Riverside Transit Agency

Last updated
Riverside Transit Agency
Riverside Transit Agency (logo).png
RTA New Gillig Bus.JPG
Founded1975 [1]
Headquarters1825 Third Street
Riverside, CA 92517-1968 [2]
Service areaWestern Riverside County, California, United States [1]
Service type Bus service, paratransit
Routes48 [3]
Fleet339 [4]
Daily ridership19,300 (weekdays, Q3 2024) [5]
Annual ridership5,584,200 (2023) [6]
Fuel type Compressed natural gas [7]
Website riversidetransit.com

The Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) is the main transit agency for western Riverside County, California, United States. RTA provides both local and regional services throughout the region with 32 fixed-routes ,3 CommuterLink routes, Micro Transit in the Hemet San Jacinto area, and Dial-A-Ride services using a fleet of 339 vehicles. In the cities of Corona, Beaumont and Banning, RTA coordinates regional services with municipal transit systems. In Riverside, RTA coordinates with the city's Riverside Special Services, which provides ADA complementary service to RTA's fixed-route services. [8]

Contents

RTA was established as a joint powers agency on August 15, 1975, and began operating bus service on March 16, 1977.

In 2023, the system had a ridership of 5,584,200, or about 19,300 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

Governance

RTA is governed by a board of directors composed of 22 elected officials from 18 cities in western Riverside County and four members of the County Board of Supervisors.

The member jurisdictions include the cities of Banning, Beaumont, Canyon Lake, Corona, Eastvale, Hemet, Jurupa Valley, 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. [9]

Rates

As of 8-30-2023: [10]

Local and RapidLink Route Fares
Fare CategoriesBase Fares1 Day Pass7-Day Pass30-Day Pass
General$1.75$5$20$60
Youth (grades 1-12)$45
Senior/Disabled/Veteran/Medicare$0.75$2.50$30
Child (46" tall or under, up to 3)$0.50
CommuterLink Fares
Fare CategoriesBase Fares
General$3.5
Youth (grades 1-12)
Senior/Disabled/Veteran/Medicare$2.75
Child (46" tall or under, up to 3)$0.25
CommuterLink + Local + RapidLink Fares
Fare Categories1 Day Pass30-Day Pass
General$10$95
Youth (grades 1-12)
Senior/Disabled/Veteran/Medicare$7$70
Child (46" tall or under, up to 3)
Dial-A-Ride
Fare categoriesBase faresTicket books
Senior / disabled$3.50$35
Medicare Card Holder
Child (46" tall or under, up to 3)$0.75N/A

College passes

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 on all fixed-route and CommuterLink buses by swiping their valid university identification cards through any RTA bus farebox when they board. The program, called 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 2009.

As of August 21, 2008, RTA has also partnered with Riverside Community College District (RCCD) to provide the same free transit services to students at the Riverside City and Moreno Valley college campuses. (The Norco campus failed to pass an initiative to fund the program, and currently only students at Riverside and Moreno Valley are eligible.) [11] The program, called Go Pass, requires that students swipe their valid RCCD ID cards through the bus farebox when boarding. As of August 2014, the Go-Pass has logged more than 4.5 million RCCD student rides.

In August 2010, RTA expanded the reach of its Go-Pass program by partnering with the Mt. San Jacinto College District. Students at the Banning, Menifee and San Jacinto campuses who pay their student fees are allowed unlimited rides on all fixed-route and CommuterLink buses with the swipe of their ID card.

Fare subsidies

Under an agreement with the Riverside County Courts, anyone serving as a juror at the Riverside, Banning and Murrieta Courthouses is entitled to free travel on any RTA bus.

Any person who meets RTA active duty military, police or fire personnel requirements rides free on RTA fixed-route buses. Active duty military personnel must wear the appropriate uniform at the time of boarding or present to the driver a valid U.S. Uniformed Services ID card indicating active service or a Common Access card indicating uniformed services or active duty. Police and fire personnel must be in full uniform at the time of boarding. Customers must wear the appropriate uniform or show appropriate ID each time they board a bus to receive the discounted fare. [12]

Transit centers

RTA maintains several transit centers throughout their service area. Downtown Riverside is served by the Vine Street Mobility Hub

The Downtown Perris station, located between 1st and 2nd Streets, east of C Street in Perris, opened on January 10, 2010, with six bus bays and a park and ride lot. The center is also a station for weekend excursion trains from the Orange Empire Railway Museum, and is a station on Metrolink's 91/Perris Valley Line.

