The Anaheim Transportation Network has purchased 40 electric buses, which will be integrated into the network’s 19-route, 70-stop system connecting riders to the theme parks, hotels, restaurants and shopping spots in the Anaheim resort area and surrounding cities.
The electric buses join the network’s Anaheim Resort Transportation system, commonly known as ART, and will boost the system’s fleet to 57 percent electric. Other buses run liquid natural gas.
Four electric buses are part of ART’s 83-bus fleet now, with two more coming by December.
The 40 new buses are expected to completely hit the streets by the end of 2020.
“This is the first wave,” said Diana Kotler, executive director of the Anaheim Transportation Network. “We’re in the process of electrifying our entire fleet.”
The electric buses are being purchased with a $28.9 million grant from California State Transportation and the Intercity Rail Capitol Program and $6.7 million from the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District.
The purchase includes 10 buses that are 60 feet, 20 that are 40 feet and 10 that are 32 feet.
With the recent opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland already bringing more visitors to the area, as well as new hotels planned or under construction, ART will be increasing service to the Disney Resort, the Anaheim Convention Center and the ARTIC transportation center, said Belinda Trani, ART business development and brand manager.
ART is expecting to serve 625,000 new riders by 2021, she said.
FRAN
Also under the umbrella of the Anaheim Transportation Network is the all-electric fleet of 10 FRAN (Free Ride Around the Neighborhood) vehicles, which were introduced in January,
FRAN mini-buses, which are free for riders, make pick-ups and drop-offs mainly within Anaheim’s City Center area, but the service is expanding to residential neighborhoods surrounding the downtown area later this summer.
A stop was also added recently at Pearson Park, which hosts summer concerts.
“At most, we use five (vehicles) and we found that they keep their charge pretty well,” Kotler said. “We finish most of the shift with one vehicle.”
The FRAN service has funding to provide free service for about 14 more months, she said.
After that, ART expected to sell advertising, which would be seen on video screens inside the vehicles.
An assessment district is also proposed, Kohler said, requiring businesses in the area to pay a “very small fee.”
RideART app
The transportation network also recently launched the RideART app, which serves as a mobile ticket and trip planning tool, and allows riders to purchase one-, three- and five-day passes.
“You can ride ART, our regular service, to Center City, and while you are in Center City to do the exploring, you can just ride FRAN,” said Jacquelyn Sutterman, ART’s brand development strategist.
Through June 28, the app had been downloaded 13,487 times and more than 31,000 mobile tickets had been purchased through the app.
The goal is to become 90 percent paperless, Kohler said.
Later, users will also be able to use the RideART app to e-hail a ride from LYFT, without leaving the app.
Plans are also in the works to make RideART a “one-stop shop” allowing users to purchase tickets to local theme parks, sporting events and concerts, and storing the tickets in the app’s its mobile wallet, Sutterman said.
“Right now, it’s more of just a mobile ticketing and trip planning app,” Sutterman said. “But the end goal is for it to be a visitation app.”
Wincome CEO Paul Sanford, who is overseeing the construction of the 618-room Westin Anaheim Resort scheduled to open in summer 2020, said the RideART app will provide a boost to Southern California hospitality and travel at a time when the resort district is already in the international spotlight.
“RideART is a true innovation for the travel industry,” he said, “and has the potential to transform other destinations as well.”
