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Humboldt annual transit hearing: residents call for better airport access; HTA eyes a microtransit pilot
Summary
At Trinidad’s annual unmet transit needs hearing, a resident urged more bus service and bicycle parking at the regional airport; Humboldt Transit Authority indicated a planned microtransit pilot to provide on‑demand service to the airport within months.
Humboldt Council of Governments staff and the Social Services Transportation Advisory Council (SSTAC) held the county’s annual unmet transit needs hearing in Trinidad on Oct. 14 to gather public comment and log requests for potential service changes.
HCOG associate regional planner Steve Luther explained the process for collecting and evaluating comments and noted the SSTAC (chaired by Richard Johnson) will determine whether any logged needs are ‘‘reasonable to meet’’ under adopted criteria. Luther said comments are recorded whether or not they are judged reasonable, to build a public record of demand.
Resident Carol Monet told the council she had spent a week without driving and found existing Trinidad service limited: ‘‘If you wanna get any place, this is inadequate,’’ she said about local northbound and southbound schedules. Monet focused her request on the Arcata‑Eureka airport: she said bus timing and parking at the airport make transit use impractical and suggested adding parking or secure bicycle storage at the airport and ‘‘more buses in front of us.’’
Richard Johnson, chair of the SSTAC and a Humboldt Transit Authority board member, said the HTA and partners are working on a microtransit pilot that would allow people to call for on‑demand trips to and from the airport. Johnson said that pilot is targeted to be launched within the next six months as part of the authority’s road map to improve local connections.
No formal action was taken by the city; HCOG will accept and evaluate public input as part of its unmet‑transit needs process and SSTAC deliberations. The hearing record will inform whether any unfunded needs are judged ‘‘reasonable to meet’’ and whether local transportation funds must be reserved for transit versus streets projects.
Ending: HCOG staff and HTA representatives encouraged interested residents to join future meetings, noting the HTA meets the first Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. via Zoom.