The Corona Transit Center opened in September 2010, adjacent to the North Main Corona Metrolink station. The center has 8 bus bays, additional park-and-ride parking and a direct connection to the Metrolink station and its associated parking garage via a pedestrian bridge.

Major transfer points are also located at several shopping centers throughout the area such as The Galleria at Tyler, the Moreno Valley Mall, the Hemet Valley Mall, the Outlets at Lake Elsinore, and Temecula's Promenade Mall.

Routes

Local routes

RTA's service consists of 32 local fixed routes and three CommuterLink Express routes. The fixed-route service includes tourist trolleys (stylized rubber-tired buses, not to be confused with actual trolleys). The agency also provides dial-a-ride service in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. [13]

Local college students ride free with the U-Pass program. [14]

RouteTerminalsViaNotes
1 Corona

Smith Av & 6th St

Riverside

UC Riverside (at Bannockburn Village)

Magnolia Av
3Corona

Corona Transit Center

Eastvale

Amazon Eastvale

Main St, Hammer Av
8 Lake Elsinore

Outlet at Lake Elsinore

Mission Trail, Grand Av
  • Clockwise and Counter-clockwise route
9Lake Elsinore

Outlet at Lake Elsinore

Perris

Perris Transit Center

Central Av
10Riverside

Galleria at Tyler

Riverside

Big Springs Rd & Watkins Dr

Lincoln Av
11 Moreno Valley

Moreno Valley Mall

Frederick St, Cactus Av & Lasselle St.
  • Served Lake Perris
12Corona

Promenade Av & McKinley St

Riverside

La Cadena Dr & Interchange St

California Av, Main St
  • Serves Galleria at Tyler and Riverside City College
13Riverside

Galleria at Tyler

Riverside

Riverside–Hunter Park/UCR Station

Arlington Av
  • Serves Riverside City College
14Riverside

Galleria at Tyler

Loma Linda

VA Hospital

Indiana Av, Washington St
15Riverside

Galleria at Tyler

Riverside

Riverside-Downtown Station

Arlington Av
16Riverside

UC Riverside (at Bannockburn Village)

Moreno Valley

Moreno Valley Mall

Canyon Crest Dr, Box Springs Rd
18Moreno Valley

Moreno Valley Mall

Sunnymead Ranch Pkwy
  • Loop route, Serves to Ironwood & Moreno Beach via Sunnymead Ranch Parkway.
19Perris

Perris Transit Center

Moreno Valley

Moreno Valley Mall

Perris Bl
20Riverside

Magnolia Av & Elizabeth St

Moreno Valley

Iris Av & Lasselle St

Alessandro Bl
21Riverside

Galleria at Tyler

Jurupa Valley

Jurupa Valley/Pedley Station

Van Buren Bl
22Perris

Perris Station Transit Center

Downtown Riverside

University Av & Market St

Alessandro Bl, Old Elsinore Rd
  • Serves Vine Street Mobility Hub
23 Temecula

Promenade Temecula

Wildomar

Palomar St & Wildomar Trail

Murrieta Hot Springs Rd
24Temecula

Promenade Temecula

Temecula

Temecula Pkwy & County Glen way

Pechanga pkwy
27Perris

Perris Transit Center

Riverside

Galleria at Tyler

I-215, Van Buren Av
28Perris

Perris Transit Center

Valle Vista

Florida Av & New Chicago Av

I-215, Florida Av
29Eastvale

Amazon Eastvale

Riverside

Vine Street Mobility Hub

Limonite Av
30Perris

Perris Transit Center

Redlands Av
  • Loop route
31 San Jacinto

Mt. San Jacinto College San Jacinto

Moreno Valley

Moreno Valley Mall

SR 60
  • Serves to Ironwood & Moreno Beach and Beaumont.
41 Mead Valley

Mead Valley Community Center

Moreno Valley

Riverside University Medical Center

Ramona Expwy
  • Serves Moreno Valley College via Ironwood & Moreno Beach.
44 Hemet

Hemet Valley Mall

State St, San Jacinto Av
  • Clockwise route
San Jacinto

Mt. San Jacinto College

  • Counter-clockwise route
49 Fontana

Banana Av & Cherry Av

Riverside

Vine Street Mobility Hub

Mission Bl
51Riverside

Iowa Av & University Village

Canyon Crest Dr
  • Clockwise route
  • Serves UC Riverside
55Temecula

VillageRd & Harveston Way

Harveston Dr
  • Clockwise route
  • Free Service
  • Serves Promenade Temecula
56Riverside

