A number of options are under development for Butte County residents who commute to and from Sacramento, with the most intriguing one being a passenger train running from the old Oroville depot.
Buses from Chico and Oroville to Sacramento are also possibilities, as is a link to a bus route from Shasta County to Sacramento down Interstate 5.
A temporary city of Chico committee looking at the options will have its first meeting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in conference room 1 of the City Council Chambers, 421 Main St.
City Councilor Karl Ory asked for the committee’s formation after residents have struggled to travel out of Chico after losing commercial air service in 2014.
The committee’s goal is to make a recommendation to the Chico City Council.
Grants sought
At its December meeting the Butte County Association of Governments board authorized staff to apply for two grants totalling almost $5.5 million to buy three coach buses and operate them for three years on commuter runs to and from downtown Sacramento.
A BCAG study prepared in 2013-14 found that 3,000 Butte County residents work in Sacramento County, with 1,500 of them commuting every day.
The study projected a bus service could draw 70-80 daily one-way riders and 50-60 round-trip riders, enough to cover about 40 percent of the cost of providing the service.
This fall, staff identified Caltrans’ Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program as a source for the $2.8 million necessary to buy the buses. It also identified the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program as a way to cover operating costs and expenses, and is applying for $1.95 million over three years. That would be supplemented with $395,000 in anticipated farebox revenue.
The grant proposal also includes $300,000 in local transit funds, but BCAG Executive Director Jon Clark said he didn’t think it would be necessary. Grant proposals that include a local share have a better chance of getting funded, he said.
“There’s a need,” he told the board. “We have a potential solution in place. We want to get the grant applications in so we don’t miss the opportunity.”
When asked what would happen if the operating grant wasn’t renewed after three years, he said the B-Line would stop the service.
The vote to seek the grants was unanimous.
The train
The grant application for Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program funding also seeks $500,000 to purchase the historic Oroville train depot on High Street. The building has been vacant since a restaurant and micro-brewery on the site went out of business.
Initially the huge parking lot attached would serve as a park-and-ride lot for the bus service, but the facility could be returned to its original use in a few years.
That’s because the agency that runs the Amtrak San Joaquin rail service between Bakersfield and Stockton is in the process of extending its route north.
The trains should reach Marysville in a few years, and the option of an extension north to Oroville is described as “appealing” in a letter by Dan Leavitt, manager of regional initiatives for the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority.
BCAG’s Clark explained running the train to Chico is not an option, as that line is too crowded already. There is some excess capacity on the line to Oroville however.
There was some controversy on the BCAG board about including the depot buy in the grant application, with Chico City Councilor Andrew Coolidge concerned about taking a potential retail space off the tax rolls.
But Oroville Mayor Linda Dahlmeier supported the idea of a private/public partnership for the building, with the possibility of vendors like pop-ups or a coffee shop serving travelers.
“I’d certainly rather do that than wait in a parking lot,” she said.
The meeting
At Tuesday’s meeting, Clark will talk about the buses from Butte County to Sacramento, and Leavitt will be on hand to talk about extension of train service.
Also, Dan Little of the Shasta Regional Transportation Agency will discuss his agency’s efforts for express bus service from Redding to Sacramento along the Interstate 5 corridor, with possible side service from areas not on the corridor.
Public comments will also be taken.
Reach City Editor Steve Schoonover at 896-7750. Reporter Laura Urseny contributed to this report.