10 Popular OCTA Routes Need Additional Buses, Officials Say

More buses are needed to accommodate passengers on 10 popular routes, which carry more than half of the 45 million passengers who use the system each year, Orange County Transportation Authority officials said Monday.

“Some central county routes are having problems,” OCTA spokesman John Standiford said. “In some cases, our buses are having to pass people on the street because they are already too full.”

A recent review of the bus system indicated that routes in Santa Ana and Anaheim are the most crowded. During one recent trip down Harbor Boulevard last month, 78 people piled into a 37-passenger bus, officials said.

The numbers did not surprise board members. In 1995, a major bus system overhaul eliminated several less popular routes and transferred those buses to central county routes. Along Harbor Boulevard between Costa Mesa and Fullerton, the most heavily traveled of the OCTA’s 72 bus routes, the frequency of trips was increased to every eight minutes from every 12 minutes.

But OCTA’s director of operations, David Armijo, said last year’s 17% increase in the number of people riding buses may force the agency to take still another look.

“We’re hoping to get some additional service to these routes, to ease overcrowding and make it possible for more people to ride,” said Armijo, adding that he expects to see some improvements this fall.

OCTA collected nearly $24 million in bus fares last year.