Inland Empire Gets Preview of sbX

The unveiling of the Inland Empire’s first rapid transit bus, sbX (San Bernardino Express), took place at Kendall Drive near Palm Avenue in northern San Bernardino, and even featured a ride-along preview of the 60-foot-long coach bus. Omnitrans' media press conference showcased the innovative transport coach last Wednesday morning, where San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris, Yucaipa Mayor Dick Riddell and several Omnitrans officials gathered to discuss the new state-of-the-art rapid transit buses. Expected to launch this coming April, sbX will travel the 15.7-mile corridor from Cal State San Bernardino to Loma Linda every 10 minutes during peak hours. Each bus costs $1.1 million to build and the sleek comfortable design and the prompt service of the sbX coaches are meant to attract more commuters, officials explained. Omnitrans's Wendy Williams, director of marketing, and Jack Dooley, director of maintenance, answered questions about the details involved with the sbX and thoroughly described the many benefits of sbX, including: advancement of public transit, stimulation of economic growth, reduction of vehicular traffic and emissions, creation of construction jobs, revitalization of station neighborhoods, utilization of compressed natural gas, reduction of travel time, improvement of security, and the convenience of park-N-ride locations. Cal State San Bernardino's vice president of Administration and Finance, Bob Garner, shared that at this point he doesn't envision new parking spots at the university to be added, given that faculty and staff at CSUSB and other schools can ride sbX free as they now do with regular Omnitrans buses. With wireless internet capabilities and power plugs, officials are enthusiastic that the convenience of sbX will encourage more students and businesspeople to use sbX to commute. According to Omnitrans interim CEO/General Manager Scott Graham, regular buses take 62 minutes to go the route that sbX can complete in 46 minutes because of a six-mile dedicated traffic lane, less frequent stops and prioritization of traffic signals. “Although sbX is fueled by compressed natural gas, sbX was actually inspired by the rapid transit system in Cleveland, Ohio, which happens to be fueled by hybrid diesel," said David Rutherford, the sbX public relations specialist. The 2.5-mile excursion revealed how safe and efficient the sbX will be. The sbX coaches have a capacity of 104 persons (65 standing and 41 sitting), five doors, two wheelchair locations and four interior bike racks, said Omnitrans operator Diane Caldera. When asked about the safety of the new sbX buses, Jacob Harms, director of information technology, explained that each bus has 10 security cameras and 24 hours of security monitoring camera footage, well lit buses and stations. The cost of these coach buses come to $1.1 million, with the entire sbX project costing $192 million: 73.9 percent of which has been federally funded, 15.7 percent of which has been state funded, 6.2 percent of which was funded by San Bernardino County, and 4.2 percent of which was funded by Loma Linda and San Bernardino in-kind contributions.