Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) OC Bus

6. OC Bus and Wave Card

Promoting new and improved bus services in Orange County provided by the OCTA

OCTA aims to build trust and partnerships with the community through an outreach program and various initiatives. The Đồng Hường Đồng Hành (Residents as Traveling Companions) van outreach campaign was developed to engage the community at key high foot traffic locations.

Goals

  • Reach out to the local rider community to raise awareness about public transportation options 
  • Support community events and festivals with content and promotion 
  • Engage with different market segments about the benefits of ridership 
  • Mitigate fear of public transportation
  • Create ease of information access

Approach

  • Street team/ outreach team
  • Community events
  • Promotional marketing gifts and offers 
  • Print and online campaigns 
  • Public relationships campaigns on TV and radio 
  • Cross-awareness with other community groups and nonprofit organizations 
  • Strategic campaign & street team formation 
  • Face to face public awareness and community outreach events
  • Neighborhood information and public online meeting

Results

  • Street team with Đồng Hương Đồng Hành campaign message was formed.
  • Bilingual creative marketing materials were designed including posters and videos 
  • A bilingual app map was created 
  • The team engaged with over 1,500 people 
  • Over 400 surveys were collected

OCTA’s New Way to Pay

The Wave Pass represents OCTA’s next step in delivering a faster, easier, and more reliable transit experience for riders across Orange County. As part of the system’s development, our team supported the branding and community‑facing components of the Wave launch, ensuring the new fare payment system was intuitive, accessible, and aligned with OCTA’s evolving mobility vision.

We contributed to the naming and brand direction by analyzing national and international fare systems, identifying patterns in naming conventions, and evaluating what resonates most with local riders. The result — WAVE — reflects movement, simplicity, and the seamless experience OCTA aims to provide.

Our design support helped ensure the reusable Wave card and mobile app connected naturally to the OC Bus brand through color, typography, and visual motion. The final look and feel reinforce ease of use while maintaining consistency with OCTA’s broader transit identity.

Reference: https://www.kleinandklein.us/projects/wave https://www.kleinandklein.us/projects/6th-and-jackson https://www.kleinandklein.us/projects