Tri Delta Transit

Tri Delta Transit, formally the Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority, is a joint powers agency (JPA) of the governments of Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood, and Contra Costa County that provides bus service for the eastern area of Contra Costa County, California, United States. Contra Costa County has four major public bus transportation services, divided geographically: three mostly serve destinations within the county, covering western (WestCAT), central (County Connection), and eastern (Tri Delta Transit) regions, and one (AC Transit) serves Bayside cities along the western edges of Contra Costa and Alameda counties. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

Tri Delta Transit local buses connect to the BART rapid transit system at Antioch, Pittsburg Center, Pittsburg/Bay Point and Concord. In addition, Tri Delta Transit buses connect with Amtrak commuter rail services, including ''San Joaquins'' and ''Capitol Corridor''. Within the county, several Tri Delta Transit bus routes connect with County Connection and WestCAT.

History

The Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority (ECCTA) JPA was formed in 1976 by the cities of Antioch, Brentwood, and Pittsburg, along with the County of Contra Costa. When Oakley was incorporated in 1999, the JPA was amended to admit Oakley on April 1, 2001. The Tri Delta Transit name was selected in May 1977 by the marketing committee of the ECCTA.

Tri Delta Transit fixed route service began on June 6, 1977, celebrated by an inaugural bus starting from Antioch City Hall (10 a.m.), traveling to Oakley (10:30), Brentwood City Hall (11), Pittsburg, and ending in West Pittsburg (2 p.m.). For the first week, free rides were offered. Initial service was provided for two local routes in Antioch and Pittsburg, which connected with express bus service serving BART.

AC Transit operated the service under contract until 1984, when it was transferred to a private operator, and ECCTA acquired its first buses; prior to that, AC Transit owned the buses it used for Tri Delta Transit. Some of the buses used in 1978 included 29-foot models, shortened from 35-foot buses at the AC Transit shops.

Dial-a-ride on-demand transit services have been provided since 1979 using contracted private operators. ECCTA consolidated fixed route and on-demand services with a single operator when the contract with AC Transit was discontinued in 1984. In 1986, Laidlaw Transit, Inc. (later First Transit, now Transdev) begin operating Tri Delta Transit.

The ECCTA headquarters in Antioch was built in 1987, consolidating administration, operations, and maintenance at a single facility; expansions in 2004 provided additional space and bus parking.

Overview of fixed-route service

Tri Delta Transit operates in eastern Contra Costa County and has stops in Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood, Bay Point, Pittsburg, Martinez, and Concord. Tri Delta Transit operates local and express routes on weekdays and local routes on weekends and holidays.

Transfers

Intra-system transfer points for the majority of Tri Delta Transit's routes include:
* Brentwood Park & Ride in Brentwood
* Oakley Park & Ride in Oakley
* Antioch BART station in Antioch
* Pittsburg Center BART station in Pittsburg
* Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station in Pittsburg
* Los Medanos College in Pittsburg

In addition to transfers within Tri Delta Transit and to BART, riders may transfer to neighboring and long-distance public transportation systems at other stations, including:
* Antioch–Pittsburg station, via Routes 387 and 388
** Amtrak ''San Joaquins''
* Concord BART, via Route 201X (weekdays)
** County Connection
* Martinez station, via Route 200X (weekdays)
** Amtrak ''California Zephyr'', ''Coast Starlight'', ''San Joaquins'', and ''Capitol Corridor''
** County Connection
** WestCAT

Route list

Tri Delta Transit operates sixteen bus routes on weekdays, serving the cities of Bay Point, Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, and Brentwood, with one route each connecting to Concord (201X) and Martinez (200X). Most routes parallel the San Joaquin River, running east and west; routes designated as "express" (200X, 201X, 202X, and 300X) are designed with fewer stops and operate primarily during commute hours with limited mid-day service. Several routes share the same terminal points, but take different paths to provide service to communities both north and south of California State Route 4. For example 380, 387, 388, and 390 all provide service between the Pittsburg/Bay Point and Antioch BART stations, with 388 continuing on to the Antioch Medical Center.

On the weekends and holidays, Tri Delta Transit operates six routes, which are a subset of five weekday routes and one additional route (395) that operates exclusively on weekends, throughout the ECCTA service area including the aforementioned cities with the exceptions of Concord and Martinez. The five routes that operate all week are longer, local routes which duplicate coverage of the shorter weekday-only bus routes.

;Notes

References

External links

*
Tri Delta Transit routes and descriptions

{{San Francisco Bay Area Public Transit, state=California

Bus transportation in California
Public transportation in Contra Costa County, California
Public transportation in Alameda County, California
1977 establishments in California
Government agencies established in 1977