Editing County Connection (section)

== History ==
[[File:AC Transit 1918, GM Old Look ACT034 (11178008573).jpg|thumb|left|An AC Transit bus at Orinda station prior to the County Connection takeover]]
[[AC Transit]] began operating local bus service under contract in central Contra Costa County in the 1970s after the coming of BART. Service began in [[Concord, California|Concord]] on September 8, 1975; in [[Pleasant Hill, California|Pleasant Hill]] on December 8, 1975; and in [[Moraga, California|Moraga]] and [[Orinda, California|Orinda]] on September 13, 1976.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.actransit.org/website/uploads/History-of-Lines-by-Line.pdf |pages=5, 12 |title=History of Lines by Line: Major Changes Since 1960 |publisher=Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District) |date=July 17, 1978}}</ref> [[Walnut Creek, California|Walnut Creek]] began operating a downtown shuttle route connecting to BART in December 1974.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune/146304091/ |title=Shuttle Bus Ceremony Tomorrow |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=December 11, 1974 |page=15 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

On March 27, 1980, the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (CCCTA) was created by a [[Joint powers authority|joint powers agreement]] between the cities of [[Clayton, California|Clayton]], Concord, [[Lafayette, California|Lafayette]], [[Martinez, California|Martinez]], Moraga, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek, plus the County of [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa]].<ref name=srtp /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/martinez-news-gazette/146303468/ |title=Council Will Decide On Improved Transit |newspaper=Martinez News-Gazette |date=March 19, 1980 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=phantom /> The agency took over operations of the Walnut Creek system on July 1, 1980; by 1982, it had seven routes and twelve minibuses.<ref name=phantom /><ref name=srtp>{{cite book |url=https://countyconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/FINAL_County-Connection_SRTP-FY23-28.pdf |title=2023–2028 Short Range Transit Plan |page=3 |publisher=Central Contra Costa Transit Authority |date=December 15, 2022}}</ref> The CCCTA originally planned to take over the other services in its district from AC Transit in August 1981. However, slow delivery of the buses and heavy rains that slowed construction of a maintenance facility delayed this until 1982.<ref name=phantom /> 

A Walnut Creek writer, Elizabeth Tenney, won a contest in early 1982 to create a slogan for the CCRTA system. Her slogan, "The County Connection", was adopted as the system branding.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/martinez-news-gazette/146309269/ |title=Her Slogan A Winner |newspaper=Martinez News-Gazette |date=February 24, 1982 |page=13 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=monday>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune/146311763/ |title=New bus service begins Monday |first=Patricia |last=Radin |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=June 6, 1982 |page=23 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The CCCTA took over local bus service in its district from AC Transit on June 7, 1982, with a fleet of 24 new [[Gillig]] buses. (AC Transit continued to operate express bus service that functioned as feeder service for BART.) At that time, the Walnut Creek routes had 2,500 daily riders, while the routes taken over from AC Transit had 8,000 daily riders.<ref name=phantom>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner/146314686/ |title=Will extra miles dim the smiles of genial county service? |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |date=June 1, 1982 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Several routes were consolidated with the takeover, while a new Martinez–Concord–Clayton route was added.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/martinez-news-gazette/146314512/ |title=New Service Begins Monday |first=Allan |last=Hirsch |newspaper=Martinez News-Gazette |date=June 3, 1982 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=monday />

County Connection took over the operations of three private [[paratransit]] providers in 1990 to form its paratransit service, branded as LINK. In 1994, the agency took over the BART express bus feeder service.<ref name=srtp />
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