The Tulare County Regional Transit Agency (TCRTA) is a
joint powers agency
A joint powers authority (JPA) is an entity permitted under the laws of some U.S. states, whereby two or more public authorities (e.g. local governments, or utility or transport districts), not necessarily located in the same state, may jointly ex ...
formed by all the cities in
Tulare County, California
Tulare County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia, California, Visalia. The county is named for ...
(except
Visalia
Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...
) alongside the county government on August 17, 2020. It operates the public transportation systems within and connecting the respective member agencies, including the legacy systems Dinuba Area Regional Transit (DART, in Dinuba),
Porterville Transit
Porterville Transit (PT) was the primary bus agency serving residents and visitors to Porterville, the fourth-largest city in Tulare County, California. It was operated by the city and offered both fixed routes and dial-a-ride local service withi ...
(PT, Porterville), Tulare InterModal Express (TIME, in the City of Tulare), and
Tulare County Area Transit
Tulare County Area Transit (TCaT) was the county-operated bus agency providing service between cities and local community circulator routes in Tulare County, California; transit within the larger cities was provided by agencies operated by those c ...
(TCaT, intercity routes). It is the largest single public transit agency in Tulare County.
History
The cities of
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
,
Farmersville,
Lindsay,
Porterville,
Tulare, and
Woodlake in partnership with the County of Tulare were the initial seven member agencies of TCRTA, which was formed by unanimously adopting the draft by-laws on August 17, 2020. In September 2020,
Dinuba
Dinuba is a city in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 21,453 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area. The Alta District Museum is located in Dinuba in a restored rai ...
joined TCRTA as the eighth member. Collectively, these represent all the cities within Tulare County with the sole exception of Visalia, the largest city and county seat, which has chosen to retain its independent
Visalia Transit
Visalia Transit (VT) is the primary bus agency serving residents and visitors to Visalia, California, the largest city and county seat of Tulare County, California. It is operated by the city through its contractor (First Transit) and offers both ...
agency. The consolidation is expected to result in uniform fares, more efficient routes, and easier intercity travel within Tulare County.
Memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed between TCRTA and the cities of Dinuba, Tulare, and Woodlake at the May 17, 2021 TCRTA Board of Directors meeting, transferring ownership, operation, and administration of public transportation systems in those cities to TCRTA.
A similar MoU for Porterville signed at the same May meeting effectively allowed that city to provide transit operations and maintenance services for Woodlake.
The first legacy system to transition to TCRTA administration was the bus service in Woodlake, starting on July 1, 2021. Porterville Transit loaned several minivans to Woodlake, replacing the minibuses that previously were operated by that city.
Services
Fixed routes
TCRTA has assumed operation of legacy fixed routes from Dinuba (DART), Porterville (Porterville Transit), the City of Tulare (TIME), and Tulare County (TCaT). Prefixes designate the legacy system from which the route was inherited.
Legacy systems
Dinuba
Under Dinuba Area Regional Transit (DART), Dinuba operated four routes, including one longer-distance route ("Dinuba Connection") connecting Dinuba to
Reedley in
Fresno County
Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...
, two flexible routes ("North" and "South") allowing deviations to serve dial-a-ride passengers between nominal fixed route stops, and a fare-free single fixed route ("Jolly Trolley") serving popular businesses.
Exeter
The City of Exeter began operating a
dial-a-ride
Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...
intracity on-demand transit service in 1991. Service to its larger neighbor Visalia is provided by
Visalia Transit
Visalia Transit (VT) is the primary bus agency serving residents and visitors to Visalia, California, the largest city and county seat of Tulare County, California. It is operated by the city through its contractor (First Transit) and offers both ...
. On July 1, 2017, Visalia Transit took over intracity dial-a-ride services within Exeter. The steep fare increase, from $1 under Exeter to $2.25 under Visalia, resulted in citizens berating the City Council.
Farmersville
The City of Farmersville also relied on Visalia Transit for public transportation connections to Visalia, with Farmersville compensating Visalia annually from its transportation funding allocation.
Lindsay
Dial-a-ride services within Lindsay were provided under annual agreements with Tulare County. TCaT also provided service for circulation within Lindsay (Route 60)
and connections to Porterville and the neighboring unincorporated communities of
Plainview,
Poplar-Cotton Center,
Strathmore, and
Woodville (Route 90).
Porterville
Porterville Transit
Porterville Transit (PT) was the primary bus agency serving residents and visitors to Porterville, the fourth-largest city in Tulare County, California. It was operated by the city and offered both fixed routes and dial-a-ride local service withi ...
operates six fixed routes within Porterville; there were nine fixed routes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with one of the fixed routes providing service to the
Tule River Indian Reservation
The Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans. The Tule River Reservation is located in Tulare County, California. The reservation was made up of Yokuts, about 200 Yowlumne, Wukchum ...
.
Tulare
The City of Tulare operated the Tulare InterModal Express (TIME) transit service, which provided six fixed routes within Tulare and one express route, jointly operated with Visalia Transit, that connected those two cities.
The six fixed routes within Tulare were named for their geographical coverage (#1 Northwest; #2 Southeast; #3 West; #4 Northeast; #5 Southwest; and #7 East); all routes, including Tulare–Visalia service (#11X) met at the central Tulare Transit Center (360 N. K St). Sunday service was added in 2015.
Tulare County
Tulare County Area Transit
Tulare County Area Transit (TCaT) was the county-operated bus agency providing service between cities and local community circulator routes in Tulare County, California; transit within the larger cities was provided by agencies operated by those c ...
(TCaT) provided mainly intercity routes, linking cities and communities within Tulare County.
Woodlake
Woodlake operated a dial-a-ride service within the city limits and unincorporated areas of the county starting in 1999; fixed intercity routes serving Woodlake were previously operated by
Orange Belt Stages
Orange Belt Stages was a bus company based in Visalia, California, affiliated with the Trailways Transportation System. The company was incorporated on November 30, 1935, and operated scheduled service in California as well as charter services. T ...
and TCaT.
The Woodlake dial-a-ride service typically operated one of the city's three 16-passenger cutaway minibuses with the other two left in reserve.
The Woodlake city bus connected with TCaT Route 30 at the Whitney Transit Center, which opened in October 2013 at 201 E Lakeview in downtown Woodlake; in total, there were four bus shelters: one at Whitney and the others at local schools (
Woodlake High School
Woodlake is a city in the San Joaquin Valley in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 7,279 at the 2010 census, up from 6,651 at the 2000 census. In 1912, the city of Woodlake was founded by Gilbert F. Stevenson.
Geograph ...
, F.J. White Learning Center, and Castle Rock Elementary).
Structure
Each member agency appoints one elected official and one alternate representative to serve on the TCRTA Board of Directors. TCRTA holds one meeting per month, scheduled for the third Monday at 3 PM.
Fleet and facilities
Facilities
The Tulare County Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility (TOMF) held a grand opening on September 23, 2021. The TOMF can accommodate up to 25 buses with a building that includes administration, operations, dispatch, and maintenance facilities. It is located near the county's Visalia Road Yard, at the intersection of Avenues 256 (Sierra) and 140 (South Lover's Lane).
References
External links
*
{{Valley Transit
Public transportation in the San Joaquin Valley Area
Bus transportation in California
Public transportation in Tulare County, California
Transit agencies in California