 | |
 Headquarters in Orange, California | |
| Commission overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1991 (1991) |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Orange County, California |
| Headquarters | 550 S Main Street,Orange, California |
| Employees | 1,378 (2021) |
| Annual budget | US$1.3 billion (FY 2021–22) |
| Commission executives | |
| Website | octa |
TheOrange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is thetransportation planning commission forOrange County, California, in theLos 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, andcommuter rail funding and oversight.
OCTA was founded in 1991 through the consolidation of seven separate transportation agencies by theCalifornia State Legislature and is governed by a 17-member Board of Directors with the Caltrans District Director serving in a non-voting capacity. The Transit Authority's administrative offices are located inOrange, California.
OCTA's predecessor agency, the Orange County Transit District, was created in August 1972 by areferendum of county voters. It originally started asSanta Ana Transit, a small transit agency with five bus routes operating in Orange County. Santa Ana Transit later merged with other, smaller agencies throughout the county, eventually leading to the formation of OCTD. The routing system was formed over the course of about 15 years and was held in place until the formation of OCTA.
In 1991, OCTA was created under state law, combining the seven separate Orange County agencies that managedtransportation planning: Orange County Transportation Commission, Orange County Transit District, Consolidated Transportation Services Agency, Orange County Local Transportation Authority, Orange County Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies, Orange CountyCongestion Management Agency, and Orange County Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicles.
Park-and-ride facilities, public transportation and other transportation related administrative offices merged into one organization. OCTA administers funds fromMeasure M (also known as OC Go), a half-cent transportationsales tax. Measure M was originally passed in 1990 and renewed in 2006. It has paid for the expansion on most freeways within Orange County, street improvements and repairs, traffic signal synchronization, and increased Metrolink service.[1]
In 1995, OCTA suffered tremendously during the Orange County bankruptcy and never fully recovered. The agency lost $202 million in revenue over 17 years due to the bankruptcy.[2] As a result, bus service was reduced.
In October 2015, OCTA rebranded its bus services as "OC Bus" and launched the OC Bus 360° plan, which aims to consolidate routes into more frequent service and increase ridership. OCTA also plans to replace 40% of its bus fleet withcompressed natural gas-powered vehicles.[3][4][5] The change was approved by the OCTA board on February 22, 2016.[6]
In January 2022, OCTA debuted battery-electric buses. The agency operates bothbattery electric buses andfuel cell buses, and is converting their fleet in alignment with theCalifornia Air Resources Board'sInnovative Clean Transit rule.[7]
In October 2025, OC Wave card was released to the public, which includesfare capping, 4.50$ for a day and 69$ for a month.[8][9]
OCTA operates 52 bus routes under theOC Bus brand, encompassing every city in Orange County. Some of the lines also extend to serve theLos Angeles County border communities ofArtesia,Lakewood,La Mirada,Cerritos,Hawaiian Gardens andLong Beach.
The longest is route 1 (Long Beach–San Clemente) which utilizesPacific Coast Highway (State Route 1) for the vast majority of its 40-mile (64 km) route, with trips taking an average of 2 to 2.5 hours.South Coast Plaza is the most served location with six OC Bus routes (55, 57, 86, 150, 151, and Rapid 553).
The OCTA began funding rail operations with theOrange County Commuter, whichAmtrak started operating in early 1990 running betweenLos Angeles Union Station andSan Juan Capistrano with stops inCommerce,Fullerton,Anaheim,Orange,Santa Ana andIrvine.[10] After being tasked by the California Senate to create a jointcommuter rail program with other local authorities, the OCTA became a founding member of theSouthern California Regional Rail Authority, which later adopted the brand name Metrolink.
TheOrange County Commuter was subsequently transferred to Metrolink, becoming theOrange County Line. With the Metrolink takeover in 1994, the southern terminus moved toOceanside and fiveinfill stations were added:[11]San Clemente andNorwalk/Santa Fe Springs in 1995,[12][13]Tustin andLaguna Niguel/Mission Viejo in 2002,[14][15] andBuena Park in 2007.[16] Starting in 2005, OCTA has funded greatly expanded service on the Orange County Line, with trains now running twenty hours daily, seven days a week, as often as every 30 minutes. Additional platforms were added at the Fullerton and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo stations to accommodate the additional trains.
Metrolink'sInland Empire–Orange County Line began operations in October 1995 between Riverside and Irvine; it was the first suburb-to-suburb commuter rail in the U.S. at the time.[17] The line was later extended and now operates betweenSan Bernardino andOceanside.
