Fresno Area Express

The Fresno Area Express (FAX), is a public transportation operator in Fresno, California. The line has over 100 buses, 1,606 bus stations, and 16 fixed routes as of December 2013.[1] FAX offers free transfers as well as wheelchair lifts and bike racks on all buses.[2]

Fresno Area Express

Parent	City of Fresno
Founded	1887
Headquarters	Fresno, California
Locale	Central California
Service area	Fresno
Service type	bus service, paratransit, bus rapid transit
Routes	16
Fleet	100+
Daily ridership	41,993
Fuel type	Diesel, CNG
Operator	City of Fresno Department of Transportation
Website	FAX

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.[3]

FAX has paratransit operations called Handy Ride. Handy Ride is operated by a private contractor.

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.[4]

Timeline[4]

• 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

Route	Service type	North or West Terminal	Destinations Served	South or East Terminal
1 – Q Bus Rapid Transit	Q BRT	North Fresno (Fresno & Friant)	River Park, Manchester Transit Center, Fresno City College, Downtown Transit Center, Fresno Fairgrounds	Sunnyside (Kings Canyon & Clovis)
9 – Shaw	FAX 15	Brawley & Shaw	Fig Garden Shopping Center, Fashion Fair, Fresno State University	Shaw & Cole
12 – Brawley	Regular	Brawley & Shields	Central High School East Campus, Inspiration Park, Forestiere Underground Gardens	Brawley & Shaw
20 – Hughes/McKinley	Regular	Brawley & Shaw	Fresno High School, Fresno City College	Downtown Transit Center
22 – West Ave/Tulare	Regular	West & Bullard	Fig Garden Library, Downtown Transit Center, Santa Fe Passenger Depot	Clovis & Kings Canyon
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	Dakota & Peach	Department of Social Services, Manchester Transit Center, Fresno City College, Fresno High School, FAX Offices, Fresno Chandler Executive Airport	Crystal & Kearney
32 – Fresno St	Regular	El Paso & Blackstone	River Park, Kaiser Hospital, VA Medical Center, Community Regional Medical Center, Downtown Transit Center	North & Elm
33 – Belmont	Regular	Belmont & Delno	Roeding Park, Chaffee Zoo	Maple & Butler
34 – 1st St	Regular	El Paso & Blackstone	River Park, Politi Library, Hoover High School, Fashion Fair, Downtown Transit Center	Jensen & Cherry
35 – Olive	Regular	Marks & Olive	Roeding Park, Tower District	Olive & Peach
38 – Cedar	FAX 15	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, Cedar Clinton Library	Fresno Yosemite International Airport
41 – Malaga/Shields/Chestnut	Regular	Marks & Shaw	Manchester Transit Center, Fresno Pacific University	Grand & Harding
45 – Herndon/Fruit/Ashlan	Regular	Herndon & Milburn	Manchester Transit Center, Fresno City College, Fresno High School, Bullard High School	Shields & Stanford
58 – NE Fresno	Regular	El Paso & Blackstone	Kaiser Hospital, Clovis West High School, Woodward Park Regional Library	Champlain & Perrin
58E – Children's Hospital	Express	Valley Children's Hospital	(no stops)	El Paso & Blackstone

Roster

Current Fleet

Fleet Number Range	Year	Manufacturer	Model Number	Power type	Engine	Transmission	Notes
9701-9714	1997	Gillig	Phantom 40' (M11T40102)	Diesel	Cummins M11E	Voith D864.3	Most coaches retired. Five coaches used as back up, not in regular service.
9901-9910	1999	Gillig	Low Floor 40' (G18D102N4)	Diesel	Cummins ISC	Voith D864.3	Used as back up, not in regular service.
0301-0325	2002	Orion	Orion V CNG (05.501)	CNG	Cummins ISL-G Detroit Diesel Series 50G	Voith D864.3E	Most Units were re-powered from their original Series 50G engine, however 6 retain them. Some coaches retired.
0501-0510	2005	New Flyer	C40LF	CNG	Cummins Westport C Gas Plus	Voith D864.3E
0601-0615	2006	New Flyer	C40LFR	CNG	Cummins Westport C Gas Plus	Voith D864.3E
0901-0916	2009	New Flyer	C40LFR	CNG	Cummins Westport ISL G	Voith D864.5
0917	2009	New Flyer	GE40LFR	Gasoline–Electric Hybrid	Ford Triton V10 6.8L gasoline	ISE Thundervolt TB40-HG hybrid system	Used as back up, not in regular service.
1101-1109	2011-2012	Gillig	BRT CNG 40' (G27D102N4)	CNG	Cummins Westport ISL G	Voith D864.5
1201-1203	2012	Gillig	BRT CNG 29' (G27E102N2)	CNG	Cummins Westport ISL G	Voith D864.5
1401-1410	2014	Gillig	BRT CNG 40' (G27D102N4)	CNG	Cummins Westport ISL G	Voith D864.5
1601-1611	2016	Gillig	BRT Plus CNG 40' (G27D102N4)	CNG	Cummins Westport ISL G	Allison B400R 6-speed	Used on FAX15 routes.
1612-1615	2016	Gillig	BRT CNG 40' (G27D102N4)	CNG	Cummins Westport ISL G	Allison B400R 6-speed
1701-1726	2017	Gillig	BRT Plus CNG 40' (G27D102N4)	CNG	Cummins Westport ISL G	Allison B400R 6-speed	1701-1709 are used on FAX15 routes. 1710-1726 are used on FAX Q BRT route.
1801	2018	Gillig	BRT Plus CNG 40' (G27D102N4)	CNG	Unknown	Unknown	First Bus to feature Updated FAX Livery.

On Order

Fleet Number Range	Year	Manufacturer	Model Number	Power type	Engine	Transmission	Notes
1905-1906	2019	Gillig	BRT Plus CNG 40' (G27D102N4)	CNG	Unknown	Unknown	Additional FAX15 Buses. To begin service in 2019.
Unknown		Proterra	Catalyst BE40	Electric	Unknown	Eaton EEV-7202	First Electric Buses ordered by FAX. To enter service sometime in late 2019 or early 2020.

References

1. "Public Transportation (FAX)". Fresno.gov. 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
2. Archived April 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
3. "FAX : System Map" (PDF). Fresno.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
4. Archived August 28, 2005, at the Wayback Machine