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OC Bus

Transit bus system in Orange County, California

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

OC Bus is the transit bus service operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), serving every city in Orange County. Some of the lines serve the Los Angeles County border communities of Lakewood, La Mirada, Cerritos, Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens, and Long Beach. As of November 2025, there are 51 routes in the system.

The agency is the second-largest public transportation provider in the metropolitan area after the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Its predecessor agencies include not only the prior Orange County Transit District but also such diverse entities as the Pacific Electric Railway and the South Coast Transit Corporation. In 2005, OCTA was judged America's Best Public Transportation System by the American Public Transportation Association, for its record gains in bus and Metrolink commuter trains ridership that it operates or funds.

The Authority's administrative offices are located in the city of Orange and it maintains bus operations bases in the cities of Garden Grove, and Santa Ana. Keolis operates about 40% of OCTA's Fixed Routes out of the Anaheim and Irvine bases, while Transdev operates OCTA's paratransit base for the authority's ACCESS service, also in Irvine.

All OCTA buses are equipped with bike racks, articulated buses carry two bike racks, while the rest of the fleet carry three bike racks. In addition, all OCTA buses come with free WiFi onboard.

The longest is route 1 (Long Beach, San Clemente) which utilizes Pacific Coast Highway for the vast majority of its 40-mile (64 km) route, with trips take an average of 2 to 2.5 hours.

01Routes

1-99 (Local Routes)

Routes with numbers less than 100 are fixed routes that cover almost every city in Orange County. Buses operate on most major arterial streets. Route 1 is the only single-digit route, acquiring the number from California State Route 1.

Route Terminals via Notes
1 Long Beach

Cal State Long Beach

San Clemente

El Camino Real & Avenida Santa Margarita

Pacific Coast Hwy
  • Longest OCTA Bus route
  • Serves Newport Transportation Center
Newport Beach

Newport Transportation Center

(short line)

25 Fullerton

Fullerton Park & Ride

Huntington Beach

Pacific Coast Hwy & 1st St

Goldenwest St, Knott Av
26 Fullerton

Fullerton Park & Ride

Yorba Linda

Lemon Dr & Main St

Commonwealth Av, Yorba Linda Bl
29A Buena Park

Buena Park Metrolink Station

Huntington Beach

Pacific Coast Hwy & 1st St

Beach Bl
  • Operates alongside Rapid Route 529 between Fullerton Park & Ride and Goldenwest Transportation Center
  • Serves Knott's Berry Farm
30 Cerritos

Los Cerritos Center

Anaheim Hills

Esperanza Rd & Fairlynn Bl

Orangethorpe Av
  • Serves Fullerton Park and Ride
33 Fullerton

Fullerton Park & Ride

Huntington Beach

Pacific Coast Hwy & Magnolia St

Magnolia St
35 Fullerton

Fullerton Park & Ride

Costa Mesa

Park Av and 19th St

Brookhurst St, Orangethorpe Ave
37 La Habra

1st Av & Euclid St

Fountain Valley

MacArthur Bl & Hyland Av

Euclid St
38 Cerritos

Los Cerritos Center

Anaheim Hills

Esperanza Rd & Fairlynn Bl

Del Amo Bl, La Palma Av
42/A Long Beach

Norwalk Bl & Wardlow Av

Orange

The Village at Orange

Los Alamitos Bl, Lincoln Av
  • Serves Cypress College
  • Route 42A serves Braille Institute on Dale St and Crescent Av
43 Fullerton

Berkeley Av & Harbor Bl

Costa Mesa

Park Av and 19th St

Harbor Bl
46 Seal Beach

Electric Av and Main St

Orange

The Village at Orange

Ball Rd, Taft Av, Los Alamitos Bl, Seal Beach Bl
Long Beach

Norwalk Bl & Wardlow Av

(short line)

47 Fullerton

Fullerton Transportation Center

Newport Beach

Balboa Bl & 23rd St

Anaheim Bl, Fairview St
50 Long Beach

Cal State Long Beach

Orange

The Village at Orange

Katella Av
53 Anaheim

Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center

Irvine

Yale Loop & Alton Pkwy

Main St
Santa Ana

MacArthur Bl & Main St

(short line)

54 Garden Grove

Chapman Av & Valley View St

Orange

Santiago Canyon College

(Mon-Sat)

Chapman Av
  • Does not operate east of Rancho Santiago Bl on Sundays
  • Serves Orange station
Orange

Rancho Santiago Bl & Chapman Av

(Sun)

55 Santa Ana

Flower St & 6th St

Newport Beach

Newport Transportation Center

Standard Av, Bristol St, Fairview St, 17th St
56 Garden Grove

Chapman Av & Valley View St

(early AM / late PM)

Orange
Orange station
Garden Grove Bl
Garden Grove

Belgrave Av & Valley View St

57 Brea

Brea Mall

Newport Beach
Newport Transportation Center
State College Bl, Bristol St, Jamboree Rd
Fullerton

