Founded | 1975 [1] |
---|---|
Headquarters | 1825 Third Street Riverside, CA 92517-1968 [2] |
Service area | Western Riverside County, California, United States [1] |
Service type | Bus service, paratransit |
Routes | 48 [3] |
Fleet | 339 [4] |
Daily ridership | 19,300 (weekdays, Q3 2024) [5] |
Annual ridership | 5,584,200 (2023) [6] |
Fuel type | Compressed natural gas [7] |
Website | riversidetransit |
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]
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.
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]
As of 8-30-2023: [10]
Fare Categories | Base Fares | 1 Day Pass | 7-Day Pass | 30-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 |
Fare Categories | Base Fares |
---|---|
General | $3.5 |
Youth (grades 1-12) | |
Senior/Disabled/Veteran/Medicare | $2.75 |
Child (46" tall or under, up to 3) | $0.25 |
Fare Categories | 1 Day Pass | 30-Day Pass |
---|---|---|
General | $10 | $95 |
Youth (grades 1-12) | ||
Senior/Disabled/Veteran/Medicare | $7 | $70 |
Child (46" tall or under, up to 3) |
Fare categories | Base fares | Ticket books |
---|---|---|
Senior / disabled | $3.50 | $35 |
Medicare Card Holder | ||
Child (46" tall or under, up to 3) | $0.75 | N/A |
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.
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]
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.
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]
Route | Terminals | Via | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Corona Smith Av & 6th St | Riverside UC Riverside (at Bannockburn Village) | Magnolia Av |
|
3 | Corona | Eastvale Amazon Eastvale | Main St, Hammer Av |
|
8 | Lake Elsinore Outlet at Lake Elsinore | Mission Trail, Grand Av |
| |
9 | Lake Elsinore Outlet at Lake Elsinore | Perris | Central Av | |
10 | Riverside | Riverside Big Springs Rd & Watkins Dr | Lincoln Av | |
11 | Moreno Valley | Frederick St, Cactus Av & Lasselle St. |
| |
12 | Corona Promenade Av & McKinley St | Riverside La Cadena Dr & Interchange St | California Av, Main St |
|
13 | Riverside Galleria at Tyler | Riverside | Arlington Av |
|
14 | Riverside Galleria at Tyler | Loma Linda VA Hospital | Indiana Av, Washington St | |
15 | Riverside Galleria at Tyler | Riverside | Arlington Av |
|
16 | Riverside UC Riverside (at Bannockburn Village) | Moreno Valley Moreno Valley Mall | Canyon Crest Dr, Box Springs Rd | |
18 | Moreno Valley Moreno Valley Mall | Sunnymead Ranch Pkwy |
| |
19 | Perris Perris Transit Center | Moreno Valley Moreno Valley Mall | Perris Bl |
|
20 | Riverside Magnolia Av & Elizabeth St | Moreno Valley Iris Av & Lasselle St | Alessandro Bl |
|
21 | Riverside Galleria at Tyler | Jurupa Valley | Van Buren Bl | |
22 | Perris Perris Station Transit Center | Downtown Riverside University Av & Market St | Alessandro Bl, Old Elsinore Rd |
|
23 | Temecula | Wildomar Palomar St & Wildomar Trail | Murrieta Hot Springs Rd | |
24 | Temecula Promenade Temecula | Temecula Temecula Pkwy & County Glen way | Pechanga pkwy | |
27 | Perris Perris Transit Center | Riverside Galleria at Tyler | I-215, Van Buren Av | |
28 | Perris Perris Transit Center | Valle Vista Florida Av & New Chicago Av | I-215, Florida Av | |
29 | Eastvale Amazon Eastvale | Riverside Vine Street Mobility Hub | Limonite Av | |
30 | Perris Perris Transit Center | Redlands Av |
| |
31 | San Jacinto | Moreno Valley Moreno Valley Mall | SR 60 |
|
41 | Mead Valley Mead Valley Community Center | Moreno Valley | Ramona Expwy |
|
44 | Hemet | State St, San Jacinto Av |
| |
San Jacinto Mt. San Jacinto College |
| |||
49 | Fontana Banana Av & Cherry Av | Riverside Vine Street Mobility Hub | Mission Bl | |
51 | Riverside Iowa Av & University Village | Canyon Crest Dr |
| |
55 | Temecula VillageRd & Harveston Way | Harveston Dr |
| |
56 | Riverside Riverside–Hunter Park/UCR Station | Iowa Av |
| |
61 | Temecula Promenade Temecula | Perris Perris Transit Center | Newport Rd |
|
74 | Menifee Cherry Hills Bl & Bradley Rd | Hemet Hemet Valley Mall | Newport Rd |
|
79 | Temecula 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]
Route | Terminals | Via | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
200 | San Bernardino | Anaheim | SR 91, I-215 |
|
204 | Montclair | Riverside UC Riverside (at Bannockburn Village) | I-10, SR 60 |
|
206 | Corona | Temecula Promenade Temecula | I-15 |
