RTA Boosting Weekend Service to More Routes

If you ride the bus, your weekend is about to get better. That’s the message Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) is telling its customers as it kicks off a new wave of schedule and routing improvements, which took effect last week.

On September 9, RTA made several schedule and route changes to boost performance, enhance connections and expand service into new areas. In all, the changes targetted more than 40 bus routes.

Perhaps the most significant improvement is the addition of weekend service on routes 30, 31, 33, 42, 61, 74 and 79, which serve the cities of Banning, Beaumont, Hemet, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Perris, San Jacinto and Temecula. Thanks to the changes, roughly two-thirds of RTA’s 46 routes are operating seven days a week, giving customers more freedom than ever to travel to their favorite weekend destinations.

"Our customers don’t slow down on weekends so neither should their bus service," said RTA Chairman of the Board Art Welch. "Having more buses on the streets seven days a week is going to be a game changer in the way people get around."

As part of the service change, RTA also introduced new hours of operation on one of its newest routes, RapidLink Gold Line. To better match customer demand, the hours of operation were adjusted by one hour, beginning mornings from 6:30 a.m. (instead of the current 5:30 a.m.) to 8:30 a.m. and afternoons from 1:30 p.m. (instead of the current 2:30 p.m.) to 5:30 p.m.

Other highlights include the extension of Route 61 from Menifee to Perris and the addition of an afternoon trip from Disneyland aboard the popular Route 200. Also, Route 22, one of RTA’s longest routes stretching from Lake Elsinore to Perris to Riverside, was divided into two separate routes to boost efficiency. RTA maintained Route 22 service between Perris and Riverside, while the section from Lake Elsinore to Perris along Highway 74 became the new Route 9.

Other RTA routes undergoing schedule and/or routing changes include the 1, 3, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 19F, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, 49, 51, 55, 61, 74, 79 and CommuterLink express routes 202, 204, 206, 208, 210 and 212.

More information on the changes can be found in the new Ride Guide and Service Change Guide available on buses and online at RiversideTransit.com.

The Riverside Transit Agency provides public transportation for Western Riverside County, operating 37 fixed routes, nine express routes and Dial-A-Ride service. RTA’s service area spans 2,500 square miles, among the largest in the nation. For bus route and schedule information contact RTA at (951) 565-5002 or go to www.RiversideTransit.com.