Foothill Transit


Foothill Transit is a public transit agency that is government funded by 22 member cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys. It operates a fixed-route bus public transit service in the San Gabriel Valley of Greater Los Angeles, California, United States.

Overview

Foothill Transit operates out of two yards: one in Pomona, and the other in Arcadia ; the administrative offices moved to West Covina in 2007. The Foothill Transit joint powers authority membership consists of elected representatives from 22 member cities in the San Gabriel Valley and Pomona Valley and three members appointed from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. These representatives are divided into five geographical clusters, which each elect a representative annually to serve on a five-member Executive Board.
Cluster 1Cluster 2Cluster 3Cluster 4Cluster 5
ClaremontAzusaArcadiaEl MonteLA County Supervisors
La VerneBaldwin ParkBradburyDiamond BarLA County Supervisors
PomonaCovinaDuarteIndustryLA County Supervisors
San DimasGlendoraMonroviaLa PuenteLA County Supervisors
WalnutIrwindalePasadenaSouth El MonteLA County Supervisors
West CovinaTemple City LA County Supervisors

Origins

, who was later convicted of embezzlement, is credited with the formation of the transit agency. Schabarum, annoyed by what he saw as disproportionate cutbacks of bus service by the Southern California Rapid Transit District in the San Gabriel Valley, wanted to secede from the larger agency and form a separate transit agency as early as 1986. Compared to routes serving more densely-populated areas, routes in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys required greater subsidies to serve fewer riders on longer freeway alignments in eastern Los Angeles County.
Foothill was initially founded by 20 member cities; Pasadena voted to join in 1998. In 1987, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission approved Foothill to take over fourteen routes which serviced the San Gabriel Valley that were currently operated by SCRTD. Although service was planned to start on 1 July 1988, the Foothill Transit Zone had been prevented from starting service in July by an injunction arising from a lawsuit filed by the drivers and mechanics unions of SCRTD against LACTC. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eli Chernow ruled that LACTC could not unilaterally transfer the lines without the consent of the SCRTD board of directors. The injunction was upheld on appeal.
LACTC had begun withholding $9 million per month from SCRTD in April 1988 on the basis that SCRTD had not followed salary guidelines set by LACTC; SCRTD replied that LACTC, under the leadership of its chairman, was holding the funds hostage to pressure SCRTD to release the lines to Foothill Transit. SCRTD consented to Foothill Transit taking over the bus lines in December 1988 in return for the restoration of funding. Those first two lines operated by Foothill Transit were 495 and 498.
The trial for the lawsuit against Foothill Transit started in May 1989, was resolved in Foothill's favor by July, and the other twelve lines previously operated by SCRTD were transitioned to Foothill Transit between 1989 and 1992. For a short period in 1992, the last two routes to transition were operated by both Foothill Transit and SCRTD during continued legal disputes. The drivers and mechanics unions disputed the transfer of 486 and 488 since SCRTD had made the decision without negotiating with the union; an arbitrator held up the unions' argument, which led to duplicated service on those lines, as "Foothill Transit the legal right to operate buses on the contested routes, but the the legal obligation to do so", and the union planned to use that precedent to roll back service to SCRTD on all fourteen lines. However, Foothill Transit again prevailed in a February 1993 court ruling.

