SunLine Transit Agency
Three SunLine New Flyer C40LF buses in Palm Springs
FoundedJuly 1, 1977 (1977-07-01)
Headquarters32-505 Harry Oliver Trail
Thousand Palms, California
Service typebus service, paratransit
Routes10[1]
Fleet68 buses, 27 paratransit[2]
Daily ridership7,500 (weekdays, Q3 2023)[3]
Annual ridership2,518,000 (2022)[4]
Websitesunline.org

SunLine Transit Agency is a transit operator in Riverside County, California, providing bus service to more than 3.5 million passengers per year in the Palm Springs Area. Service extends into San Bernardino Transit Center during peak hours.[1][5] In 2022, the system had a ridership of 2,518,000, or about 7,500 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.

History and description

SunLine Transit Agency (STA) was established under a Joint Powers Agreement, initially between Riverside County and Coachella Valley cities (Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Palm Desert, and Palm Springs) on July 1, 1977. Cathedral City, Indian Wells, La Quinta, and Rancho Mirage were added later. Each of the nine member cities selects one member of the SunLine Board of Directors, with the tenth provided by Riverside County.[6]: 1 

The service area covers 1,120 sq mi (2,900 km2), bounded approximately by the San Gorgonio Pass on the west and the Salton Sea on the southeast.[6]: 13  In addition to its transit operations, SunLine regulates local taxi services (as the SunLine Regulatory Administration, a division of the SunLine Services Group)[7]: 25  and sells CNG and hydrogen to the public from dispensers at its Thousand Palms and Indio operations facilities, under the brand SunFuels.[8][9]: 3 

Routes

Route Terminals Via Notes
1EV Palm Desert

Town Center wy & Hahn Rd

 Coachella

5th St & Vine Av

 SR-111
1WV Palm Desert

Town Center wy & Hahn Rd

 Palm Springs

Palm Canyon Dr & Stevens Rd

 SR-111
2 Desert Hot Springs

West Dr & Pierson Bl

 Cathedral City

B St & Buddy Rogers Av

 Gene Autry Trail
3 Desert Hot Springs

West Dr & Pierson Bl

 Desert Edge

Dillon Rd & Corkill Rd

 Hacienda Av
4 Palm Springs

El Cielo Rd & Kirk Douglas wy

 Palm Desert

Town Center wy & Hahn Rd

 Bob Hope Dr
5 Desert Hot Springs

West Dr & Pierson Bl

 Palm Desert

Town Center wy & Hahn Rd

 I-10
6 Coachella

5th St & Vine Av

 Palm Desert

Town Center wy & Hahn Rd

 Fred Waring Dr
7 Palm Desert

Harris Ln & Washington St

 La Quinta

Calle Madrid & Vallejo Av

 Washington St
8 Indio

Showcase Pkwy & Monroe St

 Mecca

66th Av & Date Palm St

 Jackson St
9 North Shore

Club View Dr & WIndlass Dr

 Mecca

66th Av & Date Palm St

 70th St
10

Commuter Link

 San Bernardino

San Bernardino Transit Center

 Indio

Hwy 111 & Golf Center Pkwy

 SR-210, I-10

Destinations

Destinations served include:[10]

Governance

SunLine is governed by a board of directors with 10 members[11]

  • 1 City Council member From Palm Springs
  • 1 City Council member from the 9 cities in the Palm Springs Area that are not Palm Springs City.
  • 1 from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, that represents the Palm Springs Area (District 4)

Chair

Glenn Miller

Vice Chair

Lisa Middleton

Chief Executive Officer

Lauren Skiver

Facilities and bus fleet

Early fuel cell buses
XCELLSiS ZEbus refueling at Thousand Palms facility
Thor/ISE ThunderPower in service with AC Transit after initial operations with SunLine

The initial fleet included 22 buses in 1977. SunDial paratransit operations started in 1991.[12]: 11  The SunLine Board of Directors adopted a resolution in 1992 to convert their fleet to alternative fuel, and became the first transit agency in the United States to do so in 1994, using compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.[12]: 11 

Starting in 2000, SunLine began limited operations with hydrogen fuel cell buses, installing a hydrogen fuel station using a Stuart Energy electrolyzer to supply the XCELLSiS ZEbus for a 13-month trial.[13] The first revenue operations were conducted with the Thor/ISE ThunderPower fuel cell bus, using an ElDorado National EZ-Rider II chassis, between November 2002 to February 2003.[14] By that time, SunLine also had installed a HyRadix methane reformer to generate hydrogen.[15]: 6  SunLine tested a hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine (HHICE) bus in early 2005; the bus was subsequently sent to Winnipeg Transit for cold weather testing.[16]

STA plans to convert their fleet to zero-emission buses (ZEB) by 2035, with only ZEBs purchased starting in 2021.[17]: 1, 3  Due to the relatively long fixed routes, the final mix of ZEBs is expected to be mostly hydrogen fuel-cell buses.[17]: 9 

