Fresno Area Express

Fresno Area Express (FAX) is a fantastic bus service in Fresno. Amazingly, many of the same routes that I used as a child are still operating. I used to ride #28 from Fresno Pacific University neighborhood to CSU-​Fresno and it was like a tour bus back then and still is. It used to be something some of the neighborhood kids did, ride the bus on boring hot summer afternoons.
FAX’s service to the community has awarded it one of the designated «safe places» in the community, meaning supposedly its some kind of sanctuary or protected domain. Umm, this meaning is sort of hyperbole, meaning there is certainly room for improvement where «safe place» is concerned. Not because the bus drivers don’t care. Most of them are really helpful.
However unfortunately in this community with its high rates of poverty and unemployment, there are many underprivileged people using the bus: disabled, seniors, poor, unable to drive, students, etc. So much so that it really wouldn’t be so advisable to ride the bus like a tour bus like I used to do, and still do to some extent.
The neat thing about FAX is that it’s crosstown, diagonal, and north-​south routes actually help unify this city in a wonderful way. You might not feel comfortable shopping at Fig Garden Mall, but if you want to take your child to Mosquedo Community Center for walk-​in health clinic, then stop in the Tower District for lunch, you can do all of that in one day.
Now where can you find such a wonderful bargain all for a buck-​twenty-​five? Everything is all one-​zone, there is no surcharge for rush hours, and everything inside and just outside of the city limits is in one zone. FAX also connects with other local transits and travel hubs.
If you are willing to put up riding the bus, you learn a lot about different people and their interests and challenges; forget your special education and sociology books brothers and sisters, this is inner-​city education here in the making, and it’s a lot more exciting. Some of the regulars even strike up conversations and find out about what’s been going on. Real bored patrons can read the Bus Poets posters hung up above the grab rails. You can use your cell phone, although there isn’t much free WiFi to go with it.
My main complaint is overcrowding on the buses. Most weekdays bus routes come only every 30 minutes. On routes like 22, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 9, which receive 75% of the traffic load, the frequency really needs to be increased to every 15 minutes.
I mention the number of disabled, handicapped passengers, and these spots are filled up fast at the front, so much so that the poor passenger may have to wait an hour for her next bus. So the buses could be fitted with more disabled slots, too.
CALTRANS and the Fresno City are largely responsible for this marvelous bus system, but these planners and engineers probably don’t routinely ride the bus, or ride other routes often enough to appreciate some of the subtle benefits mentioned. For certain planned improvements are in the making, and this is why I am writing.
KISS= Keep it simple supervisors. Everyone really pretty much loves the bus as it runs — so many students need the kind of routes the buses do north-​south and diagonal to City College or Glen Agnes. The main improvement — even if it doesn’t waste enough design dollars – that passengers will appreciate most would be increasing the frequency of the popular buses.
Hopefully this will not come at a sacrifice, such as decreasing the buses and times on other routes, because in this city, many people appreciate the fact that the buses run on weekends and even some major holidays. :))

I am one the Fresnans who uses Fresno Area Express (FAX) frequently. Not daily, but three to five times a week.
It’s a great value. There are many options to utilize how frequently /​infrequently you use the system. The monthly pass is good if you use FAX daily. You actually save money. You can pay by exact change ($ 1.25) or buy tokens at the office or the main Transit Center at Manchester Center that don’t expire. During the day (6/​7am til about 6/​7pm) You CAN get around town pretty well. Many of the routes do hit major shopping /​business areas frequently enough. Many of the routes do hit and cut a swath through Fresno that hit unlikely parts of town on one route. For example, you can take the 26 which swings from the airport through the Kings Canyon corridor up through downtown, the Tower District, Old Fig, Palm, and up through River Park. The wait times are not too bad considering that Fresno is not a «public transportation mecca» and the DEMAND for public transit just isn’t here in Fresno.
There doesn’t seem to be any accountability with wait times, or explanations when you call the number for information. Like any public transit system, bad drivers continue to drive. Good drivers probably don’t get the recognition they deserve. For example, I waited one day over an hour for a bus that was supposed to arrive every twenty minutes. When I called the FAX number, I explained the situation. They put me on hold, and when the operator came back on she stated «We checked, and the the driver (s) have told us they are on schedule»
Yet I am the one standing in the 110 degree heat for over an hour with Brylcreem melting out of my hair!
Crossing Fresno on the east /​west axis tends to be a little more challenging. There needs to be a solid bus route aside from the 9 bus on Shaw Avenue. The 9 bus is needed, but the frequent stops make your trip a little too long to cross town in this manner.
If there REALLY is a critique of FAX in Fresno it’s the weekends and later weeknights. Between 9 –10 PM it’s pretty much over. I understand there isn’t a demand or serious need for the bus system to run all night or later but perhaps in the future an «Owl Route» could be tried or tested. A route that runs all night in a spiral of the city covering the major areas of Fresno.
The weekend schedule is a bit longer in frequency and getting around can be more challenging, especially if you miss a connection by a minute of two.
For a «car town» and regional attitude that «public transportation is a great idea… for OTHER people» FAX isn’t too bad. FAX seems to be attempting to improve what they do have with connections, and what they can work with. It’s a system that does need to hone and fine tune what they have.

You get what you pay for, that’s for sure. $ 1.25 is cheap but be prepared to be at the bus at least 2 hours before you need to be somewhere. The bus is late like 90% of the time and we’re talking 15 – 20 min late. And if it’s early even by 5 min, it won’t wait. The website is not updated so if there are detours, good luck finding them. But, if it’s your only means of transpiration you’re stuck.

This bus service is slow. Buses come to bus stops like every hour. This is not the worst bus service. I would like to see the buses be faster and more buses running on the major bus lines. I would love to see the transfers not be limited to 90 minutes. It would be nice if Fresno has a subway system.

The bus service in Fresno is Not the greatest but not the worst. The good news Its only $ 1.25 to ride the bus and plus get a free transfer if needed. They need improvement on the bus routes and add a light rail station. I would pay 2.25 to ride as I already do in Seattle :-)