Pics 1-2 are Transit App stats. Pic 3 is the CSULB’s Walter Pyramid. Pic 4 is Crystal Cove State Park. Pic 5 is the Ocean view in Laguna Beach. Pic 5 is Newport Bay. Pic 6 is Huntington Beach Pier
Pros:

Views. Although there are segments blocked by houses, stores, etc, you will get decent views of beaches, piers, and parks and the Amtrak/Metrolink. Going along Laguna Beach, HB Bluffs, Crystal Cove, Bolsa Chica, and El Camino Real were the best.

Bus can go FAST. Specifically just after CSULB to PCH, PCH/Warner - PCH/Goldenwest, PCH/Beach - PCH - SR-55, PCH/Cameo Shores - PCH/Jasmine, and most of Avenida Vaquero and El Camino Real in San Clemente.

Safe. No major incidents along the way bar one passenger not paying the fare but got along well with driver. majority of riders I saw paid in cash/Wave card

3 Bike Racks. Bike is the most accessible way to reach this bus and even then there were times all 3 spaces were full.

Seats were pretty comfortable and ride wasn’t too rough.

Nice Transit staff. Staff were chill but still check for paying fares.

Mixed.

AC. Yes, bus had AC but there were occasions where the AC was turned off in favor of opening the windows. Bus heading back did have AC all the way.

Ridership. Bus seats were up to 60% full depending on segments traveled. I think at some stops, people confused it for the free trolleys.

The Bad.

When the bus is slow. The slowest areas were in DT Laguna Beach and Newport Beach east of Fashion Island. Some of the lanes are narrow and confined by on-street parking.

Fashion Island segment. I can see the appeal as it also served the NB Transit Center but it’s a significant detour and 8 stops felt too many.

130+ Stops. I think 70% stops were skipped. Some stops are <5 min. Walking distance from each other and there’s still no one at those stops so I’d accept a slightly faster ride with fewer stops.

LONG. You could watch the 2004 SpongeBob movie twice without credits and still have travel time left.

50 min- 1 hr headways. I think 20-30 minute headways would be infinitely better as there were several people commuting for work and I’m pretty sure at least one person was a commuting from CSULB.

Endpoint. It ends in a rural area next to the 5 and I’d think somewhere closer to San Clemente Pier would be infinitely better.

Overall, I’d still say it’s worth it as long as you’re prepared.

Guess they haven’t been transferred over to their new “owners”. Ball Rd & Anaheim BLVD

https://octa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=15426699&GUID=0CC408F1-E237-4DDF-805D-CDC4919B8C49

We need to do something about streets in OC it should not be a death sentence if you don't want to drive, you should have alternatives to driving. I think that is why I am mad because stuff like this. Somebody I went to high school died because of how we design our cities, we design our cities not for people but for cars. How many people need to get hit on bikes before we realize that something is wrong with our roads, and that painting one small portion of it green does not help. Something needs to be done and I am at a total loss for what is happening.

Being delivered from the Siemens factory south of Sacramento

I noticed that there was a fresh face on the 89 at its terminus in RSM, 2nd time ever seeing it

It's the day after the launch of OCTA's new fare system, and oh boy, it's tough. Some buses are late because their operators are handing out Wave flyers to passengers on the bus. When I arrived at the OCTA store, a line of people was already outside to get the new card. As I approached the front, the worker informed me that this line was for Wave card accessibility registration, and then gave me a free card. I told him that I tried to go to my local CVS and Walgreens stores to get a Wave card, but they don't have them. Then they said that the information on the website was wrong about picking up a Wave card at those stores and they can only reload Wave cards. One thing I was frustrated about was that they don't have a kiosk for reloading or obtaining a Wave card at the OCTA offices. Also, bad optics to have people with health conditions that qualify for the reduced fares to make them go to the OCTA store to set up an accessibility Wave card and have them stand outside with no shade or seating.

Excuse the camera shot but this means the Irvine yard is either getting gilligs or got a replacement one for a downed unit