Torrance Transit is a transit agency primarily serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
History Torrance Transit inaugurated service on January 15, 1940 using three leased 1931 Mack-33 buses. The new agency provided primarily municipal transit and maintained a bus terminal in downtown Los Angeles until 1959, when the City Council voted to discontinue bus service entirely. Mayor Albert Isen vetoed the council's action, arguing that "every first-class city has its own bus system." as quoted in the In motion newsletter, volume 1, issue 1 Routes
Local routes Torrance Transit does not operate on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Day. Service on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day operates on Sunday schedule, while service on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve operates on a Saturday schedule. RouteTerminalsviaNotes1South LA Harbor Freeway stationTorranceDel Amo Fashion CenterFigueroa St, Vermont Av, Torrance BlServes Harbor Gateway Transit Center and Torrance Transit Center2TorranceEl Camino CollegeTorranceDel Amo Fashion CenterCrenshaw Bl, Artesia Bl, Anza AvServes South Bay Galleria and Redondo Beach Transit Center Interlines with Line 53Redondo BeachRedondo Beach PierLong BeachDowntown Long Beach stationCarson St, Main St, Pacific Coast HwyServes Del Amo Fashion Center Operates alongside limited-stop Rapid 35TorranceEl Camino CollegeTorrancePacific Coast Hwy & Crenshaw BlVan Ness Av, Arlington Av, Narbonne AvServes Torrance Transit Center Interlines with Line 26TorranceDel Amo Fashion CenterComptonArtesia station190th St Serves Torrance Transit Center, Harbor Gateway Transit Center and Cal State Dominguez Hills7Redondo BeachRedondo Beach PierCarsonSepulveda Bl & Avalon BlSepulveda BlServes Del Amo Fashion Center Interlines with Line 98WestchesterLAX/Metro Transit CenterTorranceHawthorne Bl & Pacific Coast HwyAviation Bl, Hawthorne BlServes Aviation/Imperial station, South Bay Galleria, Del Amo Fashion Center9TorranceDel Amo Fashion CenterCarsonSepulveda Bl & Avalon BlLomita BlInterlines with Line 710InglewoodDowntown Inglewood stationTorranceCrenshaw Bl & Pacific Coast HwyCrenshaw Bl, Imperial Hwy, Prairie AvServes Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater, Intuit Dome and Torrance Transit Center13Redondo BeachTorrance Bl & BroadwayComptonArtesia stationCatalina Av, Hermosa Av, Artesia Bl, Victoria Ave, Central AvServes South Bay Galleria, Harbor Gateway Transit Center and Cal State Dominguez Hills
Rapid & Express routes RouteTerminalsViaNotesRapid 3TorranceTorrance Transit CenterLong BeachDowntown Long Beach stationCarson St, Avalon Bl, Pacific Coast HwyServes Del Amo Fashion Center Operates weekday rush hours only. Operates alongside local service Line 34XDowntown LALA Union StationTorrance Hawthorne Bl & Pacific Coast Hwy In Downtown LA: Alameda St, Los Angeles St, Hill St, Grand Av, Olive St, Flower StExpress Portion: Harbor TransitwayIn the South Bay: Vermont Av, Torrance Bl, Hawthorne BlServes Harbor Gateway Transit Center and Torrance Transit CenterTorrance Torrance Transit Center 10XInglewood SoFi StadiumTorrance Torrance Transit CenterCrenshaw Bl, Imperial Hwy, Prairie Av Operates on football home games only
Bus fleet
Active fleet In the early 21st century, Torrance Transit's fleet was made up of Gillig Phantom (delivered in 1992, 1996, and 1997) and Gillig Advantage (delivered in 2000 and 2002) buses. Each bus is numbered 4--. The fleet is maintained at the facilities department on Madrona Avenue, constructed in 1986.
In 2010, Torrance Transit began replacing its bus fleet with a purchase of 10 gasoline-electric hybrid New Flyer (NFI) GE40LFRs; 20 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered NFI C40LFRs were delivered in 2011, joined by 9 more CNG NFI XN40s in 2012. The new buses were delivered with a new paint scheme which marked the start of a rebranding effort by the agency. Make/ModelFleet numbersYearEnginesTransmissionNew Flyer GE40LFR300–3092010Ford Triton V10ISE ThunderVolt TB40-HGNew Flyer C40LFR310–3292011Cummins Westport ISL G EPA10Allison B400RNew Flyer XN40330–3382012339-3622016Cummins Westport ISL G EPA13363-3822026Cummins Westport L9N
ZEST In 1993, Torrance Transit rolled out the Zero Emissions Surface Transit (ZEST) bus, a 25-seat, 29-foot coach which was the largest battery-powered transit vehicle in the United States at the time. ZEST was built by Specialty Vehicle Manufacturing Corporation (SVMC) using a Hughes Aircraft Company-developed powertrain, at a cost of . SVMC in turn had subcontracted the assembly of ZEST to the ACL Technologies division of AAI Corporation, a defense contractor. ZEST had a claimed range of or 10 hours of operation, and the battery pack was designed to be easily replaceable to minimize the time spent out of service while charging.
After several years in operation, service was trimmed back from the morning and afternoon peak commutes to just a lunchtime shuttle from employers to restaurants in order to extend its life. In an interview, John Hall with Torrance Transit stated "[The battery technology] is a long way from where it needs to be. Its useful hours [of service] are not enough. We have learned a lot making this a worthwhile investment. It has a ways to go before it gets to an everyday transit application."
Hybrids In 2000, Torrance Transit took delivery of two Orion VI hybrid buses equipped with Lockheed-developed HybriDrive series hybrid powertrains. One of the buses, fleet no. 401, was damaged beyond repair in a fire that occurred on September 25, 2002; nearly four years later in June 2006, Orion Bus Industries agreed to buy back the burned hulk from Torrance for $80,000. The remaining Orion VI continued to serve through at least 2010, but was dropped from the fleet by 2014.
The ten gasoline-electric hybrid New Flyer GE40LFR buses delivered in 2010 were procured as part of a joint purchase with other California transit agencies, with Montebello Bus Lines serving as the lead agency. Under the terms of the pilot program, the federal government subsidy was increased from 80% to 90% of the cost of each hybrid bus.
References
External links