Omnitrans, stylized as "OmniTrans," is a

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

agency in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

, United States. The largest transit operator within San Bernardino County, it serves the

San Bernardino Valley The San Bernardino Valley ( es, Valle de San Bernardino) is a valley in Southern California located at the south base of the Transverse Ranges. It is bordered on the north by the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernardino Mountains; ...

. The agency was established in 1976 through a joint powers agreement and today includes 15 cities and portions of the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. In addition to the southwestern corner of San Bernardino County, Omnitrans provides service to parts of Riverside and

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 ...

Counties. Omnitrans currently carries about 11 million passengers per year. Omnitrans currently operates fixed route bus service, bus rapid transit and a paratransit service for the disabled, “Access.” Omnitrans operates throughout the urbanized area of southwestern San Bernardino County: south of the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain ...

, from Upland, Montclair, and Chino in the west to

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of ...

and Yucaipa in the east. The Omnitrans service area covers approximately . In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

History

In October 2019, Omnitrans faced increasing deficits and reduced service. They plan to cut service by 11 percent. They were the operator for the Arrow commuter rail line between San Bernardino and Redlands. the

San Bernardino County Transportation Authority The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) is the successor to San Bernardino Associated Governments which is responsible for administering the Measure I half-cent tax which San Bernardino County voters passed most recently in 200 ...

Transit Committee voted to transfer the operation and construction duties to the

Southern California Regional Rail Authority Metrolink is a commuter rail system in Southern California, serving Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, as well as to Oceanside in San Diego County. The core commuter rail network consists of seven lines ...

. The Transit Committee, announced that it would launch a study considering “complete consolidation” of Omnitrans under the SBCTA due to a $520 million fiscal deficit over the next 20 years. However, in 2021, SBCTA decided against the consolidation of omnitrans due to a study that it commissioned. That indicated, that due to state law, SBCTA was required to pay off the agency’s unfunded pension liability, at a one-time cost of between $100 million to $174 million. Instead SBCTA opted to provide $100 million to Omnitrans to keep it viable through 2040

Former Services

OmniLink

Omnitrans formerly operated OmniLink, a demand-response service that operated in Yucaipa and Chino Hills. OmniLink ceased operation 29 August 2014.

Future

On February 27, 2020 it was announced that Omnitrans placed a new order for four forty-foot, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE™ heavy-duty transit buses.

Services

Fixed route

The fixed-route services consist of 28 local fixed routes including one peak-hour only service, two peak-hour trippers, and one regional express route. Routes are operated with buses (and 12 buses) running primarily along major east-west and north-south corridors. Headways vary from 15-minute to hourly service, with approximately 18 hours of service on weekdays, 13 hours on Saturdays, and 12 hours on Sundays. Omnitrans recently had major changes in the West Valley by adjusting routes to run more North to South (80s) and East to West (60s).

Bus rapid transit

Omnitrans developed a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

route titled

sbX sbX is a bus rapid transit (BRT) service in San Bernardino and Loma Linda, California, United States. It is operated by Omnitrans, a public transportation agency in southwestern San Bernardino County. The route is internally named by Omnitrans ...

that traverses the San Bernardino Valley from north to south.

OmniGo

OmniGo is a general-public circular fixed route service for the low density/low demand cities of

Chino Hills The Chino Hills are a mountain range on the border of Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties, California, with a small portion in Riverside County. The Chino Hills State Park preserves open space and habitat in them. Geography The ...

, Yucaipa, and

Grand Terrace Grand Terrace is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 12,040 at the 2010 census, up from 11,626 at the 2000 census. Grand Terrace is located between Highgrove and Colton, along the I-215 and Agua Man ...

Omni Ride

Omni Ride is arriving soon to Bloomington, Chino, Chino Hills, Grand Terrace, Highgrove, Redlands and Yucaipa.

Arrow Commuter Rail

Arrow Commuter Rail is starting October 24, 2022 is between San Bernardino Transit Center and Redlands.

Demand response

Access ADA Service

Access provides public transportation services for persons who are physically or cognitively unable to use regular bus service (ADA certified and/or Omnitrans Disability Identification Card holders). Access operates curb to- curb service with minibuses or vans, complementing the Omnitrans fixed-route bus system. The Access service area is defined as up to on either side of an existing fixed route. Service is available on the same days and at the same times that fixed-route services operate.

Routes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Bus transportation in California Public transportation in San Bernardino County, California Public transportation in Riverside County, California Public transportation in Los Angeles County, California Transit authorities with natural gas buses Transportation in San Bernardino, California Transit agencies in California