OCTA offered bus rides to the OC Fair for $4 roundtrip from four locations throughout the county during the fair’s five-week run July 19 to Aug. 18.
ORANGE – The OC Fair closed out its 2024 run and final tallies show that OC Fair Express helped thousands of attendees get there with an affordable and convenient ride on public transportation.
In all, 17,717 people took the Orange County Transportation Authority’s special bus service to the OC Fair, helping them avoid parking hassles and easing congestion in the parking lots and on the streets around the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.
“This was a successful collaboration between OCTA and the OC Fair, allowing thousands of residents and families a way to get to the fair more easily while saving time and money,” OCTA CEO Darrell E. Johnson said. “I’m happy so many people rediscovered this bus service and I hope it will lead to an ongoing partnership for everyone’s benefit.”
OC Fair Express returned this year after taking several years off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It ran every Saturday and Sunday for five consecutive weekends.
The first weekend of the fair in July drew more than 2,800 riders from four locations around the county. The next weekend, ridership grew by approximately 25%, and more people continued to discover and hop aboard the service throughout the run.
Part of the success of the service can be attributed to positive word-of-mouth and social media posts from fairgoers who helped spread the word about getting there using the special bus service.
Ridership on OC Fair Express was relatively evenly split between the four locations throughout the county where riders could catch the service.
Ridership by route over the five weekends was:
- Anaheim (ARTIC): 5,888
- Laguna Hills Transportation Center: 4,318
- Fullerton Park and Ride: 3,832
- Huntington Beach (Golden West Transportation Center): 3,679
The service allowed riders to save time and money on parking and gas. Mirroring OCTA’s low bus fares, adults rode OC Fair Express for just $4 round trip, and it was free for youth riders 18 and younger with no pass required. The free Community College Pass and all other regular OC Bus passes were also accepted.
Seniors age 60 and above rode round-trip for just $1.50.
OCTA will continue to work with OC Fair officials and will explore bringing back the service in 2025. For more information, visit OCFairExpress.com.
