On June 10, OCTA’s new limited-stop bus service, Bravo!, will commence operation on OCTA’s busiest route. Bravo Route 543 will operate on Harbor Boulevard, from the Fullerton Transportation Center to MacArthur Boulevard in Costa Mesa, in addition to existing Route 43, which will continue to provide regular bus service. The new service is the first of three Transit System Study pilot projects.
In March, OCTA distributed a survey to 4,000 riders to assess the level of satisfaction with OCTA services, and to determine customer preferences. A follow-up survey will be conducted early next year to monitor increases in rider satisfaction in response to improvements that OCTA is implementing based on the initial survey results.
OCTA implemented its Transit System Study following significant service reductions that occurred between 2008 and 2010 in order to identify ways in which it could maintain a financially sustainable bus system while better accommodating service demand throughout Orange County.
As a result of the study, two new express routes are scheduled to commence operation in the next several months:
- Intra-county express Route 273 will run between Laguna Niguel and Costa Mesa via SR-73, beginning in October; and
- Inter-county express Route 722 will run between Santa Ana and Long Beach via SR-22, beginning in February 2014.
These projects will be monitored to determine if they meet customer demand and satisfy study goals, and may be modified in the future, based on customer comments and operations analyses.
