The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is the transportation planning commission for Orange County, California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. OCTA is responsible for funding and implementing transit and capital projects for the transportation system in the county, including freeway expansions, express lane management, bus and rail transit operation, and commuter rail funding and oversight.
OCTA was founded in 1991 through the consolidation of seven separate transportation agencies by the California State Legislature and is governed by a 17-member Board of Directors with the Caltrans District Director serving in a non-voting capacity. The Authority's administrative offices are located in the City of Orange.
History
OCTD busses in the 1980s
OCTA's predecessor agency, the Orange County Transit District, was created in August 1972 by a referendum of county voters. It originally started as Santa Ana Transit, a small transit agency with five bus routes operating in Orange County. Santa Ana Transit later merged with other, smaller agencies throughout the county, eventually leading to the formation of OCTD. The routing system was formed over the course of about 15 years and was held in place until the merge to OCTA.
In 1991, OCTA was created under state law, combining the seven separate Orange County agencies that managed transportation planning: Orange County Transportation Commission, Orange County Transit District, Consolidated Transportation Services Agency, Orange County Local Transportation Authority, Orange County Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies, Orange County Congestion Management Agency, and Orange County Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicles.
Park-and-ride facilities, public transportation and other transportation related administrative offices merged into one organization. OCTA administers funds from Measure M (also known as OC Go), a half-cent transportation sales tax. Measure M was originally passed in 1990 and renewed in 2006. It has paid for the expansion on most freeways within Orange County, street improvements and repairs, traffic signal synchronization, and increased Metrolink service.[1]
In 1995, OCTA suffered tremendously during the Orange County bankruptcy and never fully recovered. The agency lost $202 million in revenue over 17 years due to the bankruptcy.[2] As a result, bus service was reduced.
In October 2015, OCTA rebranded its bus services as "OC Bus" and launched the OC Bus 360° plan, which aims to consolidate routes into more frequent service and increase ridership. OCTA also plans to replace 40% of its bus fleet with compressed natural gas-powered vehicles.[3][4][5] The change was approved by the OCTA board on February 22, 2016.[6]
In January 2022, OCTA debuted battery-electric buses.
The longest is route 1 (Long Beach–San Clemente) which utilizes Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1) for the vast majority of its 40-mile (64 km) route, with trips taking an average of 2 to 2.5 hours. South Coast Plaza is the most served location with five OC Bus routes (55, 57, 86, 150 and Bravo! 553).
OCTA also operates six routes under the iShuttle (Irvine Shuttle) brand, serving the cities of Irvine and Tustin. These buses have a different paint scheme and fare structure, but still accept OC Bus passes. These routes connect to Irvine Transportation Center and Tustin station, and have schedules timed to give passengers a smooth transfer to/from Metrolink and Amtrak trains.
The Orange County Commuter was subsequently transferred to Metrolink, becoming the Orange County Line. With the Metrolink takeover in 1994, the southern terminus moved to Oceanside and five infill stations were added:[8]San Clemente and Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs in 1995,[9][10]Tustin and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo in 2002,[11][12] and Buena Park in 2007.[13] Starting in 2005, OCTA has funded greatly expanded service on the Orange County Line, with trains now running twenty hours daily, seven days a week, as often as every 30 minutes. Additional platforms were added at the Fullerton and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo stations to accommodate the additional trains.
Metrolink's Inland Empire–Orange County Line began operations in October 1995 between Riverside and Irvine; it was the first suburb-to-suburb commuter rail in the U.S. at the time.[14] The line was later extended and now operates between San Bernardino and Oceanside.
As of 2016[update], OCTA is collaborating with the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove to build the OC Streetcar, a 4.15-mile (6.68 km), 12-station light rail line along Santa Ana Boulevard and 4th Street in the two cities, using portions of the West Santa Ana Branch of the old Pacific Electric right-of-way. The western terminus of the proposed route would follow the Pacific Electric right-of-way near the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove, then along street running track on Santa Ana Boulevard into Downtown Santa Ana, where it would reach the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center at its eastern terminus.[19] In February 2016, $125 million towards the project was included in the proposed United States federal budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year.[20] OCTA began construction in 2018 and plans to open the project in 2023.[21][22][23][24]
Cancelled CenterLine light rail
Original 1999 proposed route for CenterLine from Fullerton to Irvine. Later, a truncated "starter line" from Santa Ana to Irvine was proposed
While OCTA secured funding through Measure M, lack of support from Orange County's congressional representatives resulted in no federal funds obtained for the proposed transit line. In February 2005, the CenterLine was suspended indefinitely, and in May 2005, the plan was officially scrapped in favor of expanding express bus service throughout Orange County and improving existing Metrolink commuter rail service.[23]
Highway and road operations
OCTA is responsible for the Countywide Master Highway Plan, which designates major arterial streets in the county, however, most road maintenance responsibilities fall with the city where the street operates in, or with the county, in the case of unincorporated areas. OCTA street funding is steered towards roadways on the Master Plan in recognition of their role in regional travel.
