Overhauling Bus Routes Would Be Time-Saver for Most, Officials Say

Many of Orange County’s buses now rolling on crooked routes may be taking a straighter path by June if transit planners get their way.

The proposed overhaul of nearly all the county’s 72 bus routes would be one of the biggest changes ever. The purpose: to cut commute times for most riders by an average of eight minutes a day and to keep the buses off smaller neighborhood streets.

Even so, transit officials say making any changes to the bus routes causes trepidation for regular bus users.

“Imagine you got up in the morning and someone changed all the streets you needed to take to get to work,” said Jodi Sorrell, Orange County Transportation Authority’s marketing administrator.

Still, Sorrell and others say the county bus system has outgrown its suburban roots. Colored maps of current bus routes look like tangled noodles in places, with many buses turning off main streets to serve out-of-the-way bus stops. And nearly 40% of the time, routes overlap.

“When we first started, OCTA was a small transit agency and we were able to customize routes to serve certain niches,” Sorrell said. “A decade ago we could wander through a neighborhood because we had some passengers there, but we’ve allowed that to keep going. Now we are looking at trying to benefit everyone on a systemwide basis.”

Transit officials say the jumbled system is the result of rapid growth over a short period. Orange County has one of the nation’s fastest-growing bus systems but has never done a major restructuring.

The proposed “one street, one route” approach would eliminate some lines and add others, forcing about 30% of bus riders to transfer more often. About 350 riders would have to walk farther under the proposed changes. But it would also clean up a now-messy configuration, improving travel times for about 60% of daily commuters.

But as with any change, the “straight lining” of the bus system has its critics, many of whom will get a chance to speak up at public hearing scheduled for Feb. 28.

Already the bus-riding public has expressed concerns at local sessions in Orange, San Clemente and Laguna Hills. More sessions are scheduled before the public hearing later this month, including one today between 2 and 6 p.m. at the Fullerton Transportation Center and one Wednesday between 2 and 6 p.m. at the Santa Ana Transportation Center.

A board vote on the proposal is scheduled for late April. If it passes, new routes could be in place by June.

The proposed changes can be viewed on the OCTA Web site at https://www.octa.net/ straightline/junemap.html