Riverside–Hunter Park/UCR Station

Iowa Av
  • Loop route
  • Serves UC Riverside
61Temecula

Promenade Temecula

Perris

Perris Transit Center

Newport Rd
  • Serves Mt. San Jacinto College
74 Menifee

Cherry Hills Bl & Bradley Rd

Hemet

Hemet Valley Mall

Newport Rd
  • Serves Mt. San Jacinto College
79Temecula

Promenade Temecula

Hemet

Hemet Valley Mall

Winchester Rd

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 major transit centers and Metrolink stations in Riverside county. In 2005, RTA debuted free Wi-Fi Internet service aboard its Temecula-Riverside CommuterLink Route 202, making the agency among the first in Southern California to offer such amenities aboard public buses. By the end of 2016, Wi-fi was offered on all of the agency's fixed-route buses. [15]

RouteTerminalsViaNotes
200 San Bernardino

San Bernardino Transit Center

Anaheim

Disneyland

SR 91, I-215
  • Serves Vine Street Mobility Hub, Galleria at Tyler and Riverside–La Sierra Metrolink Station
204 Montclair

Montclair Transcenter

Riverside

UC Riverside (at Bannockburn Village)

I-10, SR 60
206Corona

Corona Transit Center

Temecula

Promenade Temecula

I-15

Bus fleet

Active fleet

Make/ModelFleet NumbersThumbnailYearEngineTransmissionNotes
Hometown Manufacturing Villager 1-52018Ford Triton V106-Speed Automatic with Overdrive
  • Used only on Route 55 Temecula Trolley
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40 31301-31397 Riverside Transit Agency 31389.jpg 2013Cummins Westport ISL GVoith D864.5
  • 31382-31397 are in the CommunterLink livery
  • Soon to retire
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40' 31401-314112014Cummins Westport ISL GVoith D865.5
  • 31401-31405 are in the CommunterLink livery
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40' 31601-316142016Cummins Westport ISL GVoith D866.7
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40' 31621-316432017Cummins Westport ISL G NZVoith D864.6
Gillig BRTPlus 35' 32001-320702020Cummins L9Voith D864.6
Gillig BRT 35' 32101-321702021Cummins L9Voith D864.6
Gillig BRT 29' 32201-322702022Cummins L9Voith D864.6
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40' 32301-323702023Cummins Westport L9NVoith D867.8
Gillig BRTPlus HEV 60' 32371-324702024Cummins L9BAE Systems HDS 300

hybrid system

RTA's 40-foot and CommuterLink buses are powered entirely by compressed natural gas, with the agency's conversion to the fuel completed in 2001. They also operate CNG fueling stations at their Riverside and Hemet maintenance facilities that help fuel not only transit vehicles, but the alternative-fuel fleet of various government agencies. [16]

In 2013, RTA began the process of replacing their old NABI 40 LFW fleet with newer 42-foot, Gillig Low Floor BRT Suburban buses. The traditional red, white and blue colors of RTA were updated to feature solid blue on the top portion of the bus, with a ribbon of blue and red around the bus's sides and rear. The modern buses also have a more spacious interior, padded and contoured seats, colored headsigns, USB charging ports for customers' mobile phones and tablets, and a design that allows for quicker wheelchair fastening and overall faster customer boarding.

Financials

RTA is largely funded by passenger fares, Local Transportation Funds (LTF), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), State Transit Assistance (STA), Riverside County Measure A, and Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees (TUMF).[ citation needed ]

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 six chapters: Greater Riverside, Hemet San Jacinto area, Moreno Valley/Perris, Northwest, San Gorgonio Pass area, and Southwest. Each chapter meets monthly to discuss current issues surrounding public transit and ways to promote its usage and lobby for improvements. [17]

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References

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  3. "2019 Annual Report" (PDF).
  4. "2019 Annual Report" (PDF).
  5. "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  6. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  7. "Riverside Transit Agency, Riverside, CA". Archived from the original on 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  8. "2019 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 30 December 2019.
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  10. "Pass Fares & Types - Riverside Transit Agency". www.riversidetransit.com. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  11. "Go Pass is a no pass at Norco - Opinions - Viewpoints Online - Riverside City College". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  12. "Fares & Passes". Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2014-09-10.
  13. "Dial-A-Ride Service Guide". Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2014-09-10.
  14. "Riverside Transit Agency - Go-Pass / U-Pass Program".
  15. "CommuterLink website". Riversidetransit.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  16. [ dead link ]
  17. "Riverside Transit Agency, Riverside, CA". Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-05-23.