Pasadena Transit

Pasadena Transit, formerly known as Pasadena Area Rapid Transit System (Pasadena ARTS), is the transit bus service in the city of Pasadena, California. The system was launched as a single shuttle route ahead of the 1994 FIFA World Cup at the Rose Bowl. The system greatly expanded in 2001 and ahead of the opening of the Metro Gold Line (now known as the A Line) in 2003. As of July 2022, the system consists of eight lines, which are operated under contract by First Transit, with a fleet of 32 buses.

Pasadena Transit

Pasadena Transit bus operating on Route 40
Parent	Pasadena Department of Transportation
Founded	1994
Service area	Pasadena, California
Service type	Bus service
Routes	8
Fleet	32
Annual ridership	1,601,391 (FY16)
Fuel type	CNG
Operator	First Transit
Website	pasadenatransit.net
System Map

History

Bus in former ARTS design

Pasadena launched its transit bus system in June 1994, in time for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, held at Pasadena's Rose Bowl stadium. Known as the Pasadena Area Rapid Transit System (ARTS), it consisted of a single fare-free shuttle line called the Downtown Route, which connected Old Pasadena, Civic Center, Playhouse District, and South Lake Business District.

A second route was added in mid-1996, connecting to the Downtown Route at Old Pasadena; the new Uptown Route served residents in the northwest and eastern areas of Pasadena, connecting them with the Civic Center, the North Lake shopping area, and also serving the high-density senior housing along Villa.

In 2001, anticipating the opening of the Metro Gold Line (now known as the A Line) in 2003, Pasadena restructured the transit system to serve the six new light rail stations. ARTS was restructured into four routes in 2001, which are operated today as Lines 10, 20, 31/32, and 40. Two additional routes were added in June 2003: Routes 51/52 and 60.

When the Gold Line opened in July 2003, Pasadena ARTS also began charging a 50-cent fare, which allowed the agency to enter into interagency transfer agreements that enabled ARTS riders to transfer onto the Gold Line or buses from other agencies for an extra 25 cents.

In 2010, the Great Recession that was being felt around the nation also impacted Pasadena's budget, forcing the city to cut service, including the elimination of Sunday service; in addition, the aging vehicles dragged down the agency's on-time performance into the low-80% range, and ridership fell by 13% that year. Federal grants allowed Pasadena ARTS to modify Route 10 and increase Route 20 frequency in July 2013; additional service improvements included an increase in Route 31 frequency in fall 2015 and the resumption of Sunday service in July 2018.

The service was rebranded as Pasadena Transit starting on December 1, 2015. The new logo and branding materials were developed by students at Pasadena's ArtCenter College of Design.

Routes

Local routes

Pasadena Transit operates nine routes, each connecting with at least one A Line Station. Four of the lines (10, 51/52, and 60) are classified as "Feeder" lines, which connect low-density residential neighborhoods to work and shopping destinations and other modes of transit. The other four lines (20, 31/32, and 40) are classified as "Local" lines, which connect the Metro stations with the city's attractions and high-density residential neighborhoods.

Route 20 is the busiest in the system, with nearly 2.5× the daily boardings as the next-highest route operated by Pasadena Transit, 31/32.