Active fleet

Make/Model Fleet Numbers ThumbnailYear Engine Transmission Notes
New Flyer XN40 622-627 2016 Cummins Westport ISL G ZF 6AP1400B
New Flyer XN40 628-637 2020 Cummins Westport L9N ZF 6AP1400B
ElDorado National E-Z Rider II BRT CNG 32' 710-719 2009 Cummins Westport ISL G ZF 6AP1400B
BYD K9M 811-814 2019
MCI D4500CT CNG 2007-2008 2020 Cummins Westport ISX12N Allison B500R Used on Route 10 Commuter Link
MCI D4505 2009 2017 Cummins ISX12 Allison B500R Used on Route 10 Commuter Link
ElDorado National Axess BRT FC 40' FC3 2010 Ballard FCvelocity HD6 150 kW BAE Systems Hybridrive
ElDorado National Axess BRT FC 40' FC4 2014 Ballard FCvelocity HD6 150 kW BAE Systems Hybridrive
ElDorado National Axess BRT FC 40' FC5 2014 Ballard FCvelocity HD6 150 kW BAE Systems Hybridrive
ElDorado National Axess BRT FC 40' FC6 2015 Ballard FCvelocity HD6 150 kW BAE Systems Hybridrive
ElDorado National Axess BRT FC 40' FC7 2017 US Hybrid FCe80 BAE Systems Hybridrive
ElDorado National Axess BRT FC 40' FC8-FC12 2018 Ballard FCvelocity HD6 150 kW BAE Systems Hybridrive
New Flyer XHE40 FC14-FC18 2018 Ballard FCvelocity HD85 Siemens
ElDorado National Axess BRT FC 40' FC19 2015 Ballard FCvelocity HD6 150 kW BAE Systems Hybridrive
New Flyer XHE40 FC20-FC24 2021 Ballard FCvelocity HD85 Siemens
New Flyer XHE40 FC25-FC29 2021 Ballard FCvelocity HD85 Siemens

SunLine has two operations and maintenance facilities: one (including the administrative offices) in Thousand Palms, and another in Indio. As of 2021, on-site refueling and charging capabilities include an electrolyzer that can produce 900 kg/d (2,000 lb/d) of hydrogen at Thousand Palms, which came online in 2019, and six 80 kW AC/DC battery-electric bus chargers, three each at both Thousand Palms and Indio.[17]: 1, 3, 17  Hydrogen dispensers (using delivered liquid H
2) and additional chargers are planned for both facilities.[17]: 7–8 

Hydrogen production started in November 2000. Two electrolyzers and a natural gas reformer were part of the initial installation. One electrolyzer, supplied by Teledyne Brown, generated 40 cu ft (1.1 m3) per hour using 7.5 kW of electricity, supplied by solar panels; the other electrolyzer, supplied by Stuart Energy, produced 1,400 cu ft (40 m3) per hour. The reformer produced 4,200 cu ft (120 m3) per hour.[18] The HyRadix Adéo reformer was installed at the end of 2003.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 "Routes and Schedules". SunLine Transit Agency.
  2. ↑ fleet information
  3. ↑ "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2022" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Sunline.
  6. 1 2 SunLine Transit Agency Short Term Transit Plan, FY 2018/2019 | FY 2020/2021 (PDF) (Report). SunLine Transit Agency. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  7. ↑ SunLine Transit Agency Short Term Transit Plan, FY 2016/17 – FY 2018/19 (PDF) (Report). SunLine Transit Agency. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "SunFuel Alternative Fuel Stations". SunLine Transit Agency. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Affordable, Sustainable Transportation in the Coachella Valley: Solutions for the Local Workforce (PDF) (Report). California State University San Bernardino. January 29, 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Destinations". SunLine Transit Agency.
  11. ↑ "Boards and Committees | SunLine Transit Agency". www.sunline.org. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  12. 1 2 SunLine Transit Agency Short Term Transit Plan, FY 2017/18 – FY 2019/20 (PDF) (Report). SunLine Transit Agency. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Cooperative Agreement Project Number CA-26-7022 (PDF) (Report). Federal Transit Administration. September 2, 2001. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "SunLine Test Drives Hydrogen Bus" (PDF). United States Department of Energy. August 2003. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  15. ↑ Chandler, Kevin; Eudy, Leslie (November 2003). ThunderPower Bus Evaluation at SunLine Transit Agency (PDF) (Report). U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "SunLine Tests HHICE Bus in Desert Climate" (PDF). US Department of Energy. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Zero-Emission Bus Rollout Plan (PDF) (Report). SunLine Transit Agency. June 24, 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  18. ↑ Clapper Jr., William L. "SunLine Transit Agency: Hydrogen Commercialization for the 21st Century" (PDF). SunLine Transit Agency. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  19. ↑ Harness, John (2006). "Auto-Thermal Reforming Based Refueling Station at SunLine Services" (PDF). US Department of Energy. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
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