This year marks the 25th anniversary of the formation of OCTA. In 1991, OCTA was created by the consolidation of seven separate transportation planning agencies, including OCTA’s predecessor agency, the Orange County Transit District, which was established in 1972.
During the past 25 years, Orange County developed into a vibrant, independent economy and left behind its traditional role as a bedroom community to Los Angeles. OCTA played a major role in this growth by keeping residents and commuters moving throughout Orange County’s 34 cities and unincorporated areas.
A quarter century of transportation improvements include:
- More than 1.4 billion OCTA bus trips taken
- Approximately 62 million rides taken on a Metrolink train
- 170 million trips provided on the 91 Express Lanes since OCTA’s purchase in 2003
- 249 miles of bikeways added
- Thanks to Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent transportation sales tax, about $5.2 billion worth of transportation improvements were delivered between 1991 and 2011, and about $5.4 worth of improvements have been approved since 2006
- 1,682 traffic signals synchronized resulting in 31 percent less stop-and-go traffic on streets
- 1,300 acres of open space purchased and permanently protected
- Nearly 1.6 million motorists assisted by the Freeway Service Patrol since 1993
- 218 miles of freeway lanes constructed
- 1.3 million cubic feet of roadway trash prevented from entering Orange County waterways