Make/Model | Fleet Numbers | Thumbnail | Year | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hometown Manufacturing Villager | 1-5 | 2018 | Ford Triton V10 | 6-Speed Automatic with Overdrive |
| |
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40 | 31301-31397 | 2013 | Cummins Westport ISL G | Voith D864.5 |
| |
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40' | 31401-31411 | 2014 | Cummins Westport ISL G | Voith D865.5 |
| |
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40' | 31601-31614 | 2016 | Cummins Westport ISL G | Voith D866.7 | ||
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40' | 31621-31643 | 2017 | Cummins Westport ISL G NZ | Voith D864.6 | ||
Gillig BRTPlus 35' | 32001-32070 | 2020 | Cummins L9 | Voith D864.6 | ||
Gillig BRT 35' | 32101-32170 | 2021 | Cummins L9 | Voith D864.6 | ||
Gillig BRT 29' | 32201-32270 | 2022 | Cummins L9 | Voith D864.6 | ||
Gillig BRTPlus CNG 40' | 32301-32370 | 2023 | Cummins Westport L9N | Voith D867.8 | ||
Gillig BRTPlus HEV 60' | 32371-32470 | 2024 | Cummins L9 | BAE 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.
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 ]
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]
Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of 29.3 square miles (76 km2), about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. It borders San Jacinto to the north, East Hemet to the east, Polly Butte and Diamond Valley Lake to the south, and Green Acres and Juniper Springs to the west.
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.
Metrolink is a commuter rail system in Southern California, serving Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, as well as to Oceanside in San Diego County. The system consists of eight lines and 69 stations operating on 545.6 miles (878.1 km) of track. This includes Arrow, which Metrolink operates under a contract with the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA).
The 91/Perris Valley Line, formerly known as the 91 Line, is a commuter rail route operated by Metrolink that runs from Los Angeles to Perris in Southern California, mostly paralleling State Route 91 between Riverside-Downtown and Buena Park stations. Operating since May 2002, the route runs on the Southern Transcon line owned by BNSF Railway, as well as the Riverside County Transportation Commission-owned San Jacinto Branch Line. Services are primarily operated along the entire route between L.A. Union Station and Perris–South, while some trips use Riverside–Downtown as a terminus.
Area code 951 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for western Riverside County in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It was assigned in 2004 to a new numbering plan area that was created by an area code split of area code 909.
The following is a list of transportation options in San Diego County, California.
Riverside–Downtown station is a train station in Riverside, California, United States. It is served by three Metrolink commuter rail lines – the 91/Perris Valley Line, Inland Empire–Orange County Line, and Riverside Line – and Amtrak intercity rail service on the Southwest Chief. The station is owned by the Riverside County Transportation Commission.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department (RSD), also known as the Riverside Sheriff's Office (RSO), is a law enforcement agency in Riverside County, in the U.S. state of California. Overseen by an elected sheriff-coroner, the department serves unincorporated areas of Riverside County as well as some of the incorporated cities in the county by contract. 17 of the county's 26 cities, with populations ranging from 4,958 to 193,365, contract with the department for police services. The county hospital and one tribal community also contract with the department for proactive policing. Riverside County is home to 12 federally recognized Indian reservations. Absent proactive policing and traffic enforcement, the department is responsible for enforcing criminal law on all Native American tribal land within the county. This function is mandated by Public Law 280, enacted in 1953, which transferred the responsibility of criminal law enforcement on tribal land from the federal government to specified state governments including California. The department also operates the county's jail system.
