Fresno Area Express
 | |||
 FAX bus operating on Route 3 | |||
| Parent | City of Fresno Department of Transportation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1887 | ||
| Service area | Fresno and Clovis, California | ||
| Service type | bus service, paratransit, bus rapid transit | ||
| Routes | 16 | ||
| Fleet | 100+ | ||
| Daily ridership | 40,300 (weekdays, Q3 2024)[1] | ||
| Annual ridership | 8,973,000 (2023)[2] | ||
| Fuel type | Battery-electric, CNG, diesel | ||
| Website | fresno | ||
| |||
Fresno Area Express (FAX), is a public transportation operator in Fresno, California. The line has over 100 buses, 1,606 bus stops, and 16 routes as of December 2013.[3] In 2023, the system had a ridership of 8,973,000, or about 40,300 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. FAX fixed routes run as far south as Malaga to Valley Children's Hospital in the north. Lines also run as far east as Fowler Avenue in Clovis, and as far west as Hayes Avenue near Highway 99 in western Fresno.[4]
FAX has paratransit operations called Handy Ride. Handy Ride is operated by a private contractor. FAX offers free transfers as well as wheelchair lifts and bike racks on all buses.[5]
FAX operates a bus rapid transit system on the Blackstone and Ventura/Kings Canyon transit corridors.
History
The public transportation system in Fresno started in January 1889. This was a horse car line. By 1926 Fulton Street was the hub of Fresno's business section. It had replaced Fresno and Mariposa Streets for commercial buildings and in so doing eliminated Fresno's only Nob Hill, all four feet of it. The streetcar era, which began in May 1887, on J Street, was one of three streetcar lines in the young city. In 1901 the Fresno City Railway Company merged the three and in the spring of 1903 the Fresno Traction Company, then the owners, converted the lines to electricity. These electric streetcars operated on approximately 42 miles of track by the mid-twenties. The electric streetcars were used until 1939, when the transit company replaced them with buses.[6]
Timeline[6]
- 1887-1901 Fresno City, Belmont & Yosemite Railroad
- 1901-1915 Fresno City Railway
- 1915-1939 Fresno Traction Co.
- 1939 sold to National City Lines/streetcars discontinued
- 1939-1946 Fresno City Lines
- 1946-1961 Fresno City Lines, Inc.
- 1961 City of Fresno Takes over Municipal Bus Service
- 1961-1969 Fresno Municipal Lines
- After 1969 Fresno Transit
- 1989 Name Changed to Fresno Area Express or FAX
Routes
Accurate as of January 3, 2022[update].[7][8]
| Route | Service type | North or West Terminal | Destinations Served | South or East Terminal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – Q Bus Rapid Transit | Q BRT | Woodward Park (Fresno & Friant) |
River Park, Manchester Transit Center, Fresno City College, Downtown Transit Center, Fresno Fairgrounds | Sunnyside (Kings Canyon & Clovis) |
| 3 – Herndon | Regular | Marketplace at El Paseo (Herndon & Riverside) |
Sierra Sky Park Airport, Saint Agnes Medical Center, Clovis North Educational Center | Clovis Community College (Willow & International) |
| 9 – Shaw | FAX 15 | Shaw & Brawley | Fig Garden Shopping Center, Fashion Fair, Fresno State, Sierra Vista Mall | Shaw & Cole Shaw & Willow (short turn) |
| 12 – Brawley | Regular | Shaw & Brawley | Central High School East Campus, Inspiration Park, Forestiere Underground Gardens | Brawley & Shields |
| 20 – Hughes/McKinley | Regular | Marketplace at El Paseo (Herndon & Riverside) |
Fresno High School, Fresno City College | VA Medical Center (Fresno Street & Clinton) |
| 22 – West Ave/Tulare | Regular | West & Bullard | Fig Garden Library, Downtown Transit Center, Santa Fe Passenger Depot | Clovis & Kings Canyon Burgan & Butler (peak hours) |
| 26 – Palm/Butler | Regular | Nees & Blackstone | Bullard High School, Fresno High School, Tower District, Downtown Transit Center, Fresno Fairgrounds, Mosqueda Community Center, Fresno Pacific University | Fresno Yosemite International Airport |
| 28 – DSS/Manchester Center/West Fresno | Regular | County of Fresno Clovis Campus (Dakota & Peach) |
Manchester Transit Center, Fresno City College, Fresno High School, Fresno Chandler Executive Airport | Crystal & Kearney |
