parr is my wife.