Taking a First Nibble at ‘Feeder Buses’ : * Line Will Take People From Irvine Train Depot to Key Work Centers

Proponents of the train as an alternative to the automobile in sprawling Southern California have wrestled with a fundamental dilemma. If you get people out of their cars and onto the tracks, how do you get them to and from the train station, with work centers and residential areas so spread out?

Line 382--a new bus scheduled to begin service Monday between the train station in Irvine and the Irvine and South Coast Metro business complexes--is one good answer. The new line, approved by the Orange County Transportation Authority, will run during peak periods.

It will travel from the Irvine Transportation Center along Alton Parkway, turn south on Jamboree Road, through the Irvine Business Complex, loop past UC Irvine on Campus Drive, head north on Von Karman Avenue near John Wayne Airport to Main Street, then turn west on Sunflower Avenue and turn around at South Coast Plaza. Obviously, this new line touches many of the key stopping points north of the Irvine station in Irvine and Costa Mesa.

This will be the county’s first so-called “feeder bus route.” County transportation officials clearly understand that to get people onto trains, you may need some help from a bus. May the new route enjoy a long run.