VCTC Intercity (formerly known as Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority or VISTA) is a public transit agency providing bus service in

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It provides an

intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...

between the cities of Ventura,

Oxnard Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...

Moorpark Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. As of 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County.. ...

Santa Paula Santa Paula ( Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa P ...

, and Fillmore in

, and to communities in neighboring

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and Santa Barbara counties. The agency is part of the

Ventura County Transportation Commission The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) is the public sector transportation planning body for Ventura County, California. The VCTC oversees highway, bus, aviation, rail and bicycle activity and controls the use of government funds for ...

, a governmental body that oversees transportation planning and funding in Ventura County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

History

Before VISTA was formed in 1994, the County of Ventura provided rudimentary intercity bus service. One line ran along

US 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

with stops in Ventura,

, and

Westlake Village Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

. Another service linked Thousand Oaks and

via SR 23. The city of Fillmore sponsored a route consisting of a few trips between Fillmore and Ventura along SR 126. Because of the limited nature of these services, the

proposed a comprehensive intercity bus system. VISTA began service on four core lines (Highway 101, East County, Highway 126, and a Central County route serving Camarillo,

Camarillo State Mental Hospital Camarillo State Mental Hospital, also known as Camarillo State Hospital, was a public psychiatric hospital for patients with both developmental disabilities and mental illness in Camarillo, California. The hospital was in operation from 1936 to ...

Point Mugu Point Mugu (, Chumash: ''Muwu'') is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term ...

, and Oxnard) in July 1994. Over time, these routes have been adjusted according to ridership. With the closing of Camarillo State Hospital and the repurposing of the hospital grounds as

California State University, Channel Islands California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI, CSU Channel Islands) is a public university in Camarillo, California. It opened in 2002 as the 23rd campus in the California State University system. CSUCI is located on the Central Coast of C ...

, the Central route was cancelled and two new campus shuttle routes were implemented. In 1998, service was extended to

Warner Center Warner Center is a master-planned neighborhood and business district development in the Canoga Park and Woodland Hills neighborhoods of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California.Station 84(Woodland Hills) an(Canoga Park) serve Warner Ce ...

in Los Angeles County, and in 2001, service was extended to Santa Barbara. In early 2015, VCTC changed the name of the service from VISTA to VCTC Intercity. The VCTC Intercity bus service is operated by Roadrunner Shuttle, a subsidiary of

RATP Dev RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator respon ...

USA, under contract. Due to the length of the VISTA routes, over-the-road coaches are used.

Routes

Highway 101 / Conejo

Provides service along the length of

in Ventura County, originating at the Pacific View Mall, and stopping at various places in Oxnard, Camarillo, and Thousand Oaks. Routes are numbered 50–52X. Four round trips, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, connect Oxnard, Camarillo, and Thousand Oaks with the Warner Center Transit Hub and other stops at

, a business and residential complex in the western

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

, in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

. At the transit hub, riders may connect with a shuttle to the Metro G Line and other transit services from a variety of agencies, providing access to many points in Los Angeles County.

Highway 126

This route also originates at the Pacific View Mall in Ventura and operates along SR 126 to Saticoy, Santa Paula, and Fillmore. Routes are numbered 60-62.

East County

VISTA East County route operates in the SR 23 corridor between Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, and Simi Valley. Routes are numbered 70–73X.

Coastal Express

This route connects Ventura with

Carpinteria Carpinteria (; es, Carpintería, meaning "Carpentry") is a small seaside city in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, it had a population of 13,264 at the 2020 census. Carpinteria is a po ...

and Santa Barbara. Peak hour trips also serve

Goleta Goleta or La Goleta may refer to: * ''Goleta'' (spider), a spider genus * Goleta, California, United States, a suburban city in Santa Barbara County * La Goleta, the Spanish and Portuguese name for La Goulette La Goulette (, it, La Goletta), i ...

and

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

. Riders may connect with

MTD MTD may refer to: Medicine * Maximum tolerated dose, in drug development * Muscle tension dysphonia, hyperfunctional musculature causing a hoarse voice Organizations * Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi (People's Tamil Land Party), a political party i ...

services in Santa Barbara County. Routes are numbered 80–89. This VCTC service replaced a

Clean Air Express The Clean Air Express provides commuter bus service in portions of Santa Barbara County, California, with service between the cities of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara, Lompoc, California, Lompoc, Santa Maria, California, Santa Maria, and ...

line in 2001.

Channel Islands

Originally two separate lines, this shuttle route connects CSU Channel Islands with the Camarillo Metrolink Station and the Oxnard "C" Street Transfer Center. Students are encouraged to park in the lots and use this service to get to campus. Routes are numbered 90–99.

Dial-a-ride services

VISTA operates dial-a-ride service (on demand for those meeting certain requirements) in Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Piru.

References

Sources

*Ventura County Interconnect schedule brochures: 1985–1991 *Various VISTA schedule brochures: 1992–present

External links

* {{RATP Group Public transportation in Ventura County, California Bus transportation in California Transit agencies in California Transportation in Oxnard, California Transportation in Simi Valley, California Transportation in Thousand Oaks, California Ventura, California Camarillo, California Fillmore, California Moorpark, California Santa Paula, California Public transportation in the San Fernando Valley Government agencies established in 1994 1994 establishments in California RATP Group