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Trial jurors countywide have boarded trolleys, buses and the Coaster in droves to take advantage of free rides offered on public transportation during their full terms of jury service, contributing to cleaner air in the process.
More than 4,000 jurors left their cars at home in the first quarter of the unique project sponsored by a multi-agency partnership. Their action saved a whopping 307,000 miles' worth of wear and tear on their vehicles and in emissions not added to air pollution.
By Sept. 7, the cumulative figures had ballooned to 7,592 people using the juror free-ride system in the first five months of the program to amass 548,000 vehicle miles not driven.
This overwhelming response has left Superior Court, and the public-spirited partners who helped create the program, both delighted and amazed. The Air Pollution Control District, which helped fund the program, is gratified to see more people using public transportation, and especially those experiencing public transit for the first time. The feedback we get from jurors is that their positive experiences have motivated them to think of public transit in other situations, which is good news for our local air quality.
The Metropolitan Transit Development Board, the North County Transit District and all of the other public transit providers in the county have seen a direct increase in ridership because of the juror free-ride system. In its first few weeks, the program generated an immediate response from 42 percent to 52 percent of the jurors eligible to participate throughout the county, tripling the ridership on some express bus routes. During the first quarter, program ridership figures increased each month, validating the reason public transit is in business.
For its part, the court has been able to broaden its juror pool and increase court access by virtually eliminating transportation barriers to jury service. Its unprecedented outreach program also has made jury service more convenient, comfortable and economical for those who previously relied on their cars. Those who recognize the importance of jury service to a free society can now do their part without worrying about parking or about driving to an unfamiliar location.
Even more important, jurors themselves tell us we have a winner. They express significant satisfaction with the modern public transit vehicles. They rave about the convenience of taking the Coaster and the easy ride they experienced on the trolley. Some have taken the opportunity to walk to their neighborhood trolley or express bus stop; others were appreciative for the ample parking available at the park and ride pick-up points at bus, trolley and train stations.
The revolutionary program originated when court and transit staff searched for a way to finance the expansion of a one-way free ride to the Downtown courthouse that the Transit District initially offered as a get-acquainted program. Through an interagency agreement they resolved to guarantee each of the 70,000 jurors who serve annually throughout the county at least one free round trip on public transit. Those jurors who agree to leave their cars at home and waive their one-way car mileage reimbursement checks are awarded round-trip transit tickets for the entire length of their jury service, whether that be two days or two months.
The program costs are funded by a 25 percent group rate discount on fares, partial funding from the Air Pollution Control District, the waived juror mileage fees and a subsidy from Superior Court.
The beauty of the program is that each of the partners is achieving its internal goals and at the same time contributing to the larger public good. The initial users of the juror free ride system answered their constitutional call to provide a fair trial for whatever dispute needed to be resolved in their assigned courtroom. And when they signed on for the juror free ride program, they took an extra step to keep the air sparkling in America's Finest City. We know from what has happened so far that juror ridership will continue to increase as the benefits are spread by even more satisfied customers. We couldn’t be happier.
Judge Wayne L. Peterson was elected Superior Court Presiding Judge in late 1998, shortly before the bench became the state's largest unified court. A Superior Court judge since 1986, he has long been a leader in court facilities planning and was instrumental in the construction of the Downtown Hall of Justice, opened in 1996.
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