Countywide : OCTD Adopts Plan to Increase Bus Service

Commuters will find it easier to get to work by bus next year under a plan adopted Thursday by transit district officials that would increase service to employment centers.

For the first time in four years, Orange County Transit District directors voted to increase bus service to meet increased demand, especially in the Cypress Industrial Park-Cypress College area, the Irvine Spectrum high-tech triangle near the juncture of the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways, the Irvine communities of Northwood and Woodbridge and south Orange County areas such as El Toro and Mission Viejo.

The boost in service will be accomplished by increasing the number of bus runs and extending hours of operation, OCTD officials said. No fare hikes were approved to finance extended service, but officials said they may seek an increase by the end of the year.

OCTD General Manager James P. Reichert said ridership has increased 20% during the past four years while service levels remained unchanged. “. . . Traffic has grown on Orange County’s city streets, and we are in danger of falling behind,” he said Thursday.

The increase in bus service is part of the district’s five-year Short Range Transit Plan. Other key elements in the plan include construction of transit guideways for buses and car pools on the Santa Ana Freeway and opening more field offices for OCTD’s ride-sharing program, Commuter Network.

Continued support for car-pool lanes was the only specific goal mentioned by OCTD board member William Farris Thursday as he formally became the agency’s chairman.