The Irvine City Council unanimously approved an extension of the city-run Irvine CONNECT bus route to Northwood on April 22.
The city council approved continuing and extending the existing Yale-Barranca route north to Portola Parkway by August at an estimated total annual cost of $497,008 to the city. With the extension, Northwood students living along the route will be able to use the free bus service to get to and from school.
“I think I’d prefer a bus,” sophomore Daniel Hong said. “We need to make safer transportation in general, because biking itself has become more risky. I’ve seen people run through red lights, people doing wheelies, people double-riding without helmets, and it can make it not worth e-biking here.”
The council approved the discontinuation of the commuter iShuttle service and the use of reserved state Proposition 116 funds to cover much of the expansion cost, but has yet to approve specific funding levels.
“This is proof that democracy works,” District 1 Councilmember Melinda Liu said. “I understand that at the beginning of starting any new project or any type of new service in government, the setup is expensive. But you’re investing for the future.”
The expansion proposal came after the conclusion of Irvine CONNECT’s year-long pilot period and was prepared with unanimous city council direction on Feb. 11 and unanimous approval by the advisory Transportation Commission on April 15.
Although the system has seen increased ridership, Vice Mayor James Mai and Councilmember Mike Carroll opposed preparing a budgetary plan for a broader system expansion, including three additional routes, due to the lack of a wider public survey.
“I think we’re kind of just jumping ahead here,” Mai said at the council meeting. “I just want to know: Will the people support getting in these buses, out of their cars, at this cost?”
Staff are expected to return to the city council with a budgetary plan for the service within the next six months, at which time exact funding levels and bus intervals for all routes will be approved. More information, including proposed route maps, can be found in the staff report on the city’s website.
“As someone who rides Irvine CONNECT daily from my middle school to home, I and a bunch of other children from Sierra Vista would really love and greatly benefit from public transportation going to Northwood,” incoming freshman Aythan Lee said. “I’m pretty sure we can figure out a solution.”