Contract labor

Schabarum, who hated the influence of trade unions, chose to use contractors to operate the service. All of the operations and maintenance work for Foothill Transit are contracted out., bus service is operated by Keolis at Pomona and Transdev at Arcadia/Irwindale.
Embree Bus Lines was the initial contractor that operated the first two lines for Foothill starting in December 1988. The hourly operating cost under Foothill Transit was reduced by up to half compared to service under SCRTD, and ridership grew, but the contract operator drivers generally earned less in both wages and fringe benefits, and had less influence over working conditions. In addition, Foothill Transit was not required to provide typical rider services such as schedules, bus stops, transit police, or telephone information. During the 1992 Los Angeles riot, Foothill Transit terminated service at El Monte rather than continue on to downtown Los Angeles. Over the first five years, Foothill Transit consistently saved money compared to SCRTD's historical costs. In 1994, Foothill reported their hourly cost of operations was $55, compared to $93 for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, with a farebox recovery ratio of 48% at a lower fare of $0.85. In addition, Foothill reported an accident rate of 0.3 per traveled, compared to Metro's rate of 3.3 per, although Metro's accident rate was skewed by older buses and more dense traffic in its operating area.
Foothill executives made the service essentially strike-proof by insisting that two different companies operate the two bus yards, even if it would cost more in the short term. By 1998, Foothill's contractors were Laidlaw and Ryder/ATE. However, due to bus industry consolidation, First Transit operated both yards from 2001 to mid-2007. Currently, both Foothill Transit yards are represented by unions, but past strikes at the agency have been less than successful due to the ability of one yard to operate the other yard's service. In addition, wages are less at Foothill than at other transit operators in the region.
The contract operator drivers at Foothill were also represented by the Teamsters, but a 1994 Los Angeles Times article reported they earned an average of $11 per hour, compared to the average $18.45 per hour earned by Metro drivers. A representative of the union representing Metro's drivers, the United Transportation Union, accused Foothill of not paying its drivers a living wage; the president of the company that was then contracted to manage Foothill, William P. Forsythe, stated the typical annual pay of a Foothill driver "isn't bad for a service industry job" and admitted it wasn't fair "compared to MTA, but they've been overpaying for years." In January 1995, the Los Angeles Times reported the majority of the 150 drivers for Laidlaw made $8.50 per hour; those drivers, represented by the Teamsters, rejected a proposed contract that offered no wage increases.
Laidlaw, which was responsible for approximately half of Foothill's fleet, operated out of the Upland Yard. The first strike against Foothill Transit started when Laidlaw drivers walked off in February 1996, asking for an immediate $1/hour raise and full medical coverage. Teamsters Local 848 officials stated that drivers could not afford private health insurance, and had to rely on county services instead. Foothill's other contractor was not affected and continued normal operations during the strike. The strike ended after thirteen days, when drivers accepted a 3% pay raise with no health coverage on a one-year contract under the threat they would be fired and replaced if they did not return to work. Shortly after the expiration of the contract, Laidlaw drivers went on strike again in June 1997, but that strike was settled within hours, as most drivers were no longer represented by the union. The reported average wages in 1998 was $9.30 per hour for Ryder/ATE drivers, and $9.06 per hour for Laidlaw drivers.
Effective 1 July 2013, due to expiration of the existing management services contract and continuing conflicts of interest between the executive director, staff, and board, Foothill Transit transitioned to in house management. Executive Director Doran Barnes became the first full-time Foothill employee, and planning, procurement, and other administrative functions became Foothill functions as well. Transdev staff continues to operate the transit stores and maintain bus shelters.
The last two lines operated by Metro in the eastern San Gabriel Valley were turned over to Foothill in 2016.
In 2017, Foothill Transit hired two new contractors, Keolis and Transdev, both of which are French transportation companies, to manage both of their bus storage yards. Keolis took over First Transit's role in managing the Pomona Yard and Transdev took over First Transit's, and previously MV Transportation's, role in managing the Irwindale Yard.

Environmental initiatives

In 2002, Foothill Transit began purchasing Compressed Natural Gas powered buses. In 2010, Foothill Transit was the first transit system to operate an all-electric battery-powered bus from Proterra. By 2013, when the last diesel-powered 2000-2001 Gillig Advantage buses were retired, Foothill Transit became around a 90 percent CNG fleet. 10 percent of the fleet is electric.
Foothill Transit's main goal is to be fully electric by 2030.

Other services

Foothill Transit provides shuttle service for UCLA Football games, the annual Rose Bowl Game, and other special events at the Rose Bowl from the Parsons Corporation parking lot, located on Walnut St. and Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena.

Funding

Foothill Transit is mainly funded by local sales tax revenue, with 75% coming from Los Angeles County Propositions A and C, California State Transportation Development Act, and the State Transit Assistance Fund. The remaining 25% comes from farebox revenue.

Routes

All service operated as of 22 October 2017, reflecting service changes effective 22 October 2017.

Express routes

Express services operate weekdays only in the peak direction, excluding the Silver Streak.

Local routes

School supplementary routes

Services operate weekdays only. Schedules subject to change 1st June — 1st September & 22nd December — 3rd January for Lines 853 and 854.

