SANTA CLARA COUNTY (BCN) -- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority riders will see  reduced bus and light rail service beginning in January.

Starting Jan. 11, VTA will reduce service to help mitigate a  projected $70 million budget deficit in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

The deficit is the result of a continued loss of state transit  funding and a decline in sales tax revenue, VTA spokeswoman Jennie Loft said.

As part of the service reduction plan, VTA bus lines that operated  every 15 minutes will be cut back to every 30 minutes or more. Line 76, which  offers service between Los Gatos and Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains,  will be entirely cut. The River Oaks Shuttle will be discontinued after July  9.

Weekday service is being cut 8 percent, Saturday service 10  percent and Sunday service 16 percent.

"In general you're going to find service reductions primarily in  areas and commute times when there's not a lot of ridership," Loft said. "On  weekends you're going to find times in the morning and night when there's not  a high volume of ridership."

Loft said the service reductions will save the transit agency  around $6.4 million. VTA will look further for cost-saving strategies, such  as deferring the purchase of bus rapid transit vehicles, Loft said.

In addition to service reductions, the VTA has implemented many  other cost saving measures, including employee furloughs, wage freezes and a  fare increase.

Information about service changes is available at  www.vta.org/service-modifications.
           
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