As the summer winds down, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) can proudly look back on the tremendous success of its summertime OC Fair Express transit service. There were 76,952 boardings during this year’s five-week season of the Orange County Fair, compared to 58,706 last year - a tremendous 31 percent increase. The growing popularity of the service, which according to the OCTA would not be possible without the support of the MSRC’s Clean Transportation Funding, is a true testament to the multiple benefits that savvy mass transit initiatives can provide the public.
The OC Fair Express offered fair-goers a $2 fare each way. The service took them right to the entrance gates of the fair without the hassle of driving in traffic and finding remote parking. Riders also received discounted fair admission for $3, saving riders $9 off the regular admission price. Deploying 22 40-foot, natural gas buses, the service provided hourly, non-stop direct service from eight park-and-ride lots throughout Orange County to the OC Fair on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Beth McCormick, General Manager of Transit for OCTA, explained that they operated a bus service to the fair from 2006-2008, but had to discontinue it because of the recession to focus on providing regular transit service for its customers. “We were able to bring back the service in 2011 because of the funding we received from the MSRC, and in fact, were able to do a lot more with the service because of the funding. We applied for MSRC support because we saw there was a big need for this kind of transportation service and knew that it would not happen unless there was an outside funding source like the MSRC to help support it.”
The OC Fair Express began operating from five transit facilities in 2011, but has now nearly doubled to eight this year. Four years ago, the boardings totaled 25,699, and by 2014 have grown nearly 200 percent. Prior to the MSRC’s funding, the highest number of boardings only totaled 6,161 in the summer of 2008. Beth attributes the continued growth in ridership to word-of-mouth. “People take it once and they can’t believe how great it is and they tell their friends. People who take the OC Fair Express vow never to drive to the fair again because it’s so convenient and it’s such a great deal.”
Another boost to ridership came from the OC Fair Express mobile app introduced by OCTA for the first time this year, enabling riders to purchase their bus tickets ahead of time. “This made it a lot easier for people who were on the fence about using the service to take the plunge because one of the psychological barriers to taking the bus is paying the fare - will I have the correct change, how much does it cost - questions like this,” explained Beth. “But if you know that you already have the correct fare because you’ve already paid it, that anxiety is gone.” She said that one family told OCTA staff that they wouldn’t have used the service if they hadn’t been able to buy their tickets in advance. Fully twenty-five percent of all boardings can be attributed to mobile and web fare purchases.
As part of the MSRC’s Major Event Center Transportation Program, OCTA surveyed customers who use the service. This year, 97 percent of riders responding said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service. Forty-four percent had never ridden an OCTA bus before, so this was a great opportunity to introduce people to the public transit experience.
In addition to providing convenience for the riders, the OC Fair Express also helps mitigate traffic in the area. “By people using the bus, each of which can carry about 50 passengers, it cuts down on the number of cars in the parking lots and congestion around the fair. The buses go in the back way where you can see all the cars sitting on the 55 Freeway backed up, waiting to turn into the fair,” Beth commented.
The OC Fair Express also has a great partnership with the OC Fair & Event Center that’s really paying off for riders. In addition to offering highly discounted fair admission for OCTA bus riders, they have worked with OCTA to establish a mini-transit center at the gate where people are dropped off and picked up. This has enabled OCTA to provide expanded amenities, such as shade and seating for the waiting riders, as well as provide full staff support to answer riders’ questions about the service. This has contributed to making the OC Fair Express even more successful.
OCTA has plans to apply for funding again next year. “We had such a big response to the service this year, that next year we are looking at providing service every half-hour rather than hourly from some of the transit terminals,” noted Beth. This year, service was provided every half-hour from Fullerton, Huntington Beach and Santa Ana. At a minimum, based on the ridership increases this year, the locations in Fullerton and Huntington Beach likely will continue to benefit from this more frequent service. In fact, the Huntington Beach location, which is known as the Golden West Transportation Center, is more than doubling its parking lot capacity, so Beth expects to see continued increases in OC Fair Express ridership from this park-and-ride next summer.
“People are so happy about the OC Fair Express because you get on and off where you want to be - point to point. In fact, for some people who come with small children, the kids get very excited because they think that riding the bus is the first ride at the fair.”