Short Range Transit Plan 2008-2013 - Omnitrans

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SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN REPORT
OMNITRANS COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
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4.6 Community-Specific Effects of Economic Change on Population,
Employment Growth and Transit Use
The communities in San Bernardino have experienced different growth patterns over the last decade.
Communities in the western portion of the County have grown faster than eastern communities. The City
of San Bernardino, the traditional economic center, has maintained its primacy, but other communities
(such as Ontario) have grown significantly over the past years. The following section provides
information on the two most populous cities in the San Bernardino County, the Cities of San Bernardino
and Ontario. For each city, population and employment growth trends will be examined.
City of San Bernardino
Even with faster growth rates in other cities and some local economic downturns, population and
employment growth within San Bernardino are expected to continue at a steady pace. As Figure 4-10
illustrates, the population is projected to grow by nearly 5% during the ten-year period between 2005
(199,035) and 2015 (208,860) and by another 2.5% in following fifteen years to 2030. San Bernardino’s
dominance in terms of residential and employment population will not change significantly over the
period, but Ontario’s population – growing at a much faster rate – will surpass that of San Bernardino.
Figure 4-10: City of San Bernardino Projected Population and Employment
250,000
200,000
199,035
207,021 208,860 210,672 212,404 214,069
150,000
100,000
88,791
99,337
110,056
120,965
131,943
143,045
50,000
0
2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
Year
Employment
Population
Source: SCAG projections
July 11, 2007 73