Victor Valley Transit Authority (VVTA), the second largest transit operator in San Bernardino County (with over 1,020,119 passengers a year), is a transit agency providing bus service in the Victor Valley, California area. In , the system had a ridership of .
In June 2015, VVTA was designated as a Consolidated Transportation Services Agency (CTSA) for the High & North Desert regions of San Bernardino County. This represented an expanding role and commitment to the Authority's already established Mobility Management department and increased the VVTA service area from 425 to 950 square miles.
History Origins of the VVTA VVTA operates local fixed-route, county commuter (discontinued in 2005), and ADA complementary paratransit bus services in the Victor Valley area. It has a maintenance facility located in Hesperia. The service structure consists of 23 local fixed and deviated routes, 3 County routes and ADA complementary paratransit service. VVTA was established through a Joint Powers Authority in 1991. The JPA includes the four cities of Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia and Victorville and certain unincorporated portions of the County of San Bernardino including Oro Grande, Helendale, Lucerne Valley, Phelan, Piñon Hills, Wrightwood. Service is also provided to Barstow and Fort Irwin. The Fort Irwin service is branded as the NTC Commuter. The Board of Directors includes council members from the above cities and the San Bernardino 1st District Supervisor. Since 1998, the Board has held a management contract with McDonald Transit Associates, Inc. for administration of the system. In January 2005, the operations contract for all transit service in the Victor Valley area was consolidated under a separate contract with ATC (later Veoila, now Transdev). In 2018, National Express Transit became the system operator. Keolis Transit America (KTA), a subsidiary of Keolis North America, began operating the network Oct. 1, 2020.
Barstow Area Transit Barstow Area Transit formerly ran the transportation service in Barstow and surrounding areas of San Bernardino County, including the communities of Hinkley, Lenwood, Grandview, Yermo, Harvard, Daggett and Newberry Springs. It was merged into VVTA in 2015.
MV Transportation, Inc. was contracted by the city to operate Barstow Area Transit. Barstow Area Transit operated Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and on the weekends from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m; the system carried more than 144,000 passengers each year.
The system featured three routes: Central Barstow, which was called Route 1 while running as a clockwise loop and Route 2 while running counterclockwise; West Barstow/Grandview/Lenwood, which was called Route 3 while running clockwise and Route 4 while running counterclockwise; and Hwy 58 which traveled crosstown as Route 5.
In 2015, Victor Valley Transit Authority officially voted to take over Barstow Area Transit due to the potential savings of $403,663 and an increase of service levels in Barstow due to economies of scale.
Transition to Fuel Cell Buses
In May 2023, the board of directors voted to replace its Battery Electric buses in favor of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses due to not meeting range requirements. Current plans are for eleven fuel cell buses
Governance Victor Valley Transit Authority is administered by a Board of Directors, consisting of Seven Members (each with an alternate). The five board members from the cities are elected council persons assigned to VVTA by their respective city councils. The two board members are the San Bernardino county Supervisors (generally a staff person or the supervisor represents the county as the alternate). The Board is required under the JPA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to meet at least one time each quarter of each fiscal year. Board meetings are generally monthly in Hesperia, with every third meeting in Barstow. All meetings are held in compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act. Board meetings are presided by the Board-appointed Chair. The board of directors is responsible for such acts as adopting the budget, approving route and schedule changes, public hearings as required, appointing the CEO/General Manager, appointing a technical advisory committee, establishing policy, and adopting rules and regulations for the conduct of business. The VVTA Technical Advisory (TAC) committee is the working group for the VVTA Board. It is composed of a staff member from each of the cities and County who is generally appointed by the City Manager, County Supervisor. The TAC takes direction from the Board to make recommendations on policy issues. In addition, TAC reviews monthly all suggested Board agenda items and decides on what actions to recommend to the Board for approval.
