I finally launched an improved version of this blog at www.transitrideroc.com . This should help separate all of my personal content from real issues, and help promote transit in Orange County, and give us a place to discuss issues on the forums. Sorry for the wait!
Come on by and register for an account! See you at TransitRiderOC.com.
OCTA's severe transit cuts have made traveling by bus much more unpredictable, spontaneous affairs, and since I need a bicycle to get to places the bus doesn't, I often wait at the bus stop and wonder if the next bus's bicycle racks, like this photo on line 43, will be full. I've been refused to board at least twice within a month because of this unfortunate scenario, and unfortunately, one bus can only carry two bicycles at a time (unless the bus driver generously lets you take your bicycle on board). What to do about it (besides resorting to driving)?
Solution: folding bicycle! read more→
The financial "doomsday scenario" now has a deadline: June 2010.
OCTA just posted a dedicated section of their site outlining their cuts and explaining the budget situation. They have a list of 59 routes that they say they may curtail service on or are considering for outright elimination. Let me break it down for you. I modified their system map with these cuts (click on the image to the left; 400 kb PNG file). A summary of potential cuts:
Santa Ana, for example, will find a lot of their bus service cut, leaving behind a skeleton of local service for the transit-dependent.
It's now impossible to get to the airport:
But I think, worst of all, it's now impossible to get to and from UC Irvine. OCTA may eliminate lines 59, 79, 175, 178 (along with 213 and 473), stranding students, faculty, employees, and, well, making the UC Irvine U-pass useless.
Of course, that's my interpretation of what OCTA posted. I've pasted the summary from OCTA's page. Got any thoughts? Make sure you send your comments to them! read more→
And it's accessible by bus (see below for the bus pass deal)!
It was a little over a month ago that my friends and I held our Grand Opening with the Chancellor of UC Irvine, along with many special guests. The UC Irvine Outreach Clinics serves the growing uninsured population in Orange County, those who can't afford basic primary care services. Our clinic has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Southern California Public Radio KPCC, and on the front page of UC Irvine's main website.
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→
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→
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→
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→
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→
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→
