County Connection

County Connection

Bus 404 on then-Route 126 at BART Orinda
Founded	1980
Headquarters	2477 Arnold Industrial Way, Concord, CA
Locale	East Bay
Service area	Central Contra Costa County
Service type	bus service ADA paratransit
Routes	29 local 7 express 25 select service 1 local shuttle
Stops	1,000+
Fleet	122 heavy-duty transit buses 48 paratransit vans
Daily ridership	11,627 weekday boardings[1]
Fuel type	ULSD
Operator	Central Contra Costa Transit Authority
Chief executive	Rick Ramacier
Website	cccta.org

The County Connection (officially, the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority, CCCTA) is a Concord-based public transit agency operating fixed-route bus and ADA paratransit (County Connection LINK) service in and around central Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay Area. Established in 1980 as a joint powers authority, CCCTA assumed control of public bus service within central Contra Costa first begun by Oakland-based AC Transit as it expanded into suburban Contra Costa County in the mid-1970s (especially after the opening of BART).

History

In March 1980, the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority was created by a joint powers agreement between the cities of Clayton, Concord, Lafayette, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, the town of Moraga, and the County of Contra Costa. Upon their incorporation, the town of Danville and the city of San Ramon also joined CCCTA. CCCTA is governed by a board of directors, with a representative appointed from each of its member cities and the county. Day-to-day operations are overseen by the General Manager.

On 1 July 1980, CCCTA began operating service with its first route serving Walnut Creek.^[2] The changeover from AC Transit to County Connection was somewhat gradual, with County Connection assuming the remainder of the service by 1982.^[3]

Service area

Within its service area of over 200 square miles (520 km²), the County Connection provides service to the communities of:

Fixed-route service

As of June 2010, the County Connection operates 30 weekday routes (three of which also operate on weekends), seven weekend-only routes, and 25 select service routes within central Contra Costa County.^[4] All routes, with the exception of some of the 600-numbered series select service trips, connect with regional train service, primarily BART, in addition to ACE in Pleasanton and Amtrak, including Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin services in Martinez. Among its 30 weekday routes, the County Connection operates seven express routes (Routes 91X—98X). With support from the city of Walnut Creek, the County Connection also operates a free downtown circulator with trolley livery (Route 4) with service between Walnut Creek and Broadway Plaza.

Major points of interest in the area served by the County Connection include:

• Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill
• Diablo Valley College, San Ramon Valley Campus, in San Ramon Route 35
• Cal State East Bay in Concord Route 93X and 260
• Sunvalley Mall in Concord Routes 9, 18,19, 20, 98X, 314, and 316
• Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek Route 4
• Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga Routes 6 and 250
• Bishop Ranch Business Park in San Ramon Routes 21, 35, 36, 95X, 96X, 97X, and 321

Route overview

Weekdays

Weekday service is provided on all routes except 300-numbered series routes, which operate only on weekends. 600-numbered series routes are select service trips convenient to area schools and operate on school days with service timed to school bell times.^[4]

Weekends

Service is provided on the following 11 routes:

Holidays

Fixed-route fares

Fares are effective 22 March 2009^[5]

Cash

Transfer

• † Children five years of age and under may ride free, but may ride only when accompanied by an adult.
• ‡ Proper identification must be presented to obtain the reduced Senior/Disabled fare.
• ₮ In order to facilitate passenger connections between County Connection buses, transfer slips are issued upon request at the time the proper fare is paid. Transfers are good for up to two uses (only one use if boarding with a BART-to-Bus transfer) and are valid for two hours on weekdays and three hours on weekends (until the time shown at the top of the transfer).
• BART-Bus Transfers do not require an additional fare. It is $1, and transfers are available at machines inside connecting BART stations.

Passes and Punch Cards

County Connection offers for sale a monthly pass or several types of punch card which provide a discount over cash fare:

• Monthly Pass (East Bay Value Pass) for US$60.00, valid on all County Connection, Wheels, Tri Delta Transit and WestCAT fixed-route buses
• 12-Ride Punch Card for US$20.00 (valid on Local and Express routes)
• Commuter Punch Card for US$40.00, with 20 Local or Express fares and 20 BART-to-Bus transfer fares
• Senior/Disabled 20-Ride Punch Card for US$15.00 (valid on Local and Express routes)

Connecting transportation

• ACE at the Pleasanton station in Alameda County
• Amtrak at the Martinez station in Contra Costa County
• BART at the Orinda, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Concord and North Concord/Martinez stations in Contra Costa County, and at the Dublin/Pleasanton station in Alameda County
• Fairfield and Suisun Transit (FAST) Route 40 at BART Pleasant Hill and BART Walnut Creek
• Tri-Delta Transit Delta Express at BART Dublin/Pleasanton,Route 201 at Concord BART and in Martinez at Amtrak Martinez and at shared stops along Alhambra Ave and Route 200 in Martinez at Amtrak Martinez, at shared stops along Alhambra Ave, and at the VA Martinez Outpatient Clinic
• SolTrans Route 78 at BART Pleasant Hill and BART Walnut Creek and Route 76 at Diablo Valley College.
• WestCAT Route 30Z in Martinez at Amtrak Martinez, at shared stops along Alhambra Ave, and at the VA Martinez Outpatient Clinic
• WHEELS routes at BART Dublin/Pleasanton, BART Pleasant Hill, and BART Walnut Creek; at shared stops in San Ramon along Alcosta Blvd; in Dublin along Village Pkwy, Dublin Blvd, and Dougherty Rd; and at ACE Pleasanton Station

The local transportation demand management organization 511 Contra Costa also provides information for intermodal transfers throughout the county, and works closely with County Connection to improve regional transit.

Fixed-route fleet

Old bus 316 (with special "Free Ride" trolley livery) in service on then-Route 104 at Broadway Plaza

The current fixed-route fleet consists of 122 wheelchair-accessible buses manufactured by Gillig. Each bus is accessible by a ramp, and has space for two wheelchairs. Buses feature Clever Devices GPS-based automatic voice annunciation (AVA) and visual next-stop announcements. Each bus has the capacity for two bicycles on a front bumper-mounted rack, with an additional two bicycles permitted aboard at the bus operator's discretion.

Amigos de Viajar

In 2006, the County Connection partnered with Moore & Associates, Inc., a public transit marketing firm, to develop and produce a targeted Spanish language outreach program. This resulted in the transit agency's Amigos de Viajar program.^[6] The program was created to provide one-on-one instructional outreach to Spanish-speaking persons within Concord's Monument Corridor community. As a result, 12 volunteers were trained in how to provide fellow community members with trip planning assistance. The volunteers, identified by their high-visibility yellow vests, can be seen at area bus stops, transit centers, and aboard the County Connection's buses. Developed in support of the program, Moore & Associates scripted and produced a nine-minute film outlining the public transportation options in Contra Costa County, benefits of utilizing public transportation, detailed illustrations on how to ride transit, and options with connecting transit systems - including BART and AC Transit, among others. The film was printed to DVD and distributed to organizations throughout the Monument community and greater Concord.

References

External links

• Official website
• Routes and descriptions