Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Solar Decathlon is coming to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine from Oct. 3 to 6 and Oct. 10 to 13. Visitors can tour solar-powered houses designed and built by collegiate teams from across the U.S. and around the world. Along with XPO, a clean energy exposition, the Solar Decathlon is expected to attract 100,000 visitors. This is the first time since its debut that the event has been held outside of Washington, DC.
To encourage the use of public transportation and help the environment, OCTA is providing special bus service to and from the event thanks to a competitive $36,800 grant from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC).
Within Irvine, Solar Decathlon Express Route 686 offers three pick-up locations to deliver riders to the Great Park. Two stops are located on Campus Drive near UC Irvine, making it convenient for the large number of students expected to attend. The third stop is at the Irvine Spectrum. All stops offer convenient OCTA bus connections as well as connections to UC Irvine and iShuttle buses. Route 686 will operate every 30 minutes from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on event days.
From outside Irvine, OCTA offers Metrolink service on weekends for visitors to “go green” to the Solar Decathlon and XPO. Metrolink riders exit at Irvine Station and take a free shuttle to the Great Park.
As an extra benefit for visitors who ride the bus or train, OCTA is offering a free gift pack to the first 100 visitors daily who show a Metrolink pass or Route 686 bus coupon at the OCTA XPO booth.
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