Three new Bravo! rapid bus lines to open 2010, with a possible link to UC Irvine
Submitted by Steven on 8 March, 2009 - 11:05pm
During last Wednesday's OCTA customer roundtable, the unofficial word from staff members was that rapid bus service couldn't begin this year because implementing it means dipping from the same financial pot as local service. They're hoping to launch both the Westminster Line and the Harbor Line at the same time in June 2010, and then the Brea-Irvine rapid bus later in 2010. read more→
Waiting for the bus gets longer this June, along with more transit cuts
Submitted by Steven on 5 March, 2009 - 11:51pm
The cuts will keep on coming. This June, OCTA will reduce bus frequencies and service times (bus lines may end service earlier or begin later). The major service reduction comes to line 60; full trips will go only as far as 7th/Channel at the Long Beach Memorial V.A. Hospital, forcing riders to transfer. This also makes 24-hour travel impossible between Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Orange County as Long Beach Transit offers no 24-hour service. So much for my plan to rely on OCTA while I'm doing my hospital rotations.
Although OCTA enjoyed double-digit increases in bus ridership last year, ridership plunged 7% in January and 14% in February, according to OCTA staff. They're attributing this to the rising unemployment rate in California and lowered gas prices. read more→
OCTA cuts bus frequencies, services in light of state budget
Submitted by Steven on 4 March, 2009 - 4:14pm
OCTA seems to be doing its best to stem the budget hemorrhage by not eliminating any routes, but instead slashing frequencies.
Schwarznegger and state Republican leaders forced the elimination of 100% of state transit funding, so now it's up to the county and cities to fend for themselves. OCTA has even dedicated a whole section of their website to the cuts taking place to public transit and to employees. They write:
Plummeting state sales tax revenue also will result in a $19 million loss for OCTA. The transportation agency is facing a more than $35 million shortfall in this year’s $263 million budget. read more→
Losing 15 lbs requires the right structures
Over New Year's, I decided to challenge myself: lose as much body fat as I can and build up muscle.
This idea started years ago when I realized I must be one of the few boyfriends who couldn't carry his girlfriend. The idea came to fruition when three things happened over the winter break: read more→
Delivering 378 medical students' signatures to Sacramento to save public transit in California
Submitted by Steven on 10 January, 2009 - 10:09pm
I collected 378 letters from my fellow classmates (63 letters for 6 legislators) concerned about the severe cuts to California's public transit systems, the odd routing of OCTA's rapid bus system, and the disproportionate amount of funding OCTA's American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is dedicating to freeways over transit. I'll be hand-delivering them to Sacramento on Monday while I'm there lobbying for universal healthcare with about 500 other medical students. read more→
Gift ideas for transit riders
Submitted by Steven on 20 December, 2008 - 11:48am
Don't know what to get your transit-riding friends for the holidays? Want to convince folks at work that riding transit can be cool? Get them some transit-related gifts!
OCTA has a lot of corporate-logo merchandise such as beanies, visors, water bottles, canteens, squishy stress buses, and even cute teddy bears. I've found most of this merchandise for cheaper than even general stores — the water bottle in my pic came to about around $4. You won't be able to buy these items online; you'll have to stop by OCTA's main headquarters at the OCTA Store, 550 S Main St, Orange, CA during weekdays. I'm sure they have plenty of items in stock.
Los Angeles Metro store has much more trendy apparel, Christmas ornaments, and large toy replicas of their buses. Metro sells posters with beautiful artwork that makes the thought of riding transit pleasant. However, their higher quality products translate to a higher price. The Los Angeles Times even featured the Metro Store a few years back: "Wearing a Los Angeles Metro T-shirt is 'completely counterculture, ... Because L.A. is car culture.'... Enthusiasts say part of what makes transit systems interesting in London, Berlin, Paris and New York – and why people want to buy merchandise from those places – is that they were marvels of their time when they were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."
New York MTA's Transit Museum Store sells cool station signs, toys, drinkware, and more. If you happen to visit New York, stop by their museum!
Happy shopping! read more→
OCTA service cuts, fares rising
Submitted by Steven on 15 December, 2008 - 12:57am
OCTA's new quarterly schedule (in effect today) doesn't look too hot. Bus schedules have been trimmed, and service has become less frequent. On line 57, for example, buses will arrive every 10 minutes instead of 8 minutes. Fares have raised from the once-cheap $1.25 so they're on par with other transit agencies at $1.50. read more→
Will Orange County's new rapid bus system be a success?
Submitted by Steven on 10 December, 2008 - 10:01am
Only two members of the public were present (I one of them). I asked the board to consider UC Irvine as a stop with the Bristol-Irvine Rapid Bus (what will be route 557). I don't think I articulated it particularly well, but I brought up my fears that: read more→
Bravo!: BRT or HAR?
Submitted by Steven on 8 December, 2008 - 5:29pm
At today's OCTA rapid bus public hearing, it was clear that OCTA's board is not in sync with what's really going on. read more→
OCTA proposes route, sets hearing for Harbor Blvd rapid bus
Submitted by Steven on 6 November, 2008 - 9:45am
An update on OCTA's Bravo system on Harbor Blvd: OCTA is having a Rapid Bus public hearing set for Mon, Dec 8, 2008 9:00am at their headquarters. Their description (with my own emphases added)? "Route 543 will operate primarily on Harbor Blvd between the cities of Fullerton and Newport Beach on weekdays only between approximately 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. The purpose of the BRT [sic] service is to provide a rapid transit option to Orange County commuters and visitors as well as satisfying congestion mitigation commitments and regional air quality conformity requirements by the end of 2010 in the South Coast Air Basin. The BRT service will supplement the existing local service in order to maximize operational efficiency and passenger convenience. The BRT service is proposed to be implemented with the June 2009 service change effective June 14, 2009.
It's about time!
I picked up the route map and hearing notice off a 57 bus and scanned it. Take a look at the route.
read more→
