Bravo! Route 529 will run from Fullerton to Huntington Beach, saving riders time
ORANGE – Orange County Transportation Authority officials joined with the community and college students today to commemorate the launch of Bravo! Route 529, a limited-stop bus route on Beach Boulevard.
Bravo! 529 will start service Monday, Feb. 11 to provide a quicker commute along the popular Route 29, which runs mostly along Beach Boulevard between Fullerton and Huntington Beach.
Today’s commemoration was held at Golden West College, one of the many destinations served by the new route.
“We are excited to introduce this service that will allow commuters to reach major destinations throughout the county faster and more conveniently,” said OCTA Chairman Tim Shaw. “The new Bravo! 529 is another example of our efforts to better meet the community’s needs by increasing transit options in areas with higher demand.”
The specially branded orange and blue Bravo! buses will run along Beach Boulevard, between the Fullerton Park-and-Ride and the Goldenwest Transportation Center in Huntington Beach.
The buses will make stops near popular employment and shopping centers, as well as tourist attractions such as Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park and Adventure City in Stanton.
The new service will operate Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., making stops at 13 locations, instead of the typical 34 stops on the regular bus route that serves Beach Boulevard.
Compared to the regular Route 29, the Bravo! route gives commuters an average travel-time savings of up to 10 minutes. It will also connect to 12 of the county’s most popular bus routes, helping riders travel more efficiently throughout Orange County.
The new Bravo! route costs the same as regular service – $2 per boarding, or $5 for a one-day pass.
The launch of Bravo! 529 is part of OC Bus 360°, OCTA’s ongoing effort to improve bus service and increase the efficiency of transit throughout the county by better matching service to rider demands.
Bus customers, who have asked for more frequent service with fewer stops, have responded favorably to the quicker service. This is the third limited-stop Bravo! line introduced in Orange County since 2013, when OCTA launched Bravo! 543 along Harbor Boulevard.
That route is traveled by nearly 3,500 riders daily and has attracted more than 6.4 million boardings in its nearly six years of operation.
A second Bravo! line, Route 560, was introduced between Santa Ana and Long Beach in 2016, and an average of just more than 3,000 riders take that service every weekday.
Bravo! Route 529 is funded in part by the Federal Transit Administration and by state funds from the state’s Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, which helps fund transit projects that reduce air pollution.
For more information on the new Bravo! route, visit octa.net/bravo.
Photo attached: OCTA Chairman Tim Shaw speaks to a crowd at Golden West College on Thursday, Feb. 7 to help launch a new limited-stop bus service on Beach Boulevard from Fullerton to Huntington Beach. Photo courtesy of the Orange County Transportation Authority.
