Shuttle service scuttled

The city-funded shuttle service that transports people from the Torres Community Shelter to the Jesus Center for meals in the morning will end on July 31. After that, vouchers for bus passes will be provided to the shelter’s guests.

The Chico City Council decided as much during its meeting on Tuesday, June 2, after discovering it costs $72,000 of the city’s Transportation Development Act funding to run the shuttle year-round. Paying for bus passes will cost about $30,000 annually, estimated Assistant City Manager Chris Constantin, but the council agreed to provide $35,000 for the first year of transition.

Brad Montgomery, the Torres Shelter’s executive director, said about 40 to 50 people—many of whom are elderly or “medically fragile”—depend on the shuttle service, but spoke in support of the bus pass system.