2 Orange County Boulevards Chosen for High-Tech, Express Bus Service

Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue were selected Monday by county transportation leaders as cross-county routes for faster bus service that could save passengers up to 18 minutes a trip.

The Bus Rapid Transit system would allow drivers to toggle switches to help trigger green lights as they approach intersections and would have electronic countdown devices in bus shelters to let riders know when the next bus would arrive.

Orange County Transportation Authority board members unanimously approved the idea for the new service. Start-up cost would be $11 million. The faster bus service would cost about $4.8 million a year to operate.

If approved by board members next month, the system would be operational by summer 2003.

Thirty freshly painted buses would be available. Stops would be every mile, rather than each quarter-mile as is the norm. The buses would have priority with traffic signals, OCTA officials said. Bus interiors would be upgraded. Passengers might save 15 to 18 minutes on their commutes, said Todd Spitzer, a county supervisor and OCTA’s board chairman.

“In some cases, it’s like having express bus service,” Spitzer said.

The new system would add 10,000 to 16,000 riders each day, according to estimates, a fraction of the millions who ride OCTA buses each month.

Each bus would have an electronic device to trigger a quicker green on traffic lights, thus saving time at intersections.

Officials from cities along the two routes have been hesitant about the new system. Details haven’t been worked out, Spitzer said.

Similar systems are in operation Los Angeles, Honolulu and Miami. In Los Angeles, the two corridors include Ventura and Wilshire/Whittier boulevards.

Authority directors will evaluate a demonstration project before the system is approved.

The system would use some existing bus stops, and some new bus shelters would be erected.

In addition to the electronic countdown timer at the bus shelters, ticketing would be done by vending machine. Typically, delays are caused when passengers pay for service while boarding. The streamlined ticketing should cut time for passengers with longer commutes, said OCTA spokesman George Urch.

The routes were picked because they have heavy ridership. About 15% of all passengers use both routes and follow a straight line.

The Harbor route begins at Nutwood Place in Fullerton and ends at Newport Beach. The Westminster route begins at the Long Beach Transit Center and ends at the Santa Ana Transit Center.