Orange County’s sprawling suburbs, vibrant beaches, and bustling business hubs demand a transportation system that’s nimble, efficient, and responsive to how people actually move today. Yet, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) continues to pour taxpayer dollars into a bus system that feels increasingly out of touch. Drive down Harbor Boulevard, Bristol Street, or Pacific Coast Highway, and you’ll notice OCTA buses lumbering along, often with just a handful of passengers, sometimes none. It’s a stark visual that raises a question: why are we still funneling public funds into a mode of transit fewer and fewer people seem to use?
The reality is, bus ridership is declining, not just in Orange County but nationwide. OCTA’s data shows a nearly 19% drop in bus boardings from 2014 to 2017, and while some routes have seen modest recovery, the trend persists. Beyond Orange County, Los Angeles County’s Metro bus system saw boardings plummet from 371 million in 2009 to 304 million in 2016, a 19% decline. Miami’s bus ridership fell 12% between 2012 and 2018, and Atlanta’s dropped 15% over the same period. Nationwide, bus ridership sank 15% from 2012 to 2018, per a ScienceDirect study, as people increasingly choose other options.
Why the exodus? Orange County residents, like many Americans, prefer the flexibility of personal vehicles or ride-sharing apps. With nearly 80% of households owning at least one car, waiting at a bus stop for a ride that may not align with your schedule feels archaic. Yet, OCTA planners seem stuck in a mindset that ignores this reality. Most of what OCTA does is funded through a bump in everyone’s sales taxes—a surcharge we all pay whenever we buy anything. OCTA owes it to us to be smart and innovative with those funds. Buses, and even rail and trains, are 19th and 20th century modes of transportation, ill-suited for a mostly suburban area like Orange County with no centralized city hub. Fixed routes struggle to serve sprawling communities that make up most of our county…