Fixed routes

TCRTA has assumed operation of legacy fixed routes from Dinuba (DART), Porterville (Porterville Transit), the City of Tulare (TIME), and Tulare County (TCaT). Prefixes designate the legacy system from which the route was inherited.

Dinuba

Under Dinuba Area Regional Transit (DART), Dinuba operated four routes, including one longer-distance route ("Dinuba Connection") connecting Dinuba to Reedley in Fresno County, two flexible routes ("North" and "South") allowing deviations to serve dial-a-ride passengers between nominal fixed route stops, and a fare-free single fixed route ("Jolly Trolley") serving popular businesses.^[28]

Exeter

The City of Exeter began operating a dial-a-ride intracity on-demand transit service in 1991. Service to its larger neighbor Visalia is provided by Visalia Transit.^[29] On July 1, 2017, Visalia Transit took over intracity dial-a-ride services within Exeter.^[30] The steep fare increase, from $1 under Exeter to $2.25 under Visalia, resulted in citizens berating the City Council.^[4]

Farmersville

The City of Farmersville also relied on Visalia Transit for public transportation connections to Visalia, with Farmersville compensating Visalia annually from its transportation funding allocation.^[31]

Lindsay

Dial-a-ride services within Lindsay were provided under annual agreements with Tulare County.^{[32]: Res.19-13} TCaT also provided service for circulation within Lindsay (Route 60)^[33] and connections to Porterville and the neighboring unincorporated communities of Plainview, Poplar-Cotton Center, Strathmore, and Woodville (Route 90).^[34]

Porterville

Porterville Transit operates six fixed routes within Porterville; there were nine fixed routes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with one of the fixed routes providing service to the Tule River Indian Reservation. The service reopened sometime after the pandemic, with service now run by TCRTA.^[14]

Tulare

The City of Tulare operated the Tulare InterModal Express (TIME) transit service, which provided six fixed routes within Tulare and one express route, jointly operated with Visalia Transit, that connected those two cities.^[35][36] The six fixed routes within Tulare were named for their geographical coverage (#1 Northwest; #2 Southeast; #3 West; #4 Northeast; #5 Southwest; and #7 East); all routes, including Tulare–Visalia service (#11X) met at the central Tulare Transit Center (360 N. K St).^[37] Sunday service was added in 2015.^[38] The 7 number got switched to T6.^[27]

Tulare County

Tulare County Area Transit (TCaT) provided mainly intercity routes, linking cities and communities within Tulare County.^[39]

Woodlake

Woodlake operated a dial-a-ride service within the city limits and unincorporated areas of the county starting in 1999; fixed intercity routes serving Woodlake were previously operated by Orange Belt Stages and TCaT.^[40]: 14

The Woodlake dial-a-ride service typically operated one of the city's three 16-passenger cutaway minibuses with the other two left in reserve.^[40]: 17 The Woodlake city bus connected with TCaT Route 30 at the Whitney Transit Center, which opened in October 2013 at 201 E Lakeview in downtown Woodlake;^[41] in total, there were four bus shelters: one at Whitney and the others at local schools (Woodlake High School, F.J. White Learning Center, and Castle Rock Elementary).^{[40]: 18–20}

Facilities

The Tulare County Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility (TOMF) held a grand opening on September 23, 2021. The TOMF can accommodate up to 25 buses with a 26,000 ft² (2,400 m²) building that includes administration, operations, dispatch, and maintenance facilities.^[43] It is located near the county's Visalia Road Yard, at the intersection of Avenues 256 (Sierra) and 140 (South Lover's Lane).^[44]