Cal State Fullerton

(short line)

Costa Mesa

Anton Bl & Sakioka Dr

(short line)

59 Brea
Brea Mall
Irvine

UC Irvine

Birch St, Kraemer Bl, Glassell St, Grand Av, Von Karman Av
60 Long Beach

Cal State Long Beach

Tustin
Larwin Square
Westminster Ave, 17th St
Westminster

Main St & Locust St

(weekends)

Santa Ana

Fruit St & Tustin Av

(weekends)

64 Westminster

Westminster Mall

Tustin

Larwin Square

Bolsa Av, 1st St
66 Huntington Beach

Goldenwest Transportation Center

Irvine

Irvine Valley College

McFadden Av, Walnut Av
Tustin

Bryan Av & Newport Av

(short line)

70 Huntington Beach

Warner Av & Pacific Coast Hwy

Tustin

Tustin Metrolink Station

Edinger Av
71 Yorba Linda

UCI Health-Placentia

Newport Beach

Superior Av & Placentia Av

Tustin Av, Red Hill Av, Newport Bl
72 Huntington Beach

Warner Av & Pacific Coast Hwy

Tustin

Tustin Metrolink Station

Warner Av
76 Huntington Beach

Talbert Av & Beach Bl

Santa Ana

John Wayne Airport

Talbert Av, MacArthur Bl
79 Tustin
Larwin Square
Newport Beach

Newport Transportation Center

Bryan Av, Culver Dr, University Dr
83 Fullerton

Fullerton Park & Ride

Laguna Hills

Laguna Hills Transportation Center

I-5, Main St
85 Laguna Niguel

Niguel Rd & Crown Valley Pkwy

Mission Viejo

Portola Plaza

Marguerite Pkwy, Crown Valley Pkwy
86 Costa Mesa

South Coast Plaza

Mission Viejo

Oso Viejo Community Park

Alton Pkwy, Jeronimo Rd
89 Mission Viejo
Portola Plaza
Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach Bus Station

El Toro Rd, Laguna Canyon Rd
  • Serves Laguna Hills Transportation Center
90 Tustin

Tustin Metrolink Station

Dana Point

Golden Lantern & Dana Point Harbor Dr

Irvine Center Dr, Moulton Pkwy, Golden Lantern St
91 Laguna Hills

Laguna Hills Transportation Center

San Clemente

Calle de Los Molinos & Avenida Pico

Paseo De Valencia, Camino Capistrano, Del Obispo St

100s (Community Routes)

Routes with numbers in the 100s descended from the old RunAbout service that formerly served residential neighborhoods, or provide service to portions of 1-99 routes that have reduced demand. Three routes (129, 143, 153) were truncated from routes 29, 43, 47, 53, and 59 as a result of March 2010 service change; the 153 was later discontinued in February 2023. These routes are operated by Keolis, although between February 2022 and June 2023 OCTA temporarily operated many of these routes in-house except for the 129, 143, and 177, likely due to contractor driver shortages.

Route Terminals via Notes
123 Anaheim

Anaheim Canyon Metrolink Station

Huntington Beach

Goldenwest Transportation Center

Artesia Bl, Malvern Av, Chapman Av, Valley View St, Bolsa Chica Rd
129 Buena Park

Buena Park Metrolink Station

Brea

Brea Mall

Beach Bl, La Habra Bl, Brea Bl, Birch St
143 La Habra

Beach Bl & La Habra Bl

Brea

Brea Mall

Whittier Bl, Harbor Bl, Brea Bl, Birch St
150 Santa Ana

Flower St & 6th St

Flower St, Fairview St
151
167 Orange

The Village at Orange

Irvine

UC Irvine

Meats Av, Santiago Bl, Wanda Rd, Hewes St, Newport Av, Irvine Bl, Jeffrey Rd, Campus Dr
177 Laguna Niguel

Niguel Rd and Crown Valley Pkwy

Mission Viejo

Los Alisos Blvd and Mustang Run

Alicia Pkwy, Muirlands Bl, Lake Forest Dr, Portola Pkwy, Santa Margarita Pkwy
  • Serves Laguna Hills Transportation Center
178 Huntington Beach

Yorktown Av & Goldenwest St

Irvine

UC Irvine

Adams Av, Birch St, Campus Dr

400s (StationLink)

Routes with numbers in the 400s are "StationLink" routes which travel between Metrolink stations and business districts. These routes operate only during weekday rush hours and do not operate reverse peak services. These routes are operated by Keolis.

Route Terminals via Notes
453 Orange

Orange station

Orange

La Veta Av & Pepper St

Chapman Av, Main St, La Veta Av
  • Served from/to Metrolink Rail Line Stations
472 Tustin

Tustin Metrolink Station

Irvine

Food and Drug Administration

Edinger Av, Red Hill Av, Campus Dr, Jamboree Rd
473 Tustin

Tustin Metrolink Station

Irvine

UC Irvine

Edinger Av, Harvard Av
480 Irvine

Irvine Transportation Center

Lake Forest

Lake Forest Dr & Regency Ln

Alton Pkwy, Bake Pkwy, Lake Forest Dr

Former iShuttle services

Until June 28, 2025, OC Bus operated the iShuttle bus service.

