Project Overview

What is the Arcadia Transit Strategic Service Assessment?

The strategic service assessment is:

  1. Evaluating existing transit services to understand how the COVID-19 Pandemic and other factors since system implementation have impacted the demand for transit services.
  2. Exploring partnerships with local businesses and destinations, such as the Santa Anita Racetrack, Huntington Gardens, and local hotels to see if the City can leverage transportation services to improve connectivity.
  3. Accounting for future development planned in Arcadia and enhancing transit connectivity to locations that are anticipated to have more residential units to help serve increased transportation demand.


The City of Arcadia Transportation Services Department provides fixed-route and dial-a-ride transit services within the community seven days a week. For more information about the current system, please visit the City of Arcadia website.

Share your feedback on possible service changes!

Project Timeline

  • Timeline item 1 - complete

    Fall 2024: Existing Conditions Analysis

    The Project Team evaluated existing Arcadia Transit services and the overall travel demand within the community and the region more broadly. Community and transit operator input on what's working and what could be improved was collected via a survey providing critical information for future planning.

  • Timeline item 2 - active

    Winter/Spring 2025: Exploration of Potential Service Changes

    The Project Team is currently exploring strengths and tradeoffs of potential transit concepts within the City of Arcadia, including estimates of ridership and population served. See the future transit service concepts on this website. We're asking the community for feedback via this website and an in-person workshop. See below for more details.

  • Timeline item 3 - incomplete

    Summer 2025: Recommendations and Implementation

    The Project Team will recommend a transit alternative for the City, based on community feedback and data evaluation, and establish a framework for implementation.

Now open! Spring Survey

Future Transit Concepts & Community Feedback

Based on feedback from stakeholders and community members, three potential concepts have been developed for improving the Arcadia Transit System:

Concept 1: Current System with Minor Changes

Keeps the existing routes, but extends the Green Line further east along Huntington Drive to serve the commercial area (hotels, etc.) east of Downtown.

Concept 2: Two Fixed Routes (Green and Purple Lines)

Introduces a loop-style Green Line that covers more areas. Combines the current Red and Blue Lines into a new Purple Line that creates a larger loop through south Arcadia, including stops like H-Mart. Service to Foothills Middle School would be removed, and the Purple Line would no longer connect to the A-Line Light Rail Station.

Concept 3: Microtransit Only

Replaces all fixed routes with an on-demand microtransit system. Riders would request service to specific locations within the city. Availability would depend on the number of vehicles and budget constraints.

Take the Survey! open in new window

Fall Survey Results

Fall 2024 Community Survey Results

In Fall 2024 we gathered feedback from the community about their travel needs and experience with Arcadia Transit via a survey. The survey that was distributed online and in-person at several locations including the Arcadia Community Center, Arcadia Public Library, and on Arcadia Transit buses. The survey was open for 20 days (November 20 - December 9), and received a total of 183 responses, comprised of 145 online responses and 38 hard copies.

Key takeaways from the survey

Who took the survey?

  • A majority of survey respondents (68%) live in Arcadia.
  • Thirty percent of respondents are occasional transit riders (i.e., few times a year), while roughly half are not familiar with any transit services in Arcadia.

Where do community members and visitors travel within Arcadia?

  • Survey respondents’ top weekly destinations are well-served by Arcadia Transit today. Such destinations include Arcadia Hub Shopping Center (Blue Line), Arcadia Public Library (Blue Line), The Shops at Santa Anita Mall (Green Line), Arcadia High School (Blue Line), and Downtown Arcadia District (Red Line).

What are the most important features of transit service?

  • Survey respondents ranked convenience and frequency highest in importance for fixed-route services, and ranked both features as aspects of Arcadia Transit needing the most improvement.
  • Survey respondents ranked affordability and reliability highest in importance for Dial-A-Ride, and were relatively satisfied with these aspects of Arcadia Transit Dial-A-Ride. Respondents indicated Arcadia Transit Dial-A-Ride trip reservation process and trip availability need improvement.

What could be improved about Arcadia Transit?

  • Overall awareness of Arcadia Transit service is low in the community.
  • The top four reasons cited for not using Arcadia Transit were:
    • (1) There are no routes or stops that serve the places people want to go
    • (2) People prefer to drive
    • (3) It doesn’t come often enough
    • (4) People don’t know how to use transit
  • Blue Line had the most requests for greater frequency and expanded span of service.
  • In the free response comments, riders requested that Arcadia Transit serve the outer limits of the City (e.g., Temple City, Sierra Madre), and select locations like H Mart, Wilderness Park, Michilinda Park, among others.


We value the time and effort that our community put into sharing feedback via the survey. As we proceed to make decisions about how to improve our system, tradeoffs will have to be made to ensure we are meeting the varying needs of our community. We hope that you will participate in the next phase of community engagement to help us make the best system possible.