Route	Terminals		via	Notes
10	Pasadena Green St & Terrace Dr	Pasadena Allen A Line Station	Colorado Bl, Del Mar Bl, Allen Av	Serves Cal Tech and Pasadena City College
20	Altadena Fair Oaks Av & Woodbury Rd		Woodbury Rd, Lake Av, California Bl, Fair Oaks Av	Clockwise and Counter-clockwise route Serves Lake A Line Station, Fillmore A Line Station, Del Mar A line Station and Memorial Park A Line Station
31	Altadena Fair Oaks Av & Woodbury Rd	Pasadena Sierra Madre Villa A Line Station	Washington Bl, Altadena Dr
32	Altadena Fair Oaks Av & Woodbury Rd	Pasadena Sierra Madre Villa A Line Station	Washington Bl, New York Av
33	Highland Park Highland Park A Line Station	Pasadena Sierra Madre Villa A Line Station	Washington Bl, Av 64	Replaces former Metro Route 256 on December 15, 2024.
40	Old Pasadena Green St & Arroyo Pkwy	Pasadena Sierra Madre Villa A Line Station	Villa St, Orange Grove Bl, Rosemead Bl	Serves Allen A Line Station and Memorial Park A Line Station
51	Pasadena Art Center College of Design	Pasadena Raymond Av & Glenarm St	Linda Vista Av, Raymond Av	Serves Rose Bowl Stadium, Memorial Park A Line Station, Del Mar A line Station and Fillmore A Line Station
51s	Pasadena Rose Bowl Stadium	Pasadena Memorial Park A Line Station	Fair Oaks Av, Raymond Av, Seco St
52	Pasadena Raymond Av & Glenarm St		Raymond Av, Linda Vista Av	Serves Jet Propulsion Laboratory To Art Center College of Design
53	La Cañada Flintridge Jet Propulsion Laboratory	Pasadena Caltech	I-210, Fair Oaks Av, Raymond Av, Del Mar Bl	Replaces former Metro Route 177 on December 15, 2024.
60	Pasadena Pasadena City College	Hastings Ranch Sierra Madre Bl & Michillinda Av	Del Mar Bl, Hastings Ranch Dr	Serves Sierra Madre Villa A Line Station

Days of operation

Pasadena Transit operates seven days a week. It does not operate on major holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day).

Dial-a-ride service

In addition to its fixed routes, Pasadena Transit also operates an on-demand ("dial-a-ride") service for senior and disabled residents in the city of Pasadena and neighboring communities in Altadena, San Marino, and unincorporated Los Angeles County. The Dial-a-Ride service started in 1984 and began serving San Marino residents in 1989. Areas of Kinneloa and East San Gabriel were added in 1990, and Altadena joined in 1993.

Fares

Fares may be paid in cash. In September 2015, Pasadena Transit began participating in the regional Transit Access Pass (TAP Card) farecard program. Passes are kept on the TAP Card. Pasadena Transit will honor the regional EZ Transit Pass and all Metrolink tickets as full fare. Youth, senior, and disabled riders must use an appropriate Reduced Fare TAP Card in conjunction with an appropriate ID. Up to two children ages five and under may ride for free with one paid Full (adult) fare.

Initially, the base fare was 50 cents (youth and discount riders: 25 cents) when Pasadena ARTS began collecting fares in July 2003. The transfer fee to another transit agency was an additional 25 cents.

Fares were raised in 2009 to 75 cents (adult), 50 cents (youth), and 35 cents (discount). Passengers who pay with cash stored on a TAP Card, can ride for 2.5 hours, and will get discounted inter-agency transfers.

Bus fleet and facilities

Active fleet

The six original buses when Pasadena ARTS began were wrapped in a distinct design, themed for the Visual Arts, Symphony, New Year's Day, Historical Landmarks, and Multicultural; they were billed as "Art that really moves you". In 2006, the bus livery was redesigned to incorporate each of the six original designs as a unified pattern for all buses. The first major replacement of the fleet was completed by 2013.

Make/Model	Fleet Numbers	Year
Starcraft Allstar / Ford E-450	3058	2011
	3206-3210	2012
ENC E-Z Rider II BRT 32' CNG	3216-3225	2013
	3292-3298	2014
	3372-3375	2017
New Flyer XN35	3376-3379	2018
	4006-4007	2020

Facilities

Pasadena Transit is managed by the city's Department of Transportation and is housed in a building at 221 E Walnut St. Operations and maintenance are handled by contractors using a leased facility at 303 North Allen Avenue. There are two additional lots for overflow parking and bus storage.