Riverside Transit Agency
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| Parent | Riverside County Transportation Commission |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | 1825 Third Street |
| Locale | Riverside, CA |
| Service area | Riverside County |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit |
| Routes | 39 |
| Fleet | 230+ |
| Fuel type | Compressed Natural Gas |
| Web site | riversidetransit.com |
The Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) provides public transportation for Western Riverside County, California, operating more than 230 vehicles on 39 fixed routes, six commuter routes and a Dial-A-Ride service.
RTA was established as a Joint Powers Agency on August 15, 1975 and began operating bus service on March 16, 1977.
RTA’s 2,500-square-mile (6,500 km2) service area is the second-largest in the nation with Riverside and the Pass area to the north, Hemet and San Jacinto to the east, Temecula to the south and Corona and Norco to the west. In addition to Riverside County, RTA provides service to parts of San Diego, San Bernardino and Orange counties. More than 22,000 passenger trips are counted each weekday.
During Fiscal Year 2008, the agency logged over 8 million boardings, and has enjoyed strong ridership growth in recent years. Major destinations within the RTA service area include transportation centers, colleges, schools, shopping and medical centers, business parks and community centers.
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[edit] Board of Directors
RTA is governed by a board of directors composed of 20 elected officials from 16 cities in western Riverside County and four members of the County Board of Supervisors. The member jurisdictions include the cities of Banning, Beaumont, Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Corona, Hemet, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Menifee, Murrieta, Norco, Perris, Riverside, San Jacinto, Temecula, Wildomar and the unincorporated areas of Riverside County Supervisorial Districts I, II, III and V.
[edit] Fixed Routes
RTA’s fixed-route service includes 39 routes. The fixed-route service also includes tourist trolleys (stylized rubber-tired buses, not to be confused with actual trolleys) that serve Riverside’s downtown and the University of California. Fixed-route headways vary from 20-minute to 70-minute service with up to 17 hours of service on weekdays, 15 hours on Saturdays and 12 hours on Sundays.
[edit] Route List
- 1 UC Riverside-Downtown-West Corona Metrolink
- 3 Swan Lake Park-Belle/10th
- 7 Inland Valley Hospital-Lake Elsinore Outlets
- 8 Lake Elsinore-Lake Elsinore Outlets
- 10 Big Springs/Watkins-The Galleria at Tyler
- 11 Moreno Valley Mall-Cactus/Elsworth
- 12 Stevens/Center-Pierce/Sterling
- 13 Spruce/Atlanta-The Galleria at Tyler
- 14 Downtown-Pierce/Sterling
- 15 Downtown-The Galleria at Tyler
- 16 Main/Russell-Marketplace Metrolink-Moreno Valley Mall
- 18 Sunnymead Ranch-RCC Moreno Valley Campus
- 19 Moreno Valley Mall-Perris
- 20 Magnolia Center-RCR Medical Center-Moreno Valley Mall
- 21 The Galleria at Tyler-Country Village
- 22 Downtown-Lake Elsinore Outlets
- 23 Temecula-Murrieta-Wildomar
- 24 Temecula-Pechanga
- 25 Downtown-VA Hospital
- 27 The Galleria at Tyler-Hemet
- 29 Downtown-Eastvale
- 30 Perris
- 31 Beaumont-Hemet Valley Mall
- 32 Hemet Valley Mall-Mt. San Jacinto College
- 33 Hemet Valley Mall-East Hemet
- 35 Beaumont-Banning-Moreno Valley Mall
- 40 Lake Elsinore-Canyon Lake-Quail Valley-Sun City
- 41 Mead Valley-RCR Medical Center
- 42 Esudillo Express
- 49 Downtown-Country Village
- 50 Jury Trolley
- 51 Crest Cruiser
- 55 Temecula Trolley Green Line
- 57 Temecula Trolley Red Line
- 61 Sun City-Menifee-Murrieta-Temecula
- 74 San Jacinto-Hemet-Winchester-Menifee-Sun City-Perris
- 79 Hemet-Winchester-Temecula
- 149 Downtown-The Village at Orange
- 202 Murrieta-Temecula-Oceanside Transit Center
- 204 Downtown-Montclair Transcenter
- 206 Temecula-Murrieta-Lake Elsinore-Corona Metrolink
- 208 Temecula-Murrieta-Sun City-Perris-Moreno Valley-Marketplace Metrolink-Downtown
- 210 Banning-Beaumont-Moreno Valley-Marketplace Metrolink-Downtown
- 212 Hemet-San Jacinto-Downtown-Marketplace Metrolink
- 217 Hemet-San Jacinto-Temecula-Escondido
[edit] Dial-A-Ride
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, RTA provides priority service to persons who, due to a disability, are unable to use the public fixed-route bus system. The curb-to-curb, advanced reservation service utilizes minibuses and vans to provide transportation to residents living in Calimesa, Hemet, San Jacinto, Homeland, Romoland, Lake Elsinore, Jurupa, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Temecula, Norco, Perris and Sun City. The Dial-A-Ride service area is defined as up to ¾ mile on either side of an existing fixed-route. The service operates on the same days and at the same times as fixed-route service. The service experiences roughly 20,000 monthly boardings and costs $2.50 each way.
[edit] CommuterLink
In 2003, RTA launched CommuterLink, its first bus service designed to serve Riverside County’s growing number of commuters. The specially designed express buses have limited stop service to main transit centers and Metrolink stations in Riverside, San Diego and San Bernardino counties. In 2005, RTA debuted free Wi-Fi Internet and satellite television aboard its Temecula-Oceanside CommuterLink Route 202, making the agency the first in Southern California to offer such amenities aboard public buses.
