OC Bus

Transit bus system in Orange County, California

OC Bus

OC Bus in Orange, California
Parent	Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA)
Founded	August 1972 (1972-08)
Headquarters	550 S. Main St Orange, California, USA
Service area	Orange County
Service type	Transit bus
Routes	58^[1]
Stops	5,483
Fleet	508 buses
Daily ridership	110,300 (weekdays, Q1 2024)^[2]
Annual ridership	34,442,800 (2023)^[3]
Fuel type	CNG, battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell
Operator	OCTA Keolis (Anaheim & Irvine) Transdev (OC ACCESS)
Website	octa.net/bus

OC Bus is the transit bus service operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), serving every city in Orange County. Some of the lines serve the Los Angeles County border communities of Lakewood, La Mirada, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and Long Beach. As of February 2023, there are 52 routes in the system.

The agency is the second-largest public transportation provider in the metropolitan area after the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Its predecessor agencies include not only the prior Orange County Transit District but also such diverse entities as the Pacific Electric Railway and the South Coast Transit Corporation. In 2005, OCTA was judged America's Best Public Transportation System by the American Public Transportation Association, for its record gains in bus and Metrolink commuter trains ridership that it operates or funds.

The Authority's administrative offices are located in the city of Orange and it maintains bus operations bases in the cities of Garden Grove, and Santa Ana. Keolis operates about 40% of OCTA's Fixed Routes out of the Anaheim and Irvine bases,^[4] while Transdev operates OCTA's paratransit base for the authority's ACCESS service, also in Irvine.

All OCTA buses are equipped with bike racks and can carry two bikes, and three bicycles on some buses at any time.

South Coast Plaza is the most served location on the OC Bus system, served by five routes (55, 57, 86, 150, 553). The longest is route 1 (Long Beach–San Clemente) which utilizes Pacific Coast Highway for the vast majority of its 40-mile (64 km) route. Trips take an average of 2 to 2.5 hours.

Routes

1-99 (Local Routes)

Routes with numbers less than 100 are fixed routes that cover almost every city in Orange County. Buses operate on most major arterial streets. Route 1 is the only single-digit route, acquiring the number from California State Route 1.