Transit Security
In 2023, VVTA, contracted with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for transit security
Routes VVTA routes include Fixed, County, Intercity, and Commuter. County routes and some Fixed Routes can deviate as far as 3/4 mile to pick up passengers. County routes serve outlying rural areas. In August 2021, all routes at Lorene and 7th were moved to the Victor Valley Transportation Center (VVTC). On Sunday, October 2, 2022 VVTA returned to full-service.
Routes 1-9 are Barstow routes; 10-19 are Intercity routes; 20-29 are County routes; 30-39 are Routes primarily in Adelanto; 40-49 are Apple Valley, 50-59 are Victorville, 60-69 are Hesperia, and 100 series are the NTC Commuter. All routes operate 7 days a week. NTC Commuter Routes 111-118 operate Weekdays only..
Sunday, October 6, 2024, route restructuring and schedule changes. Barstow service hours expanded to be the same as Hesperia's service hours. Routes 25, 50X, and 54 discontinued. New Routes 27 and 49. Route 55 increased weekday frequency to 30 minute service. Routes 27, 28, and 29 frequency increased from 3 hours to 2 hours. Routes 40, 47, 54, and 66 Sunday frequency increased from every two hours to hourly. Route 66 Weekday and Saturday frequency increased from every two hours to hourly.
Free rides on all Fixed Routes (1-6, 31-68) and County Routes (20-29) from Sunday, October 5, 2024 to Saturday, October 12, 2024. RouteTerminalsViaNotes1Barstow Barstow City HallBarstow Armory + ChateauMain St / Montara Rd2Barstow Barstow City HallBarstow Barstow Community CollegeBarstow Rd3Barstow Barstow City HallBarstow Lenwood Rd + Hampton InnMain St, Lenwood Rd6Barstow Barstow City HallBarstow Rimrock Rd + N StArmory Rd15Barstow Barstow City HallSan Bernardino San Bernardino Transit CenterI-10, I-15via Victor Valley Transportation Center20Hesperia Main St + Cataba RdPinon Hills Pinon Hills Community CenterBear Valley Rd / Baldy MesaPreviously Route 21P21Hesperia Main St + Cataba RdWrightwood Wrightwood Community CenterMain St / Phelan RdPreviously Route 21W22Victorville Victor Valley Transportation CenterSilver Lakes Vista Rd + Helendale RdNational Trails Hwy23Apple Valley Apple Valley Post OfficeLucerne Valley Lucerne Valley MarketHighway 1827Barstow Barstow City HallHinkley Outer Hwy 58 EB + Hidden RiverHighway 58 / Community BlvdNew Route, previously served by Route 2828Barstow Barstow City HallHelendale Vista Rd + Helendale RdNational Trails Hwy29Barstow Barstow City HallNewberry Springs National Trails Hwy + I-40Yermo Rd31Victorville Victor Valley Transportation CenterAdelanto Hwy 395 + Crossroads Way7th St / Palmdale Rd32Victorville Victor Valley Transportation CenterAdelanto Muskrat Ave + El Mirage RdAir Expressway33Adelanto Bartlett Ave + Greening StAdelanto Hwy 395 + Crossroads WayBellflower St40Apple Valley Apple Valley Post OfficeApple Valley Hwy 18 + Bass Hill RdThunderbird Rd41Apple Valley Apple Valley Post OfficeVictorville Victor Valley Transportation CenterOuter Hwy 1842Victorville Victor Valley CollegeApple Valley Navajo Rd + Johnson RdApple Valley Rd43Victorville Victor Valley CollegeApple Valley Apple Valley Post OfficeBear Valley Rd47Apple Valley Apple Valley Post OfficeApple Valley Bear Valley Rd + Navajo RdKiowa Rd / Pahute Rd49Apple Valley Victor Valley Post OfficeVictorville Victor Valley MallYucca Loma RdNew Route, first