Foothill Transit

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.[1]

Schabarum, who hated the influence of trade unions, chose to use contractors to operate the service.[19] All of the operations and maintenance work for Foothill Transit are contracted out. As of 2017, 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.[16] 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.[12] During the 1992 Los Angeles riot, Foothill Transit terminated service at El Monte rather than continue on to downtown Los Angeles.[12] Over the first five years, Foothill Transit consistently saved money compared to SCRTD's historical costs.[18] In 1994, Foothill reported their hourly cost of operations was $55, compared to $93 for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), with a farebox recovery ratio of 48% (compared to 32% for Metro) at a lower fare of $0.85 (compared to $1.10 for Metro, which was scheduled to increase to $1.35 later that year). In addition, Foothill reported an accident rate of 0.3 per 100,000 mi (160,000 km) traveled, compared to Metro's rate of 3.3 per 100,000 mi (160,000 km), although Metro's accident rate was skewed by older buses and more dense traffic in its operating area.[19]

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.[20] 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 (Arcadia by the Amalgamated Transit Union and Pomona by the Teamsters Union), 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.[21][22] In addition, wages are less at Foothill than at other transit operators in the region.[12]

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.[19] 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 US$20,000 (equivalent to $39,000 in 2022) 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."[19] 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.[23]

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.[21] 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.[24] 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.[22] The reported average wages in 1998 was $9.30 per hour for Ryder/ATE drivers (represented by the Teamsters), and $9.06 per hour for Laidlaw drivers (who had previously voted to become an open shop).[20]

Effective July 1, 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.[7] Transdev (formerly Veolia) staff continues to operate the transit stores and maintain bus shelters.[25]

The last two lines operated by Metro (SCRTD's successor) in the eastern San Gabriel Valley were turned over to Foothill in 2016.[26]

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[5] and Transdev took over First Transit's, and previously MV Transportation's, role in managing the Irwindale Yard.[4]

In 2002, Foothill Transit began purchasing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered buses.[6] In 2010, Foothill Transit was the first transit system to operate an all-electric battery-powered bus from Proterra.[6] By 2013, when the last diesel-powered 2000–2001 Gillig Advantage buses were retired,[7] 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.[27] On January 25, 2021, Foothill Transit received its first two all-electric double-decker buses, which were made by Alexander Dennis in the United Kingdom.[28]

During its transition to an all Electric Fleet, Foothill Transit suffered a thirty-four percent electric fleet failure rate. The transit system blamed its fleet vendor for the lack of spare parts. Other units stalled while in revenue service.[29] In the Fiscal year 2020, sixty-seven percent of its electric fleet failed to properly operate. Most of the buses had to wait three hundred days for replacement parts.[30]

In 2021, Foothill transit voted in returning its fleet of Electric Buses to the FTA. Foothill Transit took a 5 million dollar charge, due to its reduced life cycle.[31][32]

In 2021, Foothill transit ordered 13 Fuel Cell buses from New flyer to replace its Electric buses[33][34] The Fuel Cell Buses began revenue service in December 2022[35]

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

New schedules & service changes for route 498 & Silver Streak on October 29, 2023

New Schedules & Service Changes for routes 190, 194, 195, 272, 274, 281, 291, 292, 482, 486, 860 & 861 effective October 29, 2023[36]

Services operate weekdays only.

Foothill Transit provides shuttle service for UCLA Football home games, the annual Rose Bowl Game, and other special events at the Rose Bowl from the Parsons Corporation parking lot.

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, compressed natural gas (CNG) or hydrogen fuel cell.

Make/Model	Fleet Numbers	Thumbnail	Year	Engine	Transmission	Yard	Notes
NABI 42-BRT CNG	F1700–F1729		2009	Cummins Westport ISL-G	Allison B400R 6 Speed	Arcadia (Transdev)	Repainted in the new livery.
NABI 42-BRT CNG	F1800–F1811		2010	Cummins Westport ISL-G	Allison B400R	Arcadia (Transdev)	Repainted in the new livery.
NABI 42-BRT CNG	F1900–F1913		2012	Cummins Westport ISL-G	Allison B400R	Pomona (Keolis) & Arcadia (Transdev)	Repainted in the new livery. Features luggage racks & suburban seating. F1911-F1913 transferred to Arcadia
NABI 42-BRT CNG	F2100–F2163		2013	Cummins Westport L9N	Allison B400R	Arcadia (Transdev) & Pomona (Keolis)	Features luggage racks & suburban seating. F2100-F2121 are in the Arcadia Yard. F2122-F2163 are located at the Pomona Yard
NABI 42-BRT CNG	F2200–F2229		2014	Cummins Westport ISL-G	Allison B400R	Pomona (Keolis)	Features luggage racks & suburban seating.
NABI 42-BRT CNG	F2300–F2329		2015	Cummins Westport ISL-G	Allison B400R	Pomona (Keolis)	Features luggage racks & suburban seating.
Proterra Catalyst BE40	2016–2017		2015			Pomona (Keolis)	Barely used in service
New Flyer XN40	2400–2429		2016	Cummins Westport ISL-G	Allison B400R 6 Speed	Arcadia (Transdev)	Features luggage racks & suburban seating.
New Flyer XN40	2500-2529		2017	Cummins Westport ISL-G	Allison B400R	Arcadia (Transdev)	Feature Suburban seating and overhead luggage racks
Proterra Catalyst E2	2600-2613		2017			Arcadia (Transdev)
ElDorado National Axess BRT 40’ CNG	2700–2733		2018	Cummins Westport L9N	Allison B3400xFE	Arcadia (Transdev)	2700-2733 are located at the Transdev yard.
ElDorado National Axess BRT 40’ CNG	2734–2744		2020	Cummins Westport L9N	Allison B3400xFE	Arcadia (Transdev)	Feature Suburban seating
ElDorado National Axess BRT 40’ CNG	2745-2762		2021	Cummins Westport L9N	Allison B3400xFE	Pomona (Keolis)	Feature Suburban seating
Proterra Catalyst BE35	2800-2802		2018	UQM HD220	Eaton EEV-7202	Arcadia (Transdev)	Used on DuartE Bus Blue & Green Route (860 & 861)
ElDorado National Axess BRT 35’ CNG	2803-2804		2021	Cummins Westport L9N	Allison B3400xFE	Arcadia (Transdev)	Feature Suburban seating
New Flyer XN60	2900–2923		2020	Cummins Westport L9N	Allison B3400xFE	Arcadia (Transdev)	Replaced the NABI 60-BRTs. Entered service September 2020.
ADL/Proterra Enviro500EV	3000-3001		2020	Proterra E2		Arcadia (Transdev)	Mostly used on the Silver Streak.
New Flyer XHE40	3100-3119		2022-2023	Siemens	ELFA3	Pomona (Keolis)	Feature Suburban seating.
New Flyer XHE40	3120-3132		2023	Siemens	ELFA3	Pomona (Keolis)	Feature Suburban seating.