OCTA's Bravo Route 553 on Main Street Anticipated for October 10th Start

OCTA will start their fourth Bravo! service, Route 553, on October 10th as part of their October Service Change taking place on October 9th. 

Bravo! Route 553 will traverse on the same routing as the existing local Route 53 between ARTIC train station and near South Coast Plaza. Unlike its local counterpart, this Bravo! service will have less bus stops providing Route 553 passengers with reduced travel time along the corridor. The Route 553 bus stops appear to be placed where there are connecting bus routes (usually major intersections) and at major destinations such as Mainplace Mall and Downtown Santa Ana. 

Here are some details regarding the service characteristics: 

• In Service Hours - Weekdays (Monday - Friday) 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM 
• Frequency - Every 22 minutes

Route 553 bus stops will also have the Bravo! bus stop sign and also new electronic signs showing real-time arrival information. 

According to OCTA's website, battery electric buses will be used for Route 553. 

From OCTA's Board Report, as there are not enough bus drivers, starting the new Route 553 would need small reductions in service on the local Route 53. The report also states, "...as well as seeking efficiencies where feasible given limitation on coach operator availability." A snapshot of the table showing route recommendations sheds more light on the frequency reductions on Route 53 which would include also weekends which is concerning as Bravo! only runs on weekdays. 

Source: OCTA

OCTA's October Service Change website provides further details on the Route 53 service adjustment: 

"Route 53:
Weekdays: Adjust frequency to every 20/22/30/60 minutes and provide every other trip to Yale Loop to compliment new Bravo 553 service.
Weekends: Provide hourly service to Yale Loop and adjust frequency to every 20/40 minutes."

Below is a route map of Bravo! Route 553: 

Source: OCTA

As the above map shows, the routing is between ARTIC train station and Main/MacArthur. The last southern Bravo! bus stop is adjacent to South Coast Plaza, but still a bit of a distance away and would be more convenient to passengers to connect closer to the regional shopping mall and businesses.