Inland Empire Gets Preview of sbX

The unveiling of the Inland Empire’s first rapid transit bus, sbX (San Bernardino Express), took place at Kendall Drive near Palm Avenue in northern San Bernardino, and even featured a ride-along preview of the 60-foot-long coach bus. Omnitrans' media press conference showcased the innovative transport coach last Wednesday morning, where San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris, Yucaipa Mayor Dick Riddell and several Omnitrans officials gathered to discuss the new state-of-the-art rapid transit buses. Expected to launch this coming April, sbX will travel the 15.7-mile corridor from Cal State San Bernardino to Loma Linda every 10 minutes during peak hours. Each bus costs $1.1 million to build and the sleek comfortable design and the prompt service of the sbX coaches are meant to attract more commuters, officials explained. Omnitrans's Wendy Williams, director of marketing, and Jack Dooley, director of maintenance, answered questions about the details involved with the sbX and thoroughly described the many benefits of sbX, including: advancement of public transit, stimulation of economic growth, reduction of vehicular traffic and emissions, creation of construction jobs, revitalization of station neighborhoods, utilization of compressed natural gas, reduction of travel time, improvement of security, and the convenience of park-N-ride locations. Cal State San Bernardino's vice president of Administration and Finance, Bob Garner, shared that at this point he doesn't envision new parking spots at the university to be added, given that faculty and staff at CSUSB and other schools can ride sbX free as they now do with regular Omnitrans buses. With wireless internet capabilities and power plugs, officials are enthusiastic that the convenience of sbX will encourage more students and businesspeople to use sbX to commute. According to Omnitrans interim CEO/General Manager Scott Graham, regular buses take 62 minutes to go the route that sbX can complete in 46 minutes because of a six-mile dedicated traffic lane, less frequent stops and prioritization of traffic signals. “Although sbX is fueled by compressed natural gas, sbX was actually inspired by the rapid transit system in Cleveland, Ohio, which happens to be fueled by hybrid diesel," said David Rutherford, the sbX public relations specialist. The 2.5-mile excursion revealed how safe and efficient the sbX will be. The sbX coaches have a capacity of 104 persons (65 standing and 41 sitting), five doors, two wheelchair locations and four interior bike racks, said Omnitrans operator Diane Caldera. When asked about the safety of the new sbX buses, Jacob Harms, director of information technology, explained that each bus has 10 security cameras and 24 hours of security monitoring camera footage, well lit buses and stations. The cost of these coach buses come to $1.1 million, with the entire sbX project costing $192 million: 73.9 percent of which has been federally funded, 15.7 percent of which has been state funded, 6.2 percent of which was funded by San Bernardino County, and 4.2 percent of which was funded by Loma Linda and San Bernardino in-kind contributions. [END] Media Only Event: Preview of IE's First bus rapid transit, sbX (San Bernardino Express) Press Conference Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014 Begins: 11 a.m. WHERE: sbX Northern Terminus Station at Kendall Drive near Palm Avenue (near northbound I-215 Kendall/Palm off ramp; enter on Kendall Drive; parking available in park-and-ride lot) See Press Release below for further information/itinerary. UNVEILING OF sbX RAPID TRANSIT IN SAN BERNARDINO TO KICK OFF WITH JANUARY 15 PRESS EVENT Construction substantially completed; safety, testing phase and technology features to be discussed Omnitrans will host a media-only event at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, to offer a preview of the Inland Empire’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) service, sbX (San Bernardino Express), and to announce the substantial completion of the first corridor and the upcoming system-wide operational testing phase to take place during the next few months. The event will consist of a press conference at the northern terminus of the corridor, near the intersection of Kendall Drive and Palm Avenue in northern San Bernardino. Technical experts will be on hand to answer questions about the many innovative elements of the project, as well as top Omnitrans officials. The press conference will be followed by a ride-along on one of the five-door, 60-foot-long coaches to the next station, at the entrance to California State University, San Bernardino, where campus officials will be available for comment. There will be photo opportunities at both locations. • WHO – Omnitrans (Transit agency serving San Bernardino Valley, California) • WHAT – Press conference on completion of construction phase of new bus rapid transit