What is this project and when is it happening?

The Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA) is improving transit in Western Placer County. This project will occur in two phases.

Phase One: Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA)

The COA is a process of understanding how our current transportation services are working, determining how to meet future transit-demand needs and providing recommendations to improve transit services overall.

The COA commenced in the July 2023 and is estimated to be completed by Summer 2024.

Phase Two: Short-range Transportation Plan (SRTP)

The SRTP builds upon the analysis and recommendations of the COA and determines how improvements will be funded and what strategic decisions need to be made in the near term to continue transportation improvements in the coming years.

The SRTP is estimated to begin in Summer 2024, with anticipated completion in early 2025.

What is a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA)?

Placer County Transportation Planning Agency’s (PCTPA’s) Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) will explore transportation needs in Placer County including the communities of Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Loomis, Rocklin and the unincorporated areas of Western Placer County. The City of Roseville is not included in this part of the project as they are conducting a separate analysis of their transportation services through their own COA planning efforts. However, both PCTPA’s and the City of Roseville’s COA projects will be coordinated to ensure consistency and integration of proposed service plans developed as part of the COA planning efforts. The COA will consider both existing conditions and 2030 (five-year) projections. This analysis will result in recommendations for a more coordinated and convenient public transit system for residents and workers. Specifically, the COA will include:

• Identification of ways to improve connections among transit providers to establish seamless service, both local and between community transportation system;
• Evaluation of existing services and future needs by identifying travel patterns and key destinations;
• Evaluation of the services offered, and network design options including local and commuter fixed route buses, on-demand service and vanpool service modes;
• Community engagement and outreach, including a focus on historically marginalized groups and individuals;
• Meaningful and responsive engagement with stakeholders; 
• Analysis of a variety of potential changes to public transit service; and
• Selection of a preferred service plan for the next five years.

What is a Short-range Transportation Plan (SRTP)?

The Short-range Transportation Plan (SRTP) is the next step to improving transit services in Placer County. The SRTP builds upon the Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) studies conducted for Placer County as well as the separate COA for Roseville. The SRTP for Western Placer County will include Auburn Transit, Roseville Transit, the Western Placer Consolidated Transportation Services Agency (WPCTSA) and Placer County Transit. The SRTP is a single-implementation plan to guide transit investments made to improve the services of the individual operators over the next five years (2025-2030). The SRTP will also identify strategic directions for a total 10-year period (2031-2035).

What transit operators are considered in the COA and SRTP?

Several individual transit operators provide services to people who live, work and study in Placer County. These individual operators include Placer County Transit, Auburn Transit, Roseville Transit. These operators currently provide a range of services to customers including fixed-route bus service, on-demand service and commuter bus service to Sacramento, depending on the operator.

The table demonstrates which operators will be considered by each process noted with an ‘x.’

While not a transit provider, the Western Placer Consolidated Transportation Services Agency (WPCTSA) helps to fund programs that complement transit services, support education and provide lifeline transportation services to Placer County residents and will be incorporated into the Short-range Transit Plan.

How will the City of Roseville’s COA be considered?

The City of Roseville is completing a separate COA process to analyze current transit services, anticipate future demand and provide recommended service scenarios. Roseville’s process follows a similar timeline to PCTPA’s COA scheduled for completion in early 2024. The findings for and service plans developed in both COAs will be used to inform the STRP which will guide investments and strategic directions for Placer County Transit, Auburn Transit, Roseville Transit and the Western Placer Consolidated Transportation Services Agency.

How can I be involved?

Your input is valuable to this project and necessary to ensure that transit improvements meet the needs of our residents and those that work and study in Placer County. This website serves as your destination for all information about upcoming events and opportunities to provide input.

You can register for email updates from PCTPA here to stay up to date on the project.

How will my input shape the project?

Research only tells us half the story. We need to hear your first-hand experience using transit services in Placer County, and the reasons why you may choose not to take transit, in order to make improvements. We plan to reach out to stakeholders and the community at key milestones to collect your feedback and inform our decision making. Stay tuned to the website for more information about upcoming events and opportunities to provide input.