Recent projects
West County Connectors: In June 2010, OCTA broke ground on the West County Connectors project. The $328 million project is Orange County's largest stimulus project and one of the biggest construction jobs in nearly a decade. It added a 6-mile carpool lane and directly connected the carpool lanes on the San Diego Freeway (I-405) with the San Gabriel Freeway (I-605) and the Garden Grove Freeway (State Route 22). The project also modified and rebuilt three freeway overpasses at Valley View Street, Seal Beach Boulevard and the 7th Street Bridge into Long Beach.
Riverside Freeway (SR-91): This project added a new eastbound lane between the SR-241 in Orange County and the SR-71 in Riverside County, widening bridges and building new retaining and sound walls in an attempt to reduce traffic noise.
This was the first project in a series of capacity expansions planned for the SR-91. The second project added a new lane in each direction from the SR-55 to SR-241. The third project added a new westbound lane from SR-57 to Interstate 5. The project was completed in 2015.
Orange Freeway (SR-57): Work began in the summer of 2011 on the SR-57 to add a new northbound lane from Orangethorpe Avenue to Lambert. The project was completed in early 2014. Another project, which added a new northbound lane from Katella Avenue to Lincoln Avenue, got underway in early 2012 and was completed by late 2014.
I-5 Gateway Project: Construction began in spring 2006 on the I-5 Gateway project. The four-year project widened the remaining two miles of the I-5 in Orange County from the SR-91 to the Los Angeles County line. The I-5 Gateway project is the final link in the original Measure M's freeway expansion program. The project was completed in 2010.
In addition to freeway capacity expansions, OCTA is in the midst of the most comprehensive rail safety program in the nation that includes a public awareness program regarding safety near the tracks and implementing safety enhancements at more than 50 railroad crossings throughout the county.
The safety enhancements scheduled for completion in 2011 include:
Upgrades to warning devices in place to advise drivers of train tracks ahead
Additional gate arms to prevent drivers and pedestrians from crossing the tracks when the gates are lowered and a train is passing
Extended and raised medians to deter drivers from passing around lowered gates
Coordinated local traffic signals to prevent vehicles from stalling on the tracks
OCTA purchased the 91 Express Lanes without taxpayer money and removed a "non-compete" clause that prevented safety improvements and traffic capacity expansions along the stretch of tollway.
In July 2003, OCTA adopted a toll policy for the 91 Express Lanes based on the concept of congestion management pricing, which is designed to optimize traffic flow at free-flow speeds. The policy calls for dropping and raising tolls based on traffic demand. Traffic volumes are monitored daily and adjusted quarterly.
Five city council members or mayors, one from each supervisorial district, elected by the Orange County City Selection Committee, by district, on a population-weighted vote
Five city council members or mayors, one from each supervisorial district, elected by the Orange County City Selection Committee, by district, on a one city/one vote basis
Two public members appointed by majority vote of the other 15 voting members
One non-voting member, the Caltrans District 12 Director
Board of Directors
The current members of the OCTA Board include:[27]
Chair
Tam Nguyen, Public Member
Vice Chair
Doug Chaffee, Orange County Supervisor, District 4
Board Members
Ashleigh Aitken, Anaheim mayor andappointee of Orange County City Selection Committee District 4 cities
Valerie Amezcua, Santa Anamayor member andappointee of Orange County City Selection Committee District 2 cities
An 84-acre (34 ha) restoration project of the 300-acre (120 ha) Bee Flat Canyon site was done by Irvine Ranch Conservancy in partnership with OCTA as part of meeting the agency’s mitigation requirements to offset the damage it does to the environment. The project was deemed a success in 2020 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.[28]
