Omnitrans Press Kit

Omnitrans Overview

Omnitrans is a public transportation agency in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The largest transit operator within San Bernardino County, it serves the San Bernardino Valley.

The agency was established in 1976 through a joint powers agreement and today includes 15 cities and portions of the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. In addition to the southwestern corner of San Bernardino County, Omnitrans provides service to parts of Riverside and Los Angeles Counties.

Omnitrans currently carries about 15 million passengers per year, and currently operates 27 fixed routes as well as a general public dial-a-ride service, “Omnilink”, and a paratransit service for the disabled, “Access.”

Omnitrans operates throughout the urbanized area of southwestern San Bernardino County: south of the San Bernardino Mountains, from Upland, Montclair, and Chino in the west to Redlands, California and Yucaipa in the east. The Omnitrans service area covers approximately 480 square miles.

Major destinations within the Omnitrans service area include transportation centers, medical centers, educational facilities, shopping malls, business parks, and community centers.

The fixed-route services consist of 27 local fixed routes including one peak-hour only service, two peak-hour trippers, and one regional express route. Routes are operated with 40-foot buses (and 12 30-foot buses) running primarily along major east-west and north-south corridors. Headways vary from 15-minute to hourly service, with approximately 18 hours of service on weekdays, 13 hours on Saturdays, and 12 hours on Sundays.

Demand response service

Access
Access provides public transportation services for persons who are physically or cognitively unable to use regular bus service (ADA certified and/or Omnitrans Disability Identification Card holders). Access operates curb-to- curb service with minibuses or vans, complementing the Omnitrans fixed-route bus system. The Access service area is defined as up to 3/4 mile on either side of an existing fixed route. Service is available on the same days and at the same times that fixed-route services operate.
Learn more about Access...

OmniLink
Omnilink is a general-public, demand-response service that operates in Yucaipa and Chino Hills. This service circulates through a defined, low-density service-area with minibuses picking up and dropping off passengers. Every hour, the bus returns to a timed-transfer point, for direct, timed connections to the fixed-route system. This type of service is a more efficient way to provide coverage in low-density areas compared to traditional fixed-route service. Service operates approximately 11 hours on weekdays, 10 hours on Saturdays, and six hours on Sundays.
Learn more about OmniLink...

Bus Rapid Transit
Omnitrans is developing a bus rapid transit route titled sbX (San Bernardino Express) that will traverse the San Bernardino Valley from north to south.
Learn more about sbX...

Fares

Omnitrans offers both standard daily fares and discounted multi-trip and multi-day passes. Special fares are also offered to seniors, persons with disabilities, and students.

Active Fleet

Omnitrans currently operates a fleet of 175 fixed route vehicles and a fleet of 101 Omnilink/Access vehicles. The table below gives information related to the different coach types currently in Omnitrans’ fleet. In addition to its Revenue Vehicle fleet, Omnitrans also has an original 1958 GM TDH 4801, which has been restored with Omnitrans original paint scheme and logo and is used for local events.

Vehicle Type	Manufacture Date	Number in Fleet	Length	Seats	Fuel
Orion	1996	24	40.8'	37	CNG
New Flyer/ISE	2000	2	40.8'	37	Gasoline/ Electric
Ford Goshen	2000	100	23.8'	37	Gasoline
New Flyer	2000-2009	154	39.9'-40.8'	37	CNG
Thomas	2003	12	32.9'		CNG
Trolley	2007	3	32.9'		CNG

Omnitrans also operates a Restored Vintage Coach (named Old Blue) which is a 1958 GMC diesel bus on special occasions.

The Story of Old Blue

In 1998, Omnitrans began the search for an antique bus to be used for special events. Its goal was to purchase and restore the vehicle in time for the agency’s 25th Anniversary in 2001.

Omnitrans found “Old Blue,” a 1958 vintage GMC transit coach, in the care of a bus collector in New Jersey in 1999, and purchased it for $2,500. The agency has since learned that the bus began its life in service for the Los Angeles Regional Transit District, so it was actually brought “back home” to Southern California – via flatbed truck, since “Old Blue” wasn’t in very good shape when Omnitrans acquired it.

Work on the bus began in 1999, with major restoration efforts really getting underway in 2000. “Old Blue” needed a lot of TLC, and Omnitrans employees worked both on and off the clock to make necessary mechanical repairs. Once that was complete, the Maintenance department asked some special vendors to help give the bus a much-needed facelift. McCray’s provided a new paint job, Complete Coach Works renovated “Old Blue’s” seats, Transit Care provided new window glass and Firestone donated new tires.

Finally, Omnitrans selected a special coach number for the bus: 5876. The first two numbers represent “Old Blue’s” model year, and the final two represent the year Omnitrans was born, 1976.

At last, in February 2001, the debuted as the Omnitrans 25th Anniversary mascot. As the “after” photo attests, the time, effort and expense were well worth the result! “Old Blue” has been the hit of community events both large and small, from local holiday parades to San Bernardino’s Route 66 Rendezvous, an event that draws nearly half a million auto enthusiasts each year.

Old Blue - fully restored.

Net ridership is a standard measure to determine how the service is performing on the street. It is also an indicator of how the economy is doing. Ridership changes are measured based on the increase/decrease over the same month in the previous year. An increase of 2% each year is desirable.

Board of Directors

Omnitrans is administered by a Board of Directors, made up of the Mayor or Council Member from each member-City and all five Supervisors of the County of San Bernardino. Each City has one alternate Board Member who is designated by the City Council. The County representatives have no alternates. The alternates vote only in the absence of the official representatives.

It is required under the JPA that the Board of Directors meet at least one time each quarter of each fiscal year. The Board of Directors holds its regularly scheduled meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at 8 a.m. in Omnitrans Metro Facility (San Bernardino) Board Room. All meetings are held in compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act.

Board meetings are presided by the Board-appointed Chair. In addition, a Vice-Chair is elected by the Board. The CEO/General Manager is the Secretary to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is responsible for such acts as adopting the budget, appointing the CEO/General Manager, appointing a technical committee, establishing policy, and adopting rules and regulations for the conduct of business.

Executive Management

CEO/General Manager Milo Victoria
CEO/General Manager Milo Victoria, a 33-year veteran in local public transit, began his leadership at Omnitrans in January 2010.

Previously the Assistant General Manager, Bus Service for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D. C., Victoria directed day-to-day operations of Metro’s fleet of 1,500 buses, serving more than 360 bus routes, and more than 12,000 bus stops across 1,500 square miles. 

Victoria previously worked for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, most recently as Deputy Executive Officer of Maintenance and Rebuild from 2002-2007. He began his transportation career at LA Metro’s predecessor, Southern California Rapid Transit District, starting as a mechanic and working his way to Division Maintenance Manager and Manager of Labor and Administration.

Born in Ciudad del Carmen in Mexico, Victoria is a member of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, was a Steering Committee member for Hispanics in Transit, and previous Board Chair of the Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium. He earned a bachelor of science in business management from the University of Phoenix.