Public Transit Policy, Analysis, Advocacy and Education
Newsletter of the Southern California Transit Advocates
Vol 7, No. 12, December 1999

Disclaimer: The Southern California Transit Advocates is not affiliated with any governmental agency or transportation provider. Names and logos of agencies appear for information and reference purposes only. 

On Saturday most of the San Bernardino trains continue to Riverside via the trackage used by the Inland Empire/Orange County weekday Metrolink line. This is primarily single track and goes through rather stark industrial areas. We spent a few minutes stopped while freights on crossing tracks passed yet still arrived at the Riverside station early (10:28 a.m. versus the scheduled 10:40 a.m.). Since our first bus connection was tight we were glad to have the extra time. By then Alternative #1 had been chosen as our itinerary, consisting mostly of local lines in Moreno Valley and Riverside. Deboarding we encountered Madeleine, a Metrolink Ambassador, handing out schedules and answering questions. Amtrak timetables for the "San Joaquin" were prominent in the schedule rack adjacent to her (the station is served by Amtrak Thruway buses that connect with that train in Bakersfield). We hastily made our way to nearby University Avenue to catch our first bus, #16. RTA recently instituted new bus stop signs consisting of an arrow on top of the pole pointing down with the legend "The Bus Stops Here". Very eye-catching and hard to miss. It turned out a air show was going on downtown (we saw planes overhead in maneuvers) and several streets were blocked off. Our bus turned off Lime Street on a detour onto University, at 10:54 a.m. By great good luck this is the stop where we were waiting to catch it. We climbed aboard and were on our way. Ridership was decent - about 21 passengers (all ride counts include the 6 in our group). The vehicle was a TMC RTS, #9207 (all equipment descriptions courtesy of Russ Jones). As we wound thru the campus of the University of California-Riverside there was a decent amount of boarding and deboarding. We continued thru a commercial and residential district. While travelling on Canyon Crest we sighted a sign for the Highlander Hauler Shuttle, which operates for UCR students between campus and nearby apartment districts. Construction on Box Springs forced another detour, this one for a short distance on the 60 freeway. Now we had a chance to see first hand one of the route restructurings. Rt. 16 previously wound thru Moreno Valley before ending at the Moreno Valley Mall. Part of its route was transferred to rt.17 to facilitate a more direct link between the Mall and Riverside. We deboarded at the Mall about 11:20 a.m. and went inside to have lunch at the food court.

Food courts from one Mall to the next are barely distinguishable, so I will merely state everyone seemed happy with the food procured and the break time provided in the itinerary to rest a bit before continuing the trip.

At 12:32 p.m. we boarded rt.18 (another restructured route) at the Mall. It was a Flexible CNG #9506 with an inoperative headsign and about 15 passengers. Near the Mall we saw horse rides for kids and a booth selling pumpkins (due to Halloween). About 10 riders got off along Ironwood, after which ridership was light thru a mostly suburban area. Upon reaching JFK and Kitching (a tight turn we applauded) our group constituted the only ones on board. We arrived at Riverside Community College's Moreno Valley branch at about 1:10 p.m. It was a desolate area, except for the college consisting of empty dusty fields. And while not hot the weather definitely had warmed up since our initial departure. The school was set well back from the street. Before crossing the street we rested on the wrong side, enjoying the sole shelter at the location. During this time a rt.19 bus arrived for its layover. This was the first bus we found on the trip to have RTA schedules. But only after Armando found them (hidden?) under a passenger seat at the front. The driver recognized Woody, explaining that he was a former RTD driver.

We finally crossed the street to catch rt.17 (which as previously mentioned had a segment added from rt.16). To our delight the vehicle turned out to be one of only three New Flyer C40LF low-floor buses that RTA has in its fleet currently (#9703). Along with one other rider we departed at 1:30 p.m. The air conditioning was welcomed after our time outdoors, although soon it began feeling too chilly. The route wound through outlying suburbs, somewhat rural, and unsurprisingly had light ridership. We got off at Allesandro and Ellsworth, near the end of the route, to catch rt.20.

While waiting, a former RTD bus (#7728, a 1980 Grumman) passed. Russ Jones informed me it is owned by A. Scott Richards who lives in Perris and has a collection of buses. Our bus came at about 2:32 p.m. (a TMC RTS #9220) with two bikes in its rack. This segment had about 14 passengers and mostly went by gated communities (with tall walls). We arrived about 2:50 p.m. at Riverside Valley Plaza, whose main bus stop is a multi-line transfer point.

At 3:03 p.m. (running about 8 minutes down, the only truly late bus that day) we caught rt.13, a 1993 Flx Metro #9308 with about 19 passengers. We only stayed on for a short hop to Colorado and Van Burien to connect with rt.21, deboarding about 3:15 p.m.

At 3:24 p.m. we caught our last RTA bus. It was a 1995 CNG Flx Metro #9511 with an interior display headsign. Ridership numbered 12 passengers, not bad for a route that runs through mostly rural areas. Interestingly during the swing thru Pedley Metrolink station (a route segment added during the restructuring) one bike rider placed his bike on the rack and boarded. At about 4 p.m. we arrived at Country Village. Country Village is a retirement community near the border between Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Its location makes it a logical transfer point for crossing from the RTA to Omnitrans service area, just as we were doing. And thankfully near the bus stop are restroom facilities and a small market.

At 4:35 p.m. we boarded the last bus of the trip, Omnitrans rt.21 with a 1992 TMC RTS. Along with our driver Lisa there were 7 passengers. The route varies between suburban, rural and industrial. The bike rack was used and boarding/ deboarding was active. By 5:02 p.m. the passenger count had increased to 18. At 5:19 p.m. we arrived at Metrolink's Fontana station. During the time we waited for the train back to Los Angeles we watched the myriad Omnitrans bus lines that serve this location. A rt.66 in particular caught our attention as it pulled out packed with people. It turned out to be the last trip for that route, which is strange since other routes run later but seemed to not have demand equal to the 66. About that time a Metrolink racetrack special passed bound for Oceanside via San Bernardino. By now a small crowd had gathered waiting for trains going in both directions. We boarded train #391 a little after 6:30 p.m. and arrived at Union Station a few minutes late at 7:50 p.m.

Overall we were impressed that with one small exception all the buses were solidly on time and we had no glitches in moving from route to route. Obviously the restructuring accomplished its main goal of improving connectivity and service reliability. One hardship we noted was the hard to decipher system map in the RTA busbook. It uses color coding to distinguish routes. Which leaves you wondering "which shade of grey is this one?" We suggest they adopt Omnitrans practice of augmenting colors with the actual numbers to distinguish the various routes. Russ Jones also felt individual route maps should indicate all major cross streets to aid getting your bearings as you travel. Too often only streets with connecting service were labeled.

My thanks to the participants for their good humor and relaxed manner.

So, where should we go next?