CAMARILLO, Calif. – The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) is thrilled to announce it has received the Transit Agency of the Year Award in the 2023 Small Operators Awards presented by the California Transit Association.

The Transit Agency of the Year Award “recognizes a California Transit Association Small Operator agency, which has demonstrated improvement in the performance of its system, addressing but not limited to ridership, customer service, and service expansion or financial management.”

The association’s Small Operators Committee selects the winner. The award was presented at the California Transit Association’s annual Fall Conference & Expo on Nov. 16 in Pasadena. The association is a statewide organization that advocates for policies that improve public transit and for state and federal funding to support public transit.

In presenting the award, the committee cited VCTC’s Youth Ride Free and College Ride free-fare programs. The programs, which are administered by VCTC and include all the county’s transit operators, allow college students and youths 18 and younger to ride any public transit bus in Ventura County for free. The programs are funded by grants from the statewide Low-Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP), which provides operating and capital assistance to transit agencies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and improve mobility.

The committee also recognized VCTC’s new Spanish-language outreach program, Buenas con VCTC, an educational campaign designed specifically for people who speak Spanish.

“VCTC has been a leader in creating countywide programs that make it easier for more people to use public transit,” said VCTC Chair and Oxnard Mayor Pro Tem Bryan MacDonald. “Without these programs and VCTC’s regular Intercity bus service, people in Ventura County who don’t have access to a vehicle, who aren’t able to drive or who choose not to drive might not be able to get to school, work and the other places they need to go.”

VCTC’s Public Transit Department is led by Director Claire Grasty, under the guidance of Executive Director Martin Erickson.

“VCTC is honored to receive this special recognition from the California Transit Association and our transit colleagues from across the state,” Erickson said. “We value our partnerships with our local transit operators, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve Ventura County’s residents.”

Grasty praised VCTC staff for their work to help launch and support the transit initiatives.

“These programs wouldn’t be possible without the contributions and efforts from our employees, who are dedicated to improving mobility for everyone across Ventura County,” Grasty said.

For more information about College Ride, Youth Ride Free and Buenas con VCTC, visit goventura.org/free and goventura.org/buenas.