[IMAGE]OmnitransTransitCenter-2.jpg[/IMAGE] Last week, Omnitrans and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based Chaffey College debuted the new Chaffey College Transit Center. The center is expected to reduce parking and traffic issues, enhance accessibility and community connectivity for Omnitrans’ growing student ridership.

A joint project of Omnitrans and Chaffey College, the center is located on the College’s main campus in Rancho Cucamonga.

“More than 600 bus boardings are occurring now on a typical school day at Chaffey’s main campus – up 60 percent from just three years ago,” said CEO/GM Milo Victoria. “We’re pleased to be partnering with Chaffey College to open this beautiful new Center to accommodate students’ growing demand for low-cost, reliable transportation.”

The agency and the College worked together to develop a site that put the bus transfer site closer to the center of campus, creating a location that was good for bus riders and also doesn’t impede regular traffic, said Wendy Williams, marketing director, Omnitrans. Students will be able to connect directly from the main Chaffey campus to the college’s Fontana and Chino campuses, as well as to community locations such as Victoria Gardens, Ontario Mills and Epicenter Stadium via the bus. Three Omnitrans routes, 68, 80 and 81, will begin service to the center on Jan. 3, 2011 — the routes currently serve the college via interim bus stops.

The center also is equipped for future regional expansion, including space for an articulated bus to accommodate Omnitrans’ planned sbX rapid transit service through the San Bernardino Valley.

Omnitrans hopes the center will give the bus service a higher profile among students, Williams added. “Because of its positioning, people will see that it keeps you closer to the action than some of the parking spaces. It gives students an advantage in some ways over driving and parking at the far distant parking areas,” Williams said.

The $2.5 million center was built with funds from State Proposition 1B, appropriated by San Bernardino Associated Governments. In addition to its four centrally-located bus stops, the center features two bus shelters, benches and information kiosks in attractively landscaped surroundings.

“The partnership between Omnitrans and Chaffey College is a win-win for our students, faculty and staff,” said Chaffey College Superintendent/President Dr. Henry Shannon. “The new transit center provides a convenient location for those who travel by bus. In addition, the project also provided a new student parking lot.".

The Chaffey College Transit Center was designed HMC Architects and built by Young Contractors Inc., under the Bernards Project Management Team.