Rancho Mission Viejo has successfully established routes to connect the community internally and externally. The Ranch Ride, a Rancho Transportation Management Association project, has now become a community staple, serving as a reliable and efficient mode of transportation for residents.
Since being piloted in 2014, the program has grown significantly and continues to make connections.
“The program began as a pilot program back in 2014 to provide mobility services to the residents in the local communities, and we tested mobility services among the young and maturing families, as well as our active 55-plus living in the area,” said Amaya Genaro, Vice President of Community Services, Rancho Mission Viejo. “We refined the program and launched Ranch Ride in April of 2016. We're constantly reassessing routes and timetables that bring the best value and convenience to the residents, trying to encourage residents to create a new transportation habit.”
Through the changes that have come since 2014, they have landed on using the shuttle services as a great way to get around for community events, concerts, and even privately booked events.
“The internal shuttles are to our key community events, like our Red, White, and Blue Bash that will be coming up on June 29, our West Fest and, of course, our annual Turkey Trot, which is on Thanksgiving Day. Those are where we usually implement key shuttle stops in the community,” Genaro said. “Then we have our external shuttle services that support local South Orange County events and activities, which shuttled people to the Swallows Day Parade most recently in March.”
Genaro also noted that the shuttles plan to take residents and local community guests all the way to SoFi Stadium for a Luke Combs concert this summer. With advanced notice and registration, the shuttle can provide services to an array of different destinations.
“We need 30 ride reservations at minimum to provide some of these services, because we want to ensure that we're using our resources efficiently,” Genaro said. “We get groups of people who want to go to the Getty Museum, the Del Mar Racetrack, Pechanga Casino, Camp Pendleton, and even as far as the San Diego Safari Park. We even do private events like birthdays, such as bar-hopping for birthdays, so they don’t have to worry about transportation. Group trips range from events to attractions to personal, and it's a lot of fun.”
The Rancho Transportation Management Association even has a private partnership with Orange County and the Orange County Transportation Association. The Ranch Ride website provides varying information about all the different types of transportation Orange County provides that the shuttle can provide transportation to, including trains, buses, and airport connections.
“We do have a private-public partnership with Orange County and OCTA, and that helps provide the opportunity to increase our shuttle offerings while meeting our metrics for transportation,” Genaro said. “It is going to have a huge community benefit to have all that information in one place.”
Visit ranchride.net for more information on how to book a shuttle, a service list, and available shuttle stops for residents and guests of surrounding communities.