| 32 – Fresno St | Regular | River Park (El Paso & Blackstone) Downtown Transit Center (late nights) |
Kaiser Hospital, VA Medical Center, Community Regional Medical Center, Downtown Transit Center | North & Elm |
| 33 – Belmont | Regular | Belmont & Delno | Roeding Park, Fresno Chaffee Zoo | Maple & Butler |
| 34 – 1st St | Regular | River Park (El Paso & Blackstone) |
River Park, Saint Agnes Medical Center, Politi Library, Hoover High School, Fashion Fair, Downtown Transit Center | Jensen & Cherry |
| 35 – Olive | Regular | Brawley & Shields | Roeding Park, Tower District | Olive & Peach |
| 38 – Cedar | FAX 15 | River Park (El Paso & Blackstone) |
River Park, Fresno State University, Duncan Polytechnical High School, McLane High School, Roosevelt High School | Downtown Transit Center |
| 39 – FYI/Clinton | Regular | Shields & Brawley | VA Medical Center, McLane High School | Fresno Yosemite International Airport |
| 41 – Malaga/Shields/Chestnut | Regular | Marks & Shaw | Manchester Transit Center, Fresno Pacific University | Grand & Harding |
| 45 – Ashlan | Regular | Ashlan & Cornelia | Central High School East Campus | Shields & Stanford |
| 58 – NE Fresno | Regular | River Park (El Paso & Blackstone) |
Clovis West High School, Woodward Park Regional Library | Champlain & Perrin |
| 58E – Children's Hospital | Express | Valley Children's Hospital | (no stops) | River Park (El Paso & Blackstone) |
Transit Centers
Fresno Area Express has two primary transit centers, hubs where passengers can transfer between several routes. The Manchester Transit Center is located on the west side of Blackstone Avenue and is served by routes 1, 28 and 41, additionally it is the location of the FAX Customer Service Center.[9] The Downtown Transit Center is located at Courthouse Park and is served by routes 1, 22, 26, 28, 32, 34 and 38, along with the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency's Southeast and Westside Transit routes.[10]
Roster
Current Fleet
| Manufacturer | Model Number | Length | Fleet Number Range |
Qty. | Year | Power type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Flyer | C40LF | 40' | 0501–0510 | 10 | 2005 | CNG | |
| C40LFR | 40' | 0601–0615 | 15 | 2006 | |||
| 0901-0916 | 16 | 2009 | |||||
| GE40LFR | 40' | 0917 | 1 | 2009 | Gasoline-electric hybrid | Used as back up, not in regular service. | |
| Gillig | Low Floor BRT | 40' | 1101–1109 | 9 | 2011 | CNG | |
| 29' | 1201–1203 | 3 | 2012 | ||||
| 40' | 1401–1410 | 10 | 2014 | ||||
| 1612–1617 | 6 | 2016 | |||||
| Low Floor BRT Plus | 40' | 1601–1611 | 11 | 2016 | CNG | Used on FAX15 routes. | |
| 1701–1726 | 26 | 2017 | 1701–1708 are used on FAX15 routes. 1709–1726 are used on FAX Q BRT route. | ||||
| 1801 | 1 | 2018 | First bus with updated FAX livery. | ||||
| 1905–1906 | 2 | 2019 | |||||
| 2001–2008 | 8 | 2020 | |||||
| 2103–2108 | 6 | 2021 | |||||
| Proterra | ZX5 | 40' | 2101–2102 | 2 | 2021 | Battery electric | [11] |
References
- ^ "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
- ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ "Public Transportation (FAX)". Fresno.gov. August 10, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ "FAX : System Map" (PDF). Fresno.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived April 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b [2] Archived August 28, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Department of Transportation". City of Fresno. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "FAX Newsletter" (PDF). City of Fresno. February 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "FAX Offices – Hours and Services". City of Fresno. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ "Downtown Transit Center Map" (PDF). City of Fresno. January 13, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ Fresno Area Express [@FresnoFAX] (August 5, 2021). "We are on our way to becoming electric! We plan on releasing two zero-emission buses to our fleet, beginning around November 1st, 2021, with seven additional electric buses by mid-2022. This will be a positive change for our city and our riders" (Tweet). Retrieved August 6, 2021 – via Twitter.