Route	Terminals		via	Notes
1	Long Beach Cal State Long Beach	San Clemente El Camino Real & Avenida Santa Margarita	Pacific Coast Hwy	Longest OCTA Bus route Serves Newport Transportation Center
1	Newport Beach Newport Transportation Center (short line)	San Clemente El Camino Real & Avenida Santa Margarita	Pacific Coast Hwy
25	Fullerton Fullerton Park & Ride	Huntington Beach Pacific Coast Hwy & 1st St	Goldenwest St, Knott Av
26	Fullerton Fullerton Park & Ride	Yorba Linda Lemon Dr & Main St	Commonwealth Av, Yorba Linda Bl	Serves Fullerton Transportation Center and Cal State Fullerton
29	La Habra Beach Bl & La Habra Bl	Huntington Beach Pacific Coast Hwy & 1st St	Beach Bl	Operates alongside Rapid Route 529 between Fullerton Park & Ride and Goldenwest Transportation Center Serves Knott's Berry Farm
29A	Buena Park Buena Park Metrolink Station
29A	Buena Park Buena Park Metrolink Station			Serves Knott's Berry Farm, Goldenwest Transportation Center and Golden West College
30	Cerritos Los Cerritos Center	Anaheim Hills Esperanza Rd & Fairlynn Bl	Orangethorpe Av	Serves Fullerton Park and Ride
33	Fullerton Fullerton Park & Ride	Huntington Beach Pacific Coast Hwy & Magnolia St	Magnolia St
35	Fullerton Fullerton Park & Ride	Costa Mesa 19th St & Meyer Pl	Brookhurst St, Orangethorpe Ave
37	La Habra 1st Av & Euclid St	Fountain Valley MacArthur Bl & Hyland Av	Euclid St
38	Lakewood Del Amo Bl & Pioneer Bl	Anaheim Hills Anaheim Hills Festival	Del Amo Bl, La Palma Av	Serves Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park Downtown and Anaheim Canyon Metrolink Station
42	Hawaiian Gardens Carson St & Norwalk Bl	Orange The Village at Orange	Seal Beach Bl, Los Alamitos Bl, Lincoln Av	Serves Cypress College
42A	Seal Beach Electric Av & Main St	Orange The Village at Orange	Seal Beach Bl, Los Alamitos Bl, Lincoln Av	Serves Cypress College
43	Fullerton Berkeley Av & Harbor Bl	Costa Mesa Harbor Bl & Bernard St	Harbor Bl	Operates alongside Rapid Route 543 between MacArthur Bl and Fullerton Transportation Center Serves Fullerton College, Fullerton Transportation Center, Disneyland and Orange Coast College
46	Long Beach Norwalk Bl & Wardlow Av	Orange The Village at Orange	Ball Rd, Taft Av	Serves Disneyland
47	Fullerton Fullerton Transportation Center	Newport Beach Balboa Bl & 23rd St	Anaheim Bl, Fairview St	Serves The Outlets at Orange and Orange Coast College
50	Long Beach Cal State Long Beach	Orange The Village at Orange	Katella Av	Serves Disneyland, Anaheim Stadium and ARTIC
53	Anaheim Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center	Irvine Yale Loop & Alton Pkwy	Main St	Operates alongside Rapid Route 553 Serves MainPlace Mall
53		Santa Ana MacArthur Bl & Main St (short line)	Main St	Operates alongside Rapid Route 553 Serves MainPlace Mall
54	Garden Grove Chapman Av & Valley View St	Orange Santiago Canyon College (Mon-Sat)	Chapman Av	Does not operate east of Rancho Santiago Bl on Sundays Serves Orange Transportation Center
54	Garden Grove Chapman Av & Valley View St	Orange Rancho Santiago Bl & Chapman Av (Sun)	Chapman Av
55	Santa Ana Flower St & 6th St	Newport Beach Newport Transportation Center	Standard Av, Bristol St, Fairview St, 17th St	Serves South Coast Plaza and Orange Coast College
56	Garden Grove Chapman Av & Valley View St (early AM / late PM)	Orange Orange Transportation Center	Garden Grove Bl
56	Garden Grove Belgrave Av & Valley View St	Orange Orange Transportation Center	Garden Grove Bl
57	Brea Brea Mall	Newport Beach Newport Transportation Center	State College Bl, Bristol St, Jamboree Rd	Serves Cal State Fullerton, Anaheim Stadium, The Outlets at Orange and Santa Ana College
57	Fullerton State College Bl & Via Burton (short line)	Costa Mesa Anton Bl & Sakioka Dr (short line)	State College Bl, Bristol St, Jamboree Rd
59	Anaheim La Palma Av & Kraemer Bl	Irvine UC Irvine (weekdays)	Kraemer Bl, Glassell St, Grand Av, Von Karman Av	Serves Orange Transportation Center and Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center
59	Anaheim La Palma Av & Kraemer Bl	Tustin The District (weekends)	Kraemer Bl, Glassell St, Grand Av, Von Karman Av
60	Long Beach Cal State Long Beach	Tustin Larwin Square	Westminster Ave, 17th St	Operates alongside Rapid Route 560 Serves Santa Ana College
60	Westminster Main St & Locust St (weekends)	Santa Ana Fruit St & Tustin Av (weekends)	Westminster Ave, 17th St
64	Westminster Westminster Mall	Tustin Larwin Square	Bolsa Av, 1st St
66	Huntington Beach Goldenwest Transportation Center	Irvine Irvine Valley College	McFadden Av, Walnut Av
66	Huntington Beach Goldenwest Transportation Center	Tustin Bryan Av & Newport Av (short line)	McFadden Av, Walnut Av
70	Huntington Beach Warner Av & Pacific Coast Hwy	Tustin Tustin Metrolink Station	Edinger Av	Serves Golden West College and Goldenwest Transportation Center
71	Yorba Linda UCI Health–Placentia	Newport Beach Superior Av & Placentia Av	Tustin Av, Red Hill Av, Newport Bl	Serves The Village at Orange
72	Huntington Beach Warner Av & Pacific Coast Hwy	Tustin Tustin Metrolink Station	Warner Av	Serves The District
76	Huntington Beach Talbert Av & Beach Bl	Santa Ana John Wayne Airport	Talbert Av, MacArthur Bl
79	Tustin Larwin Square	Newport Beach Newport Transportation Center	Bryan Av, Culver Dr, University Dr	Serves UC Irvine
82	Foothill Ranch Foothill Ranch Towne Center	Rancho Santa Margarita Plano Trabuco Rd & Alas De Paz	Portola Pkwy, Santa Margarita Pkwy
83	Fullerton Fullerton Park & Ride	Laguna Hills Laguna Hills Transportation Center	I-5, Main St	Serves Disneyland, MainPlace Mall and Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center
85	Laguna Niguel Niguel Rd & Crown Valley Pkwy	Mission Viejo Portola Plaza	Marguerite Pkwy, Crown Valley Pkwy	Serves The Shops at Mission Viejo and Saddleback College
86	Costa Mesa South Coast Plaza	Mission Viejo Oso Viejo Community Park	Alton Pkwy, Jeronimo Rd	Serves Irvine Spectrum Center and Irvine Transportation Center
87	Rancho Santa Margarita Avenida Empresa & Aventura	Laguna Niguel Niguel Rd & Crown Valley Pkwy	Alicia Pkwy	Serves Laguna Hills Transportation Center
89	Mission Viejo Portola Plaza	Laguna Beach Laguna Beach Bus Station	El Toro Rd, Laguna Canyon Rd	Serves Laguna Hills Transportation Center
90	Tustin Tustin Metrolink Station	Dana Point Golden Lantern & Dana Point Harbor Dr	Irvine Center Dr, Moulton Pkwy, Golden Lantern St	Serves Irvine Valley College and Irvine Spectrum Center
91	Laguna Hills Laguna Hills Transportation Center	San Clemente Calle de Los Molinos & Avenida Pico	Paseo De Valencia, Camino Capistrano, Del Obispo St	Serves The Shops at Mission Viejo and Saddleback College

