OCTD Ridership Bolts Past 40 Million Trips

Ridership on Orange County Transit District buses climbed a record 14.4% over the last year, at the same time that operating expenses increased just one-half of 1%, district officials said Monday.

For the first time in the 19-year history of the OCTD, ridership on district buses topped 40 million passenger trips, General Manager James P. Reichert said. He attributed increased passenger levels to the district’s marketing programs and motorists’ rising dissatisfaction with highway congestion.

Total ridership for the fiscal year ended June 30 was 40,101,122--up 14.39% over last year’s 35,055,446. Officials had expected ridership to remain about the same as a year ago. The year-to-year gain is also a district record, officials said.

“This has easily been the most successful year in OCTD’s history,” Reichert said. “We hit the 40-million passenger mark about three years before our projections, which tells us that our marketing programs are reaching those who are looking for alternatives to the automobile. And since over two-thirds of our riders are taking the bus to work, it just proves how frustrated some people have gotten with traffic conditions.”

$6 Million Below Budget

The district’s operating costs rose 0.51%, to $80,667,442 from $80,261,330 a year earlier, but were still more than $6 million below the district’s 1988-89 budget of $87,053,965, according to the agency’s fourth-quarter report.

In addition, Commuter Network, OCTD’s ride-sharing division, placed 10,626 people in car pools, a 48% jump over the same 12-month period last year. Commuter Network also processed 198,591 car-pool matching lists, up 93% over the previous fiscal year. A matching list is a computerized printout of potential ride sharers close to a person’s home and work destination.

OCTD Chairman Roger R. Stanton, a county supervisor who has criticized the agency’s management, praised the district’s performance during Monday’s regular OCTD board meeting in Garden Grove.

“OCTD is controlling its costs and getting more money from the fare box,” Stanton said.

Total fare revenue was up 21.92% from a year ago and reached a record $22,946,028, the district’s fourth-quarter report showed.

Subsidized by Government

Although a record 28.45% of OCTD’s operating costs were recovered from the fare box, OCTD--as with all publicly owned U.S. bus systems--remains subsidized by local, state and federal governments.

However, Reichert said Monday that OCTD’s average cost of service per hour--$53.84--is lower than that for most other comparable bus systems. The cost per hour of service for the Southern California Rapid Transit District (RTD) in Los Angeles County is $81.65, Reichert said. Other examples he cited included: Seattle, $66.06; Sacramento, $67.88; Santa Clara County, $63.38; San Diego, $48.60; Long Beach, $49.97.

OCTD spokeswoman Joanne Curran also credited a direct-mail campaign, which acquainted county residents with a specific route near their home and included coupons for a free bus ride.

OCTD Ridership

Anticipated Actual Increase Last Year Increase Fiscal Year Fiscal From (Fiscal Year From 1988-89 1988-89 Anticipated 1987-88) 1987-88 Totals 35,277020 40,101,122 13.6% 35,055,446 14.39%