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[CA] OCTA celebrates 35 years with longtime customers

 
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Cyberider




Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 501
Location: Tempe, AZ

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:15 pm    Post subject: [CA] OCTA celebrates 35 years with longtime customers Reply with quote

http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2007/08/16/politics/dpt-octa16.txt

Updated: Aug 15, 2007 - 22:00:38 PDT

OCTA celebrates 35 years with longtime customers

To help celebrate the Orange County Transportation Authority's 35th anniversary, the agency is searching for people who have been riding buses since the service was launched in 1972. A party is scheduled Aug. 31.

When the agency started bus services, 16 buses were in the agency's fleet, and they transported 38,000 people in their first month of operation. Today, 900 buses provide 220,000 trips a day to Orange County destinations.

Bus fares Aug. 31 will be 35 cents, and a party bus will travel the county in September giving free rides and special prizes to random passengers.

Long-time Orange County Transportation Authority bus riders should call (714) 349-3846 for information about the party.

— Alicia Robinson
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Cyberider




Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 501
Location: Tempe, AZ

PostPosted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:44 pm    Post subject: [CA] OCTA celebrates 35 years of bus service Reply with quote

http://www.ocregister.com/news/buses-bus-ride-1836798-baker-year

Friday, August 31, 2007
OCTA celebrates 35 years of bus service
Bus fares are rolled back and there's a celebration at Fullerton center
BY ELLYN PAK
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

FULLERTON The OCTA celebrated its 35th anniversary of bus service at the Fullerton Transportation Center today.

Those who have taken buses for 35 years or more attended the 70s-themed event.

The usual $1.25 one-way fares were reduced to 35-cents for a day. To extend the festivities, a "birthday bus" outfitted in retro decorations, music and prizes will give free rides on selected routes this month.

Michael Baker, 72, of Laguna Hills, said his loyalty to public transportation remains unwavering after decades of taking the county's buses.

Baker, a retired physicist, started taking the buses when riders used to call them "two-bit buses", named for the 25-cents it cost for a one-way ticket. OCTA's bus service began on Sept. 1, 1972, and within a year, annual ridership reached nearly a million.

Though he and his wife own a hybrid car, Baker said he still prefers to ride the bus.

"I like to ride so I can sit, read my book and not fuss with traffic," he said. "And it's less expensive to ride the bus."

Laguna Niguel resident Karen Wilson, who has taken county buses for more than 35 years, said lack of exposure to buses may be the reason why people do not use the system.

Wilson said she has built a rapport with bus drivers who often recognize daily patrons on their routes.

"I fear the freeways, frankly," said the 66-year-old. "They're brutal. People are brutal. They're in a hurry, but I'm not in a hurry anymore."

Contact the writer: 614-704-3788 or epak@ocregister.com
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