Despite Cuts, Bus Ridership Is Up 8.1%

Four months after the biggest bus service change in its 25-year history, Orange County Transportation Authority reported this week that ridership has increased by 8.1%, despite a 10% reduction in administration and service.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” OCTA spokeswoman Dee Traverzo said of the surprising figures. “We decreased service that was really not necessary and put it to where it’s actually being used. We’re using fewer hours more efficiently.”

That changes were part of a major overhaul in bus service that took effect Oct. 1 in response to cuts in the agency’s budget after the county’s bankruptcy.

Traverzo said costs were reduced not only by cutting operating hours but also by eliminating administrative positions and using smaller buses on several routes.

“We needed to change with the times,” Traverzo said. “We were aware that the county is evolving.”

A report to OCTA’s directors Thursday indicated that, from October through December, 10.9 million people boarded buses in Orange County, up from the 10.1 million riders for the same period the year before.

At the same time, the report stated, the number of hours of bus service decreased from to 309,800 from 322,200 a year earlier.

Transportation planners made several other changes designed to attract more riders.

One of those, Traverzo said, was retooling schedules so that buses would arrive at major stops at 15-, 20-, 30- or 45-minute intervals rather than the odd times that would-be riders had previously found confusing.

They also shortened some major routes, eliminating portions in which buses had run nearly empty; and created a hub at the Laguna Hills Transportation Center from which all major routes are now accessible.

A new “roundabout” service was initiated, which carries passengers along neighborhood streets in van-size buses.

To publicize the changes, OCTA officials launched a marketing campaign with posters, advertisements and personnel stationed as “helpers” along some routes.

The results, boosted by population growth, were better than expected, Traverzo said. Ticket sales increased appreciably, as much as 28.4% on one route from northeast Anaheim to Costa Mesa.

“A large effort was put into finding out what people wanted,” she said. “We tried to put the service where it was really needed, and we’ve had really good success.”