direct route between Apple Valley Post Office and Victor Valley Mall.50Victorville Victor Valley Transportation CenterVictorville Hesperia Post OfficeI Ave / Hesperia Rd52Victorville Victor Valley Transportation CenterVictorville Victor Valley MallEl Evado Rd53Victorville Victor Valley MallVictorville VictorvValley CollegeBear Valley Rd55Victorville Victor Valley Transportation CenterVictorville Victor Valley CollegeRidgecrest Rd / Hesperia Rd56Victorville Victor Valley Transportation CenterVictorville Lorene Dr + 7th StSeneca Rd / Amargosa Rd64Hesperia Hesperia Post OfficeHesperia Main St + Cataba Rd3rd Ave / Willow Stvia Escondido66 (Loop)Hesperia Hesperia Post OfficeC Ave68Hesperia Hesperia Post OfficeHesperia Main St + Cataba RdMain StWestbound via Victor Valley Mall111Fort Irwin Fort Irwin Bus LotBarstow Wiliams Park & RideIrwin RdAM Northbound to Fort Irwin, PM Southbound to Barstow114Fort Irwin Fort Irwin Bus LotHesperia Smoke Tree St - VVTA15 FreewayAM Northbound to Fort Irwin, PM Southbound to Hesperia115Fort Irwin Fort Irwin Bus LotSilver Lakes Vista Rd + Helendale RdNational Trails HwyAM Northbound to Fort Irwin, PM Southbound to Helendale118Fort Irwin Fort Irwin Bus LotIrwin Rd / 15 FreewayPM Southbound to Hesperia via Barstow
Micro-Link On Monday, October 3, 2022, Micro-Link was introduced in three zones - Zone 1 Victorville, and Zone 2 Hesperia. Beginning October 28, 2024, Zone 3 North Apple Valley.
Needles Cactus Commuter Needles Cactus Commuter is a mileage reimbursement model for the residents of Needles as an alternative to the former route 200 in order to reach the Courthouses in Victorville
Bus fleet
Active fleet Make/ModelFleet numbersThumbnailYearEngineTransmissionNotesNew Flyer XE40301-3072019Siemens ELFA2XALT EnergyNew Flyer XE40308-3122022Siemens ELFA2XALT EnergyExtended rangeENC Axess BRT 35' CNG507-5092022Cummins Westport L9NAllison B400RENC Axess BRT 35' CNG5102023Cummins Westport L9NAllison B400RENC Axess BRT 40' CNG6162013Cummins Westport ISL GAllison B400RENC Axess BRT 40' CNG617-6242014Cummins Westport ISL GAllison B400RENC Axess BRT 40' CNG6252015Cummins Westport ISL GAllison B400RENC XHF 35' CNG626-6272016Cummins Westport ISL GAllison B400RENC Axess BRT 35' CNG628-6292017Cummins Westport ISL G NZAllison B3400 xFEENC Axess BRT 40' CNG630-6362018Cummins Westport L9NAllison B3400 xFEENC Axess BRT 35' CNG637-6382018Cummins Westport L9NAllison B3400 xFEENC Axess BRT 40' CNG639-6432019Cummins Westport L9NAllison B3400 xFEENC Axess BRT 40' CNG644-6452020Cummins Westport L9NAllison B400RENC Axess BRT 40' CNG646-6472022Cummins Westport L9NAllison B400RENC Axess BRT 40' CNG648-6502022Cummins Westport L9NAllison B400RENC Axess BRT 40' CNG651-6552023Cummins Westport L9NAllison B400R30th Anniversary wrapMCI D4500CT CNG812-8162015Cummins Westport ISL GAllison B500RUsed on NTC CommuterENC Axess BRT Suburban 40' CNG817-8192016Cummins Westport ISL GAllison B400RUsed on Route 15ENC E-Z Rider II BRT 32' CNG2022-20272021Cummins Westport L9NAllison B400RENC E-Z Rider II BRT 32' CNG2028-20312022Cummins Westport L9NAllison B400RFord E450/ElDorado 240155-2092011-2019Direct AccessDodge Lonestar ProMaster 35001011-1013, 10242020-2024Micro-Link
References
External links
Barstow Area Transport official website Sanbag info on public transit in san bernardino county SBCTA info on public transit in san bernardino county