Route Terminals via Notes
400A Tustin

Tustin Metrolink Station

Santa Ana
John Wayne Airport
Von Karman Av
  • Irvine Shuttle (iShuttle) service
401B Tustin

Tustin Metrolink Station

Irvine

2101 Business Center

Jamboree Rd, Michelson Dr
403D Irvine

Irvine Transportation Center

Irvine

Irvine Center Dr & Sand Canyon Av

Alton Pkwy

500s (Rapid Routes)

Routes with numbers in the 500s are "Rapid" routes that operate on heavily used routes making limited stops and at transfer points to other routes. It is named according to the parent route it accompanies, for adding the number five to the beginning of the route indicating that it is a Rapid express route. Rapid routes use a dedicated fleet of buses and have different color schemes from regular route buses.

Route Terminals via Notes
529 Fullerton

Goldenwest Transportation Center

Fullerton

Fullerton Park & Ride

Beach Bl
543 Fullerton

Fullerton Transportation Center

Costa Mesa

Harbor Bl & MacArthur Bl

Harbor Bl
  • Limited stop service
  • Operates alongside Route 43
  • Serves Disneyland
553 Anaheim

Disneyland

Costa Mesa

Sunflower Av & Bristol St

Main St, Katella Av
560 Santa Ana

Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center

Westminster

Main St & Locust St

17th St, Westminster Av

800s (City Shuttle)

Routes with numbers in the 800s are City Shuttle routes. Route 862, the first and only 800 series route, serving as a circulator route in Downtown Santa Ana and was introduced in October 2019, replacing former StationLink Route 462.

Route Terminals via Notes
862 Santa Ana

Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center

Civic Center Dr
  • Counter-clockwise route
Map of the OCTA bus system
Map of the OCTA bus system
Irvine Shuttle (iShuttle), operated by the OCTA at the Irvine Transportation Center in Irvine, California
Irvine Shuttle (iShuttle), operated by the OCTA at the Irvine Transportation Center in Irvine, California

02Bus fleet

Active fleet

Image Make/Model Fleet numbers Year Propulsion Assigned Divisions Notes
New Flyer XHE40 1111-1130 2018, 2025 Hydrogen Santa Ana
  • Funded in part by the California Air Resources Board's Low Carbon Transportation and Air Quality Improvement Program
  • 1121 has not entered service yet, 1122-1130 have yet to be received
New Flyer XE40 1201-1220 2021-2022, 2025 Battery electric Garden Grove, Santa Ana
  • 1203-1207 used in OC Bus Rapid service
  • 1211-1219 are 2025 vehicle, 1212, 1213, 1215 entered service 8/3/26
  • 1214, 1216-1219 have not entered service yet, 1220 has yet to be received
Gillig Low Floor Plus CNG 40' 2101-2199, 2201-2266, 2301-2336 2021-2023 CNG Garden Grove
Santa Ana
Anaheim
  • 2101 is a 2021 pilot bus
  • 2306-2326 used in OC Bus Rapid service
  • 2102-2173 are 2022 models
  • 2174-2266 and 2301-2336 are 2023 models
  • 2327-2336 are with a Suburban Configuration
  • Buses are equipped with at-seat USB charging ports
New Flyer C40LFR 5501-5599, 5601-5678, 7501-7529 2006-2008 CNG Garden Grove
  • All but 4 5500s were retired
  • All 5600s and 29 buses in the 7500s retired
  • 13 units were sold to the Santa Cruz Metro
5121-5150,

7530-7592

2008 CNG Garden Grove

Santa Ana

  • Some of the 7500s were retired
New Flyer XN40 5701-5799,
5801-5858
2015-2017 CNG Anaheim
Irvine
Santa Ana
  • 5801-5814 formerly used in OC Bus Rapid service, later replaced with OC Bus decals for use in local service.
  • 5701 is a 2015 model, all other subsequent units are 2016 models
5861-5866 2018 CNG Santa Ana
  • Formerly used in Bravo service, later replaced with OC Bus decals for use in local service.
Gillig Low Floor Plus CNG 29' 6381-6392 2020-2021 CNG Irvine
  • Formerly used on the Irvine Shuttle (iShuttle) service, now transferred to Irvine Connect shuttle service in 2025.
New Flyer XN60 7601-7620 2013 CNG Santa Ana
  • 7617 was retired in April 2025
7621-7636 2016 CNG Santa Ana
OC Bus on Rapid Route 543 at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California
OC Bus on Rapid Route 543 at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California
Watch videos about OC BusExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article OC Bus, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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