100s (Community Routes)

Routes with numbers in the 100s descended from the old RunAbout service that formerly served residential neighborhoods, or provide service to portions of 1-99 routes that have reduced demand. Three routes (129, 143, 153) were truncated from routes 29, 43, 47, 53, and 59 as a result of March 2010 service change; the 153 was later discontinued in February 2023. These routes are operated by Keolis, although between February 2022 and June 2023 OCTA temporarily operated many of these routes in-house except for the 129, 143, and 177, likely due to contractor driver shortages.

Route	Terminals		via	Notes
123	Anaheim Anaheim Canyon Metrolink Station	Huntington Beach Goldenwest Transportation Center	Malvern Av, Valley View St, Bolsa Chica Rd	Serves Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton College, Buena Park Metrolink Station and Golden West College
129	La Habra Beach Bl & La Habra Bl	Anaheim Kraemer Bl & Coronado St	La Habra Bl, Brea Bl, Birch St, Kraemer Bl	Serves Brea Mall
143	La Habra Beach Bl & La Habra Bl	Brea Brea Mall	Whittier Bl, Harbor Bl, Brea Bl, Birch St	Serves Fullerton Transportation Center and Cal State Fullerton
150	Santa Ana Flower St & 6th St		Flower St, Fairview St	Clockwise route Serves South Coast Plaza and Santa Ana College
150A	Santa Ana Flower St & 6th St		Flower St, Fairview St	Counter-clockwise route Serves Santa Ana College and South Coast Plaza
167	Orange The Village at Orange	Irvine UC Irvine	Meats Av, Santiago Bl, Wanda Rd, Hewes St, Newport Av, Irvine Bl, Jeffrey Rd, Campus Dr	Serves Irvine Valley College
177	Foothill Ranch Foothill Ranch Towne Center	Laguna Hills Laguna Hills Transportation Center	Lake Forest Dr, Muirlands Bl, Los Alisos Bl
178	Huntington Beach Yorktown Av & Goldenwest St	Irvine UC Irvine	Adams Av, Birch St, Campus Dr	Serves Orange Coast College

400s (StationLink/iShuttle)

Routes with numbers in the 400s are "StationLink" and Irvine Shuttle (iShuttle) routes which travel between Metrolink stations and business districts. These routes operate only during weekday rush hours and do not operate reverse peak services. These routes are operated by First Transit.

