The 8 percent reduction is necessary because of declining revenue and state funding cuts
ORANGE – Beginning Sunday, March 14, the Orange County Transportation Authority will reduce bus service by approximately 8 percent in response to state budget cuts, sales tax drop and declining ridership.
The OCTA board voted in November to eliminate 150,000 annual hours of bus service through a combination of eliminating routes, reducing bus frequency, restructuring routes and reducing trips.
The service reductions will save the agency approximately $13 million as it faces a more than $30 million budget shortfall this year. The reductions are necessary to make up for major cuts in state funding and significant drops in sales tax revenue and fare revenue.
Since September 2008, OCTA has reduced 20 percent of bus service – 383,000 revenue vehicle hours – to bring service in line with available revenue.
“OCTA has taken every measure to preserve as much service as possible and we have tried to implement these changes in a way that will affect the fewest number of riders,” said OCTA Chairman Jerry Amante, mayor of Tustin. “Our mission is to provide the best public transit system possible and there’s not one single person at OCTA who wants these cuts to occur.”
The plan will impact service on weekdays and weekends and includes:
Weekday elimination of routes 62, 74, 75, 131, 147, 164 and 693
Saturday elimination of routes 24, 76, 86, 172, 193 and 693
Sunday elimination of routes 24, 51, 76, 82, 85, 172, 193 and 693
Weekday reduced frequency on routes 24, 25, 30, 35, 37, 50, 55, 64, 66, 71, 72, 76, 82 and 145
Saturday and Sunday reduced frequency on routes 29, 50, 55, 66 and 89
Eliminates Night Owl service on routes 43, 50, 57 and 60 but maintains service until approximately 1 a.m. and resuming at approximately 4 a.m.
For detailed route information, please go http://www.octa.net/marchchange