The CommuterLink system has continued to grow rapidly, with routes 210, 212 and 217 added since its inception. These routes serve Riverside-Banning, Riverside-Hemet, and Hemet-Escondido respectively. According to the agency's 2010 Short-Range Transit Plan[1], the current route 149, serving Riverside-Orange, will become part of the CommuterLink program in the coming year, benefiting from improved seating and on-board amenities.
[edit] Fares
| Fare Categories | Base Fares | Day Passes | 7-Day Pass | 10 Tripper | 31-Day Pass | Annual Pass |
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| General | $1.25 | $3.75 | $12 | $11 | $43 | $450 |
| Youth (grades 1-12) | $1.25 | $3.75 | $12 | $11 | $32 | $375 |
| Senior/Disabled | 60¢ | $1.80 | $12 | $11 | $21 | $220 |
| Child (46" tall or under) | 25¢ | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
It should be noted that several classes of passengers may ride free on RTA fixed-route buses with valid identification. These categories are: employees of the City and County of Riverside, RTA employees and their family members, jurors serving at the Riverside, Corona or Moreno Valley courthouses, and students at UC Riverside, La Sierra University, California Baptist University and any campus of Riverside Community College. Furthermore, holders of a valid downtown parking ticket or pass may ride Routes 50 and 52, the "Trolley" Red and Green lines respectively, for free.
[edit] Recent developments
[edit] Clean fuel buses
In 2001, RTA converted its entire fleet to Compressed Natural Gas, which emits fewer smog-forming emissions than diesel fuel. The agency also operates CNG fueling stations at its Riverside and Hemet facilities.
[edit] U-PASS
In September 2006, RTA partnered with the University of California, Riverside (UCR) to provide their students with an all-access bus pass. UC Riverside students get free rides by swiping their valid university identification cards through any RTA bus farebox when they board. The program, which is dubbed U-Pass, is designed to help ease traffic congestion around campus, reduce parking problems and encourage ride-sharing. Additionally, RTA operates a trolley service called the Crest Cruiser that is free to UCR students and travels around the university to off-campus housing and retail outlets.
Students of La Sierra University have also benefited from U-Pass since January 2009, and California Baptist University joined the program in August of 2009.
[edit] GO-PASS
As of August 21, 2008, RTA has also partnered with Riverside Community College District (RCCD) to provide the same free transit services to the Riverside City, Moreno Valley, and Norco college campuses. Students must swipe their valid RCCD College Cards through the bus farebox when boarding. No additional transit services have been implemented in conjunction with this partnership. As of November 2009, the Go-Pass has logged more than a million RCCD student rides averaging nearly 70,000 free rides per month. [2]
[edit] Transit centers
To keep up with the demand for public transit in a fast-growing area, RTA has unveiled plans to build new transit centers in Corona, Temecula, Perris and Riverside. Preliminary work has already begun on the projects. In 2004, RTA purchased 2 acres (8,100 m2) of land for the Corona project. In 2005, RTA qualified for a $1.3 million federal grant to help build the Perris transit center, and former President Bush’s approval of a federal appropriations bill set aside more than $1.2 million for work on the Corona and Riverside transit centers. The future transit centers are expected to include bus bays, covered plazas and park-and-ride areas.
The location for the Riverside transit center is currently the subject of some dispute. The City of Riverside originally rejected RTA's proposal for a multi-modal transit center at the Downtown Metrolink station, and RTA developed plans to improve upon their current transit center downtown. The City has since requested that RTA re-examine a multi-modal transit center at the Metrolink station. Negotiations are ongoing, but currently seem to favor co-location at the train station.[3]
[edit] Bus Rapid Transit
RTA continues to explore the implementation of a Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, system that would utilize fast-moving, high-occupancy buses equipped with the latest technology. The concept is best described as a subway on wheels capable of carrying passengers to employment hubs using designated lanes and priority traffic-signal lights. The concept of Bus Rapid Transit will continue to be studied as RTA looks for ways to improve bus travel in Riverside County.
According to the recently enacted Short Term Transit Plan, preparations for BRT service along Riverside's Magnolia Avenue will begin in 2010 or 2011, depending on financial conditions. The launch date is still undetermined. The Agency is also studying BRT along the I-15 and I-215 corridors. [4]
[edit] Custom shelters
RTA is in the process of creating custom-built shelters with solar-powered lighting, special designs that keep customers cooler in the summer and materials that resist the effects of vandalism. The prototypes debuted in 2006 near RTA headquarters on Third Street in Riverside, the first of a series of new shelters that are designed to take the agency’s image in a more modern direction.
[edit] New bus technology
RTA has begun installing new mobile data terminals inside all directly operated buses. The devices allow drivers to log on to all systems (including the farebox and headsign), view how well they are staying on schedule and communicate with dispatch using text messaging. Buses will also be equipped with automatic passenger counters and technology that uses GPS to transmit bus locations.
[edit] Financials
RTA is largely funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), State of California Transportation Development Act (TDA), the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ).
[edit] Transportation NOW
In 1992, RTA’s Board of Directors created Transportation NOW to promote the discussion of public transportation alternatives. Since then, the program has grown to include three chapters: Corona/Norco/District 2, Moreno Valley/Perris and the San Gorgonio Pass area. Each chapter meets monthly to discuss current issues surrounding public transit and ways to promote its usage and lobby for improvements.[5]
Transportation NOW is currently working on starting a new chapter in Riverside.
[edit] External links
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