Ridership is up overall after first two weekends, service continues through Aug. 11
ORANGE – During the first two weekends of the OC Fair, more than 28,000 people have hopped aboard the OC Fair Express bus service, which provides convenient non-stop travel to the fair every weekend through Aug. 11.
Those numbers are up by nearly 5 percent compared to the first two weekends of the 2018 OC Fair. Last year, more than 80,000 people took advantage of the service over the fair’s five weekends.
The express bus service provides direct service from nine locations to the OC Fair from approximately 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays and Sundays.
Riders can save money and avoid traffic and parking hassles by using the OC Fair Express. Passengers are dropped off just feet from the entrance to the OC Fair.
Regular bus fare is only $2 each way, and riders will receive a coupon for $4 admission to the OC Fair – a savings of up to $10 off the regular ticket price. Riders ages 60 and older and those with disabilities ride for just 75 cents each way, and children 5 years and younger ride for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Riders can also download the free OC Bus app to their mobile device to easily buy electronic tickets in advance and to check bus routes and schedules.
Five of the pickup locations connect directly from Metrolink passenger rail stations. Riders can use their valid Metrolink or Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passes from connecting trains to ride the OC Fair Express for free. Those rail transfers also receive the $4 fair admission coupon.
Riders of the OC Flex microtransit service also can connect to the OC Fair Express from Mission Viejo/Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach.
Riders can catch the OC Fair Express at the following locations:
- Anaheim: Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC), 2626 E. Katella Ave.
- Anaheim: Anaheim Canyon Metrolink Station, 1039 N. Pacificenter Drive
- Fullerton: Fullerton Park-and-Ride, 3000 W. Orangethorpe Ave.
- Huntington Beach: Goldenwest Transportation Center, 7301 Center Ave.
- Irvine: Irvine Metrolink Station, 15215 Barranca Parkway
- Laguna Hills: Laguna Hills Transportation Center, 24282 Calle de los Caballeros
- Laguna Niguel: Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink Station, 28200 Forbes Road
- Orange: The Village at Orange, 1500 E. Village Way
- Santa Ana: The Depot at Santa Ana, 1000 E. Santa Ana Blvd.
The OC Fair Express bus service has been transporting passengers directly to the OC Fair every year since 2011.
Over the years, the OC Fair Express has been funded in part by a grant from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, and OCTA continues to pursue funding for the annual service. The committee provides subsidies for cleaner transportation alternatives.
For more information, visit www.ocfairexpress.com.