Bus fleet

Active

With the retirement of the 2000 and 2001 Gillig Advantage fleet in 2014, the entire current fleet now consists of 100% clean air buses, which either run on electricity or compressed natural gas. Only about one-tenth of the entire fleet is electric.
YearModelLengthWidthNumbersFleetPictureFuel TypeNotes
2005-2006NABI 40-LFW40'102"F1500-F150910CNGAll units run from the Irwindale Yard. Though these buses are identical to their 2004-2005 counterparts, they have Cummins Engines instead of Diesel ones.
2007NABI 60-BRT60'102"F1600-F162930CNGThese buses are used exclusively on the Silver Streak, but can sometimes be seen on Line 187. The units run from the Irwindale Yard. Currently being repainted in the new livery and repowered to Cummins Westport ISL G engines.
2009NABI 42-BRT42'102"F1700-F172930CNGAll units run from the Irwindale Yard and operated by Transdev.
2010NABI 42-BRT42'102"F1800-F181112CNGAll units run from the Pomona Yard and operated by Keolis.
2010Proterra BE3535'102"F2001-F20033ElectricBranded as "Ecoliners" by Foothill Transit. This model was the world’s first heavy duty, fast charging electric bus. Each bus costs $1.2 million USD. The units run from the Pomona Yard.
2012Proterra BE3535'102"F2004-F201512ElectricBranded as "Ecoliners" by Foothill Transit. The units run from the Pomona Yard.
2012NABI 42-BRT42'102"F1900-F191314CNGRun from the Pomona Yard. Used on many express routes.
2013NABI 42-BRT42'102'F2100-F2163124CNGMost of these buses run from the Pomona Yard, but some of them are run from the Irwindale Yard. These three orders were the last orders Foothill Transit ordered from North American Bus Industries because New Flyer Industries bought the company and ceased production of North American Bus Industries' lineup of fleet. These buses replaced the last remaining Diesel powered Gillig Advantage buses, which were retired in 2014. Used on many express routes.
2014NABI 42-BRT42'102'F2200-F2229124CNGMost of these buses run from the Pomona Yard, but some of them are run from the Irwindale Yard. These three orders were the last orders Foothill Transit ordered from North American Bus Industries because New Flyer Industries bought the company and ceased production of North American Bus Industries' lineup of fleet. These buses replaced the last remaining Diesel powered Gillig Advantage buses, which were retired in 2014. Used on many express routes.
2015NABI 42-BRT42'102'F2300-F2329124CNGMost of these buses run from the Pomona Yard, but some of them are run from the Irwindale Yard. These three orders were the last orders Foothill Transit ordered from North American Bus Industries because New Flyer Industries bought the company and ceased production of North American Bus Industries' lineup of fleet. These buses replaced the last remaining Diesel powered Gillig Advantage buses, which were retired in 2014. Used on many express routes.
2015Proterra Catalyst BE4040'102"F2016-F20172ElectricBranded as "Ecoliners" by Foothill Transit. The units run from the Pomona Yard.
2017Proterra Catalyst BE40 E240'102'F2600-F261314ElectricBranded as "Ecoliners" by Foothill Transit. These units run from the Arcadia/Irwindale Yard.
2016NFI XN4040'102'F2400-F242960CNGThese buses were scheduled to be delivered during the 2016-2017 fiscal year. F2400-F2429 and F2500-F2529 run from the Irwindale Yard.
2017NFI XN4040'102'F2500-F252960CNGThese buses were scheduled to be delivered during the 2016-2017 fiscal year. F2400-F2429 and F2500-F2529 run from the Irwindale Yard.
2019Proterra Catalyst BE35 E235'102"F2800-F28023ElectricBranded as "duartEbus Powered By Foothill Transit."
2019Alexander Dennis Enviro500EV40'2ElectricDouble-decker bus expected to enter service in 2019. Drivetrain supplied by Proterra.

Retired

Because Foothill Transit retires most of their buses at the 12-year FTA minimum standard, many of their buses are sold off or leased to other authorities and operate for years afterwards. Notable lessees include Valley Metro, Nassau Inter-County Express, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Arizona State University, Monterey-Salinas Transit, Gold Coast Transit, Glendale Beeline, Santa Cruz Metro, Benicia Breeze, and Amtrak California.