The Fresno Area Express or FAX, is a bus line in Fresno, California

Fresno, California

Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...

. The line has over 100 buses and 20 fixed routes as of May 2008. FAX offers free transfers as well as wheelchair lifts and bike racks on all buses.

FAX fixed routes run from as far south as Malaga to Children's Hospital Central California

Children's Hospital Central California

Children's Hospital Central California is a 338 bed pediatric hospital located on the San Joaquin River just north of Fresno, California, USA. The hospital has a service area covering most of California's central San Joaquin Valley. There are more than 500 doctors on the medical staff. It is a...

 in the north. Lines also run as far east as Fowler Avenue in Clovis, and as far west as Polk Avenue near
Highway 99 in western Fresno.

FAX has paratransit

Paratransit

Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....

 operations called Handy Ride. Handy Ride is operated by a private contractor, MV Transportation

MV Transportation

MV Transportation, Inc., based in Fairfield, California., is the largest private provider of paratrasit services and the largest privately-owned transportation contracting firm in the United States...

.

FAX will begin a trial implementation of a Bus Rapid Transit

Bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...

 system on the Blackstone and Ventura/Kings Caynon transit corridors after it receives funding from the Federal Transit Administration Small Start fund.

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.

Timeline

• 1887-1901 Fresno City, Belmont & Yosemite Railroad

• 1901-1915 Fresno City Railway

• 1915-1939 Fresno Traction Co.

• 1939 sold to National City Lines
  National City Lines
  National City Lines, Inc. , was a controversial company founded in Minnesota, United States in 1920 as a modest local transport company operating two buses which was reorganized into a holding company in 1936 with equity funding from General Motors, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California and...
  
  /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

Route list

• Route 4 - Downtown Circulator Trolley
• Route 9 - Shaw Ave. Crosstown
• Route 10 - Fresno State University / Northwest Clovis
• Route 18E - Fresno ROP Express
• Route 20 - N. Hughes / N. Marks / E. Olive
• Route 22 - North West Ave. / East Tulare Ave
• Route 26 - North Palm / Peach Avenue
• Route 28 - CSUF / Manchester Center / W. Fresno
• Route 30 - Pinedale / N. Blackstone / West Fresno
• Route 32 - N. Fresno / Manchester Center / W. Fresno
• Route 33 - Olive / Belmont Crosstown
• Route 34 - NE Fresno / North First / West Fresno
• Route 35 - Olive Crosstown
• Route 38 - North Cedar / Jensen / Hinton Center
• Route 39 - Clinton Avenue crosstown
• Route 41 - N. Marks Ave. / Shields Ave. / VMC
• Route 45 - Ashlan Crosstown
• Route 50 - Northeast Clovis / Southwest Clovis
• Route 56 - Willow-Int'l/Community College Center/River Park
• Route 58 - NE Regular Service
• Route 58E - Valley Children's Hospital Express
• Route 60 - Clovis Community Hospital / Sierra Vista Mall
• Route 65 - Southeast Clovis Circulator
• Route 70 - Reagan Education Center Express