The first item on the Santa Clarita City Council agenda for Tuesday’s meeting calls for a discussion of a Newhall shuttle-service pilot program in Old Town Newhall that happened in July and August and provided 87 rides for a total cost of $25,000.
Supporters of the city’s arts district, which has several venues in the area, including theaters and boutique art galleries, expressed gratitude for the effort, some even asking for more hours, with parking frequently cited as a challenge for events. Major construction slated to happen with a 98-unit condo-and-retail project approved for the north end of Main Street has caused further concern.
The City Council approved a $25,000 spend for the pilot program July 8. It started three days later, operating Fridays through Sundays, 7 to 11:45 p.m. on Friday, 2 to 11 :45 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 8:15 p.m. Sunday. The service operated every 10 minutes, using two shuttle-style vehicles.
Despite the appreciation for the service, there were a few gripes that the low ridership was blamed on — among them, the short notice of the program’s start and the fact that a 2 p.m. start didn’t help those attending matinees that started at the same time.
All told, the city gave 87 rides over the eight-weekend pilot run, putting the cost of the program at approximately $287 per rider.
Despite the initial low ridership, roughly 11 per weekend, the shuttle offered a number of helpful features for riders, according to city staff: Each vehicle had GPS tracking for accurate timing; and Newhall stops were geocoded, allowing patrons to track them on the city’s transit app, request a text message with arrival times and scan a QR code for real-time arrival information.
More than three-quarters of riders took the shuttle on Saturdays, which made the following stops in this order, according to the city’s website: 9th and Main streets; Market Street and Railroad Avenue; Newhall Community Center; Market and Pine streets; 6th and Main streets; Main Street and Newhall Avenue; Market and Walnut streets; Walnut and 8th streets; Walnut Street and Lyons Avenue; and then back to 9th and Main streets.
“A review of the pickup and drop-off data shows that the majority of the riders (48) boarded at the parking structure on 9th Street and Main Street, and exited at the stops on 6th Street and Main Street (11), Walnut Street and 8th Street (11), and Market Street and Walnut Street (7),” according to a report from Adrian Aguilar, the city’s transit manager.
The city also is looking to build a significant parking structure on the north end of Main Street, similar to the one closer to Newhall Crossings condo-and-retail development on the south end.
The request from city staff on Tuesday is for guidance on the future of the shuttle service.
