News Story

Budget delivers bus and rail service while making conservative projections to plan for the future

ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors today approved a balanced budget of $1.76 billion for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1.

The budget keeps essential transportation improvements moving forward while responsibly planning for a balanced and sustainable transportation future for Orange County.

The approved budget makes significant investments in public transit – totaling approximately 52% of the overall budget – and makes improvements to Orange County’s freeways and streets to keep the county moving safely and efficiently.

Overall, the fiscal year 2024-25 budget represents approximately a $58 million increase (about 3.4%) over the previous year’s budget. This mirrors a similar budget increase last year, which followed two years of budget cuts largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m proud to see OCTA deliver another balanced budget that will continue to enhance our transportation system, improving transit, freeways and local streets,” said OCTA Chair Tam T. Nguyen. “The hard work done by OCTA staff and our Board means that we can be responsible stewards of taxpayer money while continuing to improve quality of life for Orange County residents, workers and visitors.”

Other themes of the budget include:

• Planning responsibly and conservatively for the current economic climate, while maintaining strong reserve levels
• Ongoing investment in zero-emission buses and infrastructure to support the ongoing conversion to a full zero-emission fleet
• Stable operations of the newly opened 405 Express Lanes, performing as forecasted in its first six months, and of the 91 Express Lanes, which continues to perform well
• Delivering on the projects and programs promised through Measure M
• Continuing to fund Metrolink service and implementing the rail-service optimization model
• Advancing planning studies for solutions to protect the coastal rail line
• Making significant progress toward completion of the OC Streetcar project and beginning pre-revenue service.

Measure M – the voter-approved half-cent sales tax for transportation – will continue to fund improvements to freeways and streets throughout Orange County, in addition to multiple transit and environmental programs. Transportation funds are provided to cities through formula and competitive funding.

Major initiatives for the budget include advancing capital improvement projects on freeways, including I-5 in South County, SR-55, SR-57 and SR-91. The year ahead will also improve local streets and continue serving Orange County’s transit needs, while moving toward a goal of zero-emissions to help improve air quality for the entire community.

The FY 2024-25 budget encompasses all services, projects and programs that are administered by OCTA.