The Eastern Municipal Water District of Southern California is a regional water district formed in 1950 to secure additional water for a largely rural area of western Riverside County. In addition to water service, responsibilities include sewage collection, water desalination and water recycling.
Greater Los Angeles has a complex multimodal transportation infrastructure, which serves as a regional, national and international hub for passenger and freight traffic. The transportation system of Greater Los Angeles includes the United States' largest port complex, seven commuter rail lines, Amtrak service, a subway system within the city of Los Angeles, and numerous highways. Los Angeles is integrated into the Interstate Highway System by Interstate 5, Interstate 10, and Interstate 15, along with numerous auxiliary highways and state routes. Bus service is also included locally within the area by numerous local government agencies. Subways and light commuter rail lines are present within Los Angeles proper, allowing mass transportation within the city. Commuter railroads are run by Metrolink. Amtrak has numerous railroad lines that connect Los Angeles to the rest of the country.
Corona–North Main station is a station on Metrolink's Inland Empire–Orange County and 91/Perris Valley Lines located in Corona, California. The station is located at 250 East Blaine Street, near North Main Street, and is the second busiest station in the entire Metrolink system. Corona–North Main station consists of two side platforms serving two tracks. A parking lot with 500 spaces is available for passengers.
The Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) serves as an intermediary between the California Department of Education and local school districts. It provides a wide range of educational and administrative services to the 23 school districts and more than 423,000 students in Riverside County.
Many of the existing freeways in Southern California's Inland Empire were completed in the late 1970s. The only exception is the segment of the Foothill Freeway, State Route 210 between San Dimas and San Bernardino, completed in July 2007. In general, most of the higher paying jobs are located in Los Angeles and Orange County. Thus, workers must commute daily up to two hours in each direction on the existing network. As the population increases, traffic congestion is also projected to increase. In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked the area first in its list of America's most unhealthy commutes, beating every other major metropolitan area in the country, as Inland area drivers breathe the unhealthiest air and have the highest rate of fatal auto accidents per capita.
The San Jacinto Valley is a valley located in Riverside County, in Southern California, in the Inland Empire. The valley is located at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains in the east and Santa Rosa Hills to the south with the San Gorgonio Pass to the north. The average elevation is 1,500 feet (460 m), with the highest points in the foothills south of Hemet and the western slopes of the San Jacinto Mountains. It is home to two cities, Hemet and San Jacinto, and several unincorporated communities. According to the 2020 census, the valley has a combined population of over 190,000 residents, including more than 143,000 residents within the city limits of Hemet and San Jacinto. The valley is also where the story and play "Ramona" was set; the story was written after author Helen Hunt Jackson visited the valley in the 1880s. The valley is also known for being an area of agriculture, which has given way to more urbanized development.
Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the United States. The name was derived from the city of Riverside, which is the county seat.
Norco College is a public community college in Norco, California. Norco College is part of the Riverside Community College District (RCCD), which is part of the larger California Community Colleges System.
Riverside–Hunter Park/UCR station is a train station in Riverside, California, United States, that opened on June 6, 2016, along with the 91/Perris Valley Line extension of the Metrolink commuter rail system. It is located in the Hunter Park neighborhood of Riverside and about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the campus of the University of California, Riverside, after which the station is named. Despite being named after UCR, there are no buses between the campus and this station. Instead the university recommends that students use Riverside–Downtown station and take Riverside Transit Agency route 1 to campus. Original plans for the extension called for a station adjacent to the campus, but the plan was scrapped after local residents raised concerns about parking and noise.
Perris–Downtown station,, is a transit center in Perris, California, that opened on January 11, 2010, with an eight-bay bus platform used by the Riverside Transit Agency. Train service to the station began on June 6, 2016, with the 91/Perris Valley Line extension of the Metrolink commuter rail system. It is located near the historic Perris Depot.
Perris–South station is a train station in Perris, California, United States, near Menifee, that opened on June 6, 2016, along with the 91/Perris Valley Line extension of the Metrolink commuter rail system. The station consists of a single track with a side platform.