Foothill Transit

Funding

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]

Contract labor

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^[update], 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 riots, 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 $43,000 in 2025) 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]

In 2007, Foothill Transit introduced the San Gabriel Valley's first bus rapid transit line, the Silver Streak. The service was described in the 2006-07 budget as a "bus system which operates like a rail line on rubber tires" with all-door boarding and limited stops.^[25]

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.^[26]

The last two lines operated by Metro (SCRTD's successor) in the eastern San Gabriel Valley were turned over to Foothill in 2016.^[27]

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]

Environmental initiatives

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.^[28] 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.^[29]

Fuel Cell Fleet

In 2021, Foothill transit ordered 13 Fuel Cell buses from New flyer to replace its Electric buses^[34][35] The Fuel Cell Buses began revenue service in December 2022^[36]

Local routes

Express routes

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

Other services

School supplementary routes

Fares and Passes

Transfers

Free 2-Hour Foothill Transit to Foothill Transit local transfers. (Lines 490, 493, 495, 498, 499, and 699), you’ll have to pay the full fare.