service (sbX), start of system-wide operational testing phase and three-mile ride-along to CSUSB station • WHEN – Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, 11 a.m. • WHERE – sbX Northern Terminus Station at Kendall Drive near Palm Avenue (near northbound I-215 Kendall/Palm off ramp; enter on Kendall Drive; parking available in park-and-ride lot) • WHY – As the construction phase of the sbX BRT project comes to a close, we would like to inform the public about numerous safety elements being introduced to motorists as system-wide operational testing begins. • HOW (Program Itinerary) o 11:00 - 11:15 a.m. – Arrival in park-and-ride lot at Kendall and Palm o 11:15 - 11:30 a.m. – Press briefing on station platform (Omnitrans CEO/General Manager Scott Graham and San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris, member of Omnitrans Board of Directors) o 11:30 - 11:45 a.m. – Q&A/photo opportunity of the Northern Terminus station. o 11:45 – Noon – Ride along from Kendall/Palm terminus to Cal State San Bernardino to see the most completed station. o Noon - 12:15 p.m. – Briefing from CSUSB officials on what bus rapid transit service means for the campus, followed by Q&A and photo opportunity of the campus station. o 12:15– 12:30 p.m. – sbX will transport media back to the northern terminus. We hope to see you there. Please RSVP no later than Tuesday, Jan. 14, by replying to this e-mail or by calling (909) 963-5232. Thank you, DAVID RUTHERFORD Public Relations Specialist sbX Integrated Project Management Office ORIGINAL ARTICLE: The unveiling of the Inland Empire’s first rapid transit bus, sbX (San Bernardino Express) took place at Kendall Drive near Palm Avenue in Northern San Bernardino and the ride-along preview of the 60-foot-long coach bus was impressive. Omnitrans hosted a media press conference to showcase the innovative transport coach this past Wednesday at 11am, the mayor of San Bernardino Pat Morris, Yucaipa Mayor Dick Riddell and several Omnitrans officials gathered to discuss the new state-of-the-art rapid transit buses. Expected to launch this coming April, sbX will travel the 15.7-mile corridor from Cal State San Bernardino to Loma Linda every 10 minutes during peak hours. Each bus costs 1.1 million dollars to build and the sleek and comfortable design and the faster service of the sbX coaches are meant to attract more commuters. Omnitrans officials Wendy Williams Director of Marketing, Jack Dooley Director of Maintenance answered questions about the details involved with the sbX and thoroughly described the many benefits of sbX: advancement of public transit, stimulation of economic growth, reduction of vehicular traffic and emissions, creation of construction jobs, revitalization of station neighborhoods, utilization of Compressed Natural Gas, reduction of travel time, improvement of security, and the convenience of park-N-ride locations. Cal state school’s vice president of administration and finance Bob Garner is hopeful that no new parking spots will be added, given that faculty and staff at Cal State and other schools can ride sbX free, as they now do with regular Omnitrans buses.With wi-fi and power plugs, officials are enthusiastic that the convenience of sbX will encourage more students and businesspeople to use sbX to commute. According to interim CEO/General Manager Scott Graham, regular buses take 62 minutes to go the route that sbX can complete in 46 minutes because of a 6-mile dedicated traffic lane, less frequent stops, and prioritization of traffic signals. “Although sbX is fueled by Compressed Natural Gas sbX was actually inspired by the rapid transit system in Cleveland, Ohio which happens to be fueled by Hybrid Diesel”, says David Rutherford sbX Public Relations Specialist. The 2.5-mile excursion revealed how safe and efficient the sbX will be. The sbX coaches have a capacity of 104 persons (65 standing and 41 sitting), five doors, two wheelchair locations and four interior bike racks, says Omnitrans operator Diane Caldera. When asked about the safety of the new sbX buses, Jacob Harms Director of Information Technology explained that each bus has 10 security cameras and 24 hours of security monitoring camera footage, well lit buses and stations. The cost of these coach buses are 1.1 million dollars with entire sbX project costing $192 million: 73.9% federally funded, 15.7% state funded, 6.2% county, 4.2% funded by Loma Linda San Bernardino in-kind contributions (waived fees). The sbX preview voyage was promising of an improvement in public transit in the Inland Empire, while the Inland Empire is growing as an urban community the need for more efficient transportation is necessary in order to keep the freeways less congested and eliminate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions put into our atmosphere. 1700 West Fifth Street San Bernardino, CA 92411 www.omnitrans.org Work: 909-963-5232 Fax: 909-963-5249 Cell: 909-379-5443