Metrolink also added a third line through Orange County on May 6, 2002, the 91 Line, later renamed the91/Perris Valley Line. The service initially operated between Los Angeles Union Station andRiverside–Downtown station via Buena Park, Fullerton, andCorona, roughly paralleling part of the route of the namesakeCalifornia State Route 91.[18] Limited weekend service began in July 2014.[19] On June 6, 2016, service was extended beyond Riverside toMoreno Valley andPerris–South station inPerris.[20][21]
Starting in 2015, OCTA was collaborating with the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove to build the OC Streetcar, a 4.15-mile (6.68 km), 12-station light rail line along Santa Ana Boulevard and 4th Street in the two cities, using portions of theWest Santa Ana Branch of the oldPacific Electric right-of-way. The western terminus of the route follows the Pacific Electric right-of-way near the intersection ofHarbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove, then alongstreet running track on Santa Ana Boulevard into Downtown Santa Ana, where it would reach theSanta Ana Regional Transportation Center at its eastern terminus.[22][23] In February 2016, $125 million towards the project was included in the proposedUnited States federal budget for the 2016-17fiscal year.[24] OCTA began construction in 2018 and plans to open the project in 2026.[25][26][27][28]
The CenterLine was a proposed 9.3-mile (15 km)light rail system servingIrvine,Costa Mesa andSanta Ana. It was originally planned in the 1990s and was intended to open in 2009. Costing $1 billion, it was originally envisioned as a 30-mile (48 km) route that would run fromFullerton toIrvine, throughAnaheim,Orange, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. The route would have served destinations includingJohn Wayne Airport,South Coast Metro,South Coast Plaza,Santa Ana College and downtown Santa Ana.[29]
While OCTA secured funding through Measure M, lack of support from Orange County'scongressional representatives resulted in no federal funds obtained for the proposed transit line. In February 2005, the CenterLine was suspended indefinitely, and in May 2005, the plan was officially scrapped in favor of expanding express bus service throughout Orange County and improving existingMetrolink commuter rail service.[27]
OCTA is responsible for the Countywide Master Highway Plan, which designates major arterial streets in the county, however, most road maintenance responsibilities fall with the city where the street operates in, or with the county, in the case of unincorporated areas. OCTA street funding is steered towards roadways on the Master Plan in recognition of their role in regional travel.
West County Connectors: In June 2010, OCTA broke ground on the West County Connectors project. The $328 million project is Orange County's largest stimulus project and one of the biggest construction jobs in nearly a decade. It added a 6-milecarpool lane and directly connected the carpool lanes on theSan Diego Freeway (I-405) with theSan Gabriel Freeway (I-605) and theGarden Grove Freeway (State Route 22). The project also modified and rebuilt three freewayoverpasses at Valley View Street, Seal Beach Boulevard and the 7th Street Bridge intoLong Beach.
Riverside Freeway (SR-91): This project added a new eastbound lane between theSR-241 in Orange County and theSR-71 in Riverside County, widening bridges and building new retaining and sound walls in an attempt to reduce traffic noise.
This was the first project in a series of capacity expansions planned for the SR-91. The second project added a new lane in each direction from theSR-55 toSR-241. The third project added a new westbound lane fromSR-57 toInterstate 5. The project was completed in 2015.
Orange Freeway (SR-57): Work began in the summer of 2011 on theSR-57 to add a new northbound lane from Orangethorpe Avenue to Lambert. The project was completed in early 2014. Another project, which added a new northbound lane from Katella Avenue to Lincoln Avenue, got underway in early 2012 and was completed by late 2014.
I-5 Gateway Project: Construction began in spring 2006 on theI-5 Gateway project. The four-year project widened the remaining two miles of the I-5 in Orange County from the SR-91 to theLos Angeles County line. The I-5 Gateway project is the final link in the original Measure M's freeway expansion program. The project was completed in 2010.
In addition to freeway capacity expansions, OCTA is in the midst of the most comprehensive rail safety program in the nation that includes a public awareness program regarding safety near the tracks and implementing safety enhancements at more than 50 railroad crossings throughout the county.
The safety enhancements scheduled for completion in 2011 include:
OCTA owns and operates the91 Express Lanes and the405 Express Lanes, twohigh-occupancy toll (HOT) lane facilities in the county.
OCTA purchased the 91 Express Lanes in 2003 from the California Private Transportation Corporation. Opening in 1995, the four-lane express lanes run in the median of theRiverside Freeway (SR-91) between theInterstate 15 and theCosta Mesa Freeway (SR-55). OCTA purchased the 91 Express Lanes without taxpayer money and removed a "non-compete" clause that prevented safety improvements and traffic capacity expansions along the stretch of tollway. In July 2003, OCTA adopted a toll policy for the 91 Express Lanes based on the concept of congestion management pricing, which is designed to optimize traffic flow at free-flow speeds. The policy calls for dropping and raising tolls based on traffic demand. Traffic volumes are monitored daily and adjusted quarterly.
The 405 Express Lanes betweenSR-73 and theI-605/SR-22 interchange near theLos Angeles County line opened in December 2023.
The other tollways in Orange County (SR-241,SR-261, and parts of SR-73 andSR-133) are governed by theTransportation Corridor Agencies.
OCTA is ajoint powers authority governed by a board of directors with 18 members, 17 of whom are voting members.[30] The Board is composed of:
The current members of the OCTA Board include:[31]
An 84-acre (34 ha) restoration project of the 300-acre (120 ha) Bee Flat Canyon site was done by Irvine Ranch Conservancy in partnership with OCTA as part of meeting the agency’s mitigation requirements to offset the damage it does to the environment. The project was deemed a success in 2020 by theCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife andU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.[32]
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