Route	Terminals		via	Notes
400A	Tustin Tustin Metrolink Station	Santa Ana John Wayne Airport	Von Karman Av	Irvine Shuttle (iShuttle) service
401B	Tustin Tustin Metrolink Station	Irvine 2101 Business Center	Jamboree Rd, Michelson Dr
403D	Irvine Irvine Transportation Center	Irvine Irvine Center Dr & Sand Canyon Av	Alton Pkwy
453	Orange Orange Transportation Center	Orange La Veta Av & Pepper St	Chapman Av, Main St, La Veta Av	Served from/to Metrolink Rail Line Stations
472	Tustin Tustin Metrolink Station	Irvine Food and Drug Adminstration	Edinger Av, Red Hill Av, Campus Dr, Jamboree Rd
473	Tustin Tustin Metrolink Station	Irvine UC Irvine	Edinger Av, Harvard Av
480	Irvine Irvine Station	Lake Forest Lake Forest Dr & Regency Ln	Alton Pkwy, Bake Pkwy, Lake Forest Dr

500s (Rapid Routes)

Routes with numbers in the 500s are "Rapid" routes that operate on heavily used routes making limited stops and at transfer points to other routes. It is named according to the parent route it accompanies, for adding the number five to the beginning of the route indicating that it is a Rapid express route. Rapid routes use a dedicated fleet of buses and have different color schemes from regular route buses.

Route	Terminals		via	Notes
529	Huntington Beach Goldenwest Transportation Center	Fullerton Fullerton Park & Ride	Beach Bl	Limited stop service Operates alongside Route 29/29A Serves Knott's Berry Farm
543	Fullerton Fullerton Transportation Center	Costa Mesa Harbor Bl & MacArthur Bl	Harbor Bl	Limited stop service Operates alongside Route 43 Serves Disneyland
553	Anaheim Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center	Costa Mesa Sunflower Av & Bristol St	Main St	Limited stop service Operates alongside Route 53 Serves MainPlace Mall
560	Santa Ana Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center	Westminster Main St & Locust St	17th St, Westminster Av	Limited stop service Operates alongside Route 60 Serves Santa Ana College

800s (City Shuttle)

Routes with numbers in the 800s are City Shuttle routes. Route 862, the first and only 800 series route, serving as a circulator route in Downtown Santa Ana and was introduced in October 2019, replacing former StationLink Route 462.

Route	Terminals	via	Notes
862	Santa Ana Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center	Civic Center Dr	Counter-clockwise route

Bus fleet

Active fleet

Make/Model	Fleet Numbers	Year	Propulsion	Assigned Divisions	Notes
New Flyer XHE40	1111–1120	2018	Hydrogen	Santa Ana	Funded in part by the California Air Resources Board's Low Carbon Transportation and Air Quality Improvement Program
New Flyer XE40	1201–1210	2021–2022	Battery electric	Garden Grove	1203–1207 used in OC Bus Rapid service
Gillig Low Floor Plus CNG 40'	2101	2021	CNG	Garden Grove Santa Ana	2306–2326 used in OC Bus Rapid service 2102–2173 are 2022 models 2174–2336 are 2023 models Buses are equipped with at-seat USB charging ports
Gillig Low Floor Plus CNG 40'	2102–2199, 2201–2266, 2301–2336	2022–2023	CNG	Garden Grove Santa Ana
New Flyer C40LFR	5121–5150	2008	CNG	Garden Grove Irvine	Expected to be retired in 2024
	5501–5599, 5601–5674	2007–2008	CNG	Anaheim Irvine Santa Ana	Expected to be retired in 2024
	5675–5678	2008	CNG	Anaheim	Expected to be retired in 2024
New Flyer XN40	5701–5799, 5801–5858	2015–2017	CNG	Anaheim Garden Grove Santa Ana	5801–5814 used in OC Bus Rapid service 5701 is a 2015 model, all other subsequent units are 2016 models
New Flyer XN40	5861–5866	2018	CNG	Santa Ana	All units are used in OC Bus Rapid service
Gillig Low Floor Plus CNG 29'	6381–6392	2020–2021	CNG	Irvine	Used on the Irvine Shuttle (iShuttle) service
New Flyer C40LFR	7501–7528	2007–2008	CNG	Anaheim Santa Ana	Expected to be retired in 2024
	7529	2007	CNG	Anaheim	Expected to be retired in 2024
	7530–7592	2008	CNG	Anaheim Santa Ana	Expected to be retired in 2024
New Flyer XN60	7601–7620	2013	CNG	Santa Ana
New Flyer XN60	7621–7636	2016	CNG	Santa Ana

References

^ "OC Bus Transit Fact Sheet" (PDF). Orange County Transportation Authority. August 11, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
^ "Transit Ridership Report First Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
^ "OCTA Awards Cost-Saving Contract to Continue Providing More OC Bus Service". Orange County Transportation Authority. Retrieved September 18, 2023.