When OCTA announced it was initiating owl service Sept. 8, 2002 on 4 lines (#43, 50, 57 and 60) it was decided this would be the subject of our fall study tour. Saturday Sept. 21 was the date set for the event, with the Long Beach Transit Mall as our starting point. Gathered at stop "G" were: Armando Avalos, Andy Novak, Woody Rosner, Lionel Jones, Charles Hobbs, Frank Schroeder, Dana Gabbard and trip planner Mark Strickert. At 8:03 p.m. we caught our first bus - an OCTA line 60, #5016 New Flyer. When boarding most purchased a day pass ($2.50) and thankfully Mr. Strickert distributed pass holders supplied to him by OCTA to protect the flimsy things. As we passed the massive Long Beach Recreation Park there were about 14 passengers (all ride counts exclude trip participants). While initially going thru a commercial district soon the surroundings became more residential. By 8:20 p.m. we had arrived at Cal State Long Beach and deboarded.

Here we met up with Tina Erickson, who had arrived there after undertaking something of a pre-owl tour of her own. After a short wait we boarded line
50, #2119 NABI low-floor along with two passengers. This bus had an annunciator that called out (some) stops and an internal message board. We made
our way along Katella's commercial corridor and passed Los Alamitos Race Track. At Beach we had 6 passengers (including one fella who had imbibed a little too much joy juice and spent time with the busfans in the back of the bus). In Garden Grove a soda machine was spotted placed alongside a bus stop (a welcome convenience for waiting riders). Also a former Taco Bell had undergone a facelift to being "Pizza Plus". Other highlights included a wheelchair boarding at Euclid and the crew from the Convention Center taking advantage of the new later service. At Harbor T.J. Stiller joined our merry band.

Only we soon were less than merry, as our trip plan was fatally wounded by an unforeseen detour in Orange at Shaffer/Katella. We jumped off to catch the 50 going in the opposite direction (#2344, a NABI low floor) and asked the driver to call ahead and ask the 57 to wait for us. Sadly the bus had departed by the time we reached State College Blvd. So we continued on to Harbor/Katella near Disneyland. Mark furiously worked out a new trip plan while the rest of us visited a 7-11 on the northwest corner for goodies or engaged in bus watching as the Anaheim Transit buses (some Santa Barbara-style electric buses, and some fake trolleys, all operated by Coach USA) plied up and down Harbor.

At 10:20 p.m. we boarded line 43 northbound, #2235. This had a seated load. The street is residential in nature until past La Palma. Also we passed the
Anaheim Civic Center, a low-key affair consisting of their City Hall and Main Library. At Lincoln/Harbor we hopped off, and soon thereafter caught a 43 bus going southbound, #2233 a NABI low floor. Along Harbor there was constant boarding and deboarding of passengers. The street (to use a phrase I originated a few years ago during a prior study tour) is your classic fast food gulch - McDonalds, Wendys, etc. At Twintree Tina took her leave, calling it a night (we also ran up on the curve here).

We made the timed transfer at Westminster/ Harbor and boarded a waiting 60 bus (#5024, New Flyer high floor D40) at 11 p.m. We rode eastbound to the end of the line in Tustin, arriving at 11:20 p.m. While starting with 9 passengers by the end the bus had only one rider. At 11:45 p.m. we caught the same bus westbound at a rather desolate stop and in 10 minutes deboarded at Bristol and 17th. At this location John Snyder joined us. We caught line 57 northbound around midnight, #2105 NABI. The vehicle had 6 passengers (including two in wheel-chairs). At Katella and State College John Snyder deboarded and then Charles Powell boarded and joined our group. We rode all the way to the end of the line, at the Brea Mall. There were hopes of eating at The Hat, one of a local chain famed for its pastrami sandwiches and chili dogs, but sadly it closed just before our arrival. So we caught a return trip on line 57 southbound from State College/Imperial Highway at 1:16 a.m. For most of the trip there was only 1 passenger. At 1:42 a.m. we deboarded at State College and Katella to eat (and use the facilities) at the Denny's there.

The place was mobbed with noisy twentyish post-bar hopping trendoids. In fact we were the only ones (besides the wait staff) over the age of 25 in the entire establishment. At 3:42 a.m. we caught a southbound line 57 bus, #5358 New Flyer low floor, with 1 passenger. Since day passes expire at 3 a.m. most of the group bought new ones. We rode all the way to the end of the line in Newport Beach, arriving at 4:25 a.m. For most of the trip the bus was empty. While at the Newport Transportation Center we ate some Halloween candy Dana had brought. Soon we caught a northbound line 57, #2272, a NABI low floor. Passengers never exceeded 2-3 at any point of this trip.At 5:40 a.m. we deboarded at 17th/Bristol.

Our last bus was line 60 westbound, #5016, with 8 passengers. We picked up one bike rider (who constituted the sole use of the bike racks we witnessed during the entire trip). Also we passed thru the naval weapons reservation near Seal Beach. At no time did the bus have more than 10 passengers. At 6:50 a.m. we arrived back at the Long Beach Transit Mall and all went our separate ways (many via the Blue Line).

The impression gained from the trip was that the later evening service (9:30 p.m. to midnight) was serving people from late shifts and others out and about that time of night. Ridership was impressive considering this was service begun only weeks before. Obviously this was filling a need. The actual owl service (midnight to 4 a.m.) had much lighter ridership, which is to be expected. Obviously the owl service is still in the early stages of developing patronage. We hope this fall to do a follow-up OCTA owl exploration to see what ridership patterns have emerged.

A big thank you to Mark Strickert for planning the trip and reworking it mid-trip in response to adverse circumstances. This narrative drew upon
postings about the trip made by Charles Hobbs and Tina Erickson on the member only section of our website.