There has been many ridiculous, laughable awards given out in Orange County or to Orange County residents over the years, but none was more undeserved than when some agency called the Orange County Transportation Authority the nation's best mass-transit system in 2005. This came on the heels of OCTA scrapping laughable plans for light-rail, but that didn't stop OCTA from plastering that award on its buses on massive stickers that covered windows for years afterward.
Those displays are long-gone, and rightfully so. In the years since the award, OCTA has scrapped lines, has scrapped schedules it used to post at every bus stop, and just become a nightmare to use. And it's only going to get worse with the recent announcement that they plan to hike fares.
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See also:
Is OCTA Sacrificing Transit Service for Executive Pay?
Gap Ads Go Gay on OCTA Buses: What Exactly Are They Selling Anyway?
OCTA Thanks Congress for Transportation Bill; Some Language Friendly to Finishing Toll Road
The plans call for a one-way ticket to cost $2 instead of the current $1.50, for a day pass to cost $5 instead of the current $4, and general increases on monthly passes and those for college students and senior citizens. They claim dwindling ridership and increased costs for the hike and promise community forums where everyone can yell at them.
Of course, 90 percent of Orange County doesn't give a shit, libertarians will say the hikes don't go high enough because they're still too heavily subsidized, and the Left is going to cry classism and weep and moan that $5 over the span of a week turns into $20 a month, which will bankrupt the users and cause even more of a decline in ridership, which means OCTA will raise fares again, which means less…we can debate this forever. But let's all join hands and proclaim OCTA a worthless government arm–and in this county where managers sexually harass women at will, that's quite an accomplishment!
