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More than a year before New York City made news for a plan to no longer charge residents for riding the bus, Irvine established its own program that provides residents with free transportation to parks, schools, hospitals, and shopping centers through the Irvine CONNECT shuttle bus service.

The City is now launching a new transportation program for Irvine seniors 60 years of age and older with its WeRide program, which is a same-day, on-demand transportation service powered by volunteer drivers.

The data analysis company Niche compared 203 of the most populated U.S. communities across key indicators of good health to determine which cities prioritize residents’ well-being. Irvine earned the No. 5 spot in the study, indicating that our City’s residents are among the healthiest in America.

Irvine is also ranked among the happiest cities in the entire nation. An impressive 88% of Irvine adults report good health, and nearly 84% stay active with regular physical activities. Irvine has the seventh-highest life expectancy in America, the second-lowest divorce rate, the third-lowest rate of poor mental health days, and the eighth-lowest depression rate in the entire nation.

During his State of the City address, Mayor Larry Agran said: “Here at Irvine City Hall, we never forget that the foremost responsibility of local government is to keep people safe. So, I begin with good news to report. For yet another year — the 21st year in a row — according to FBI statistics on violent crime in major cities, Irvine has been ranked as the Safest Big City in America!”

Mayor Agran thanked the City’s public safety officers: “On behalf of a grateful Irvine community, I want to take this moment to thank Chief Michael Kent and our entire Irvine Police Department for yet another year of outstanding work!”

In 2022, Irvine’s electricity customers were automatically enrolled in the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).

According to OCPA’s own website, Irvine electricity customers enrolled in OCPA are being charged about $20/month more than SCE charges it customers. And OCPA’s state-mandated reports show that 75% of OCPA’s Basic Choice tier — the energy tier Irvine customers are enrolled in — is nearly twice as dirty as SCE’s default tier.

Thanks to its abundance of parks, bikeways, open spaces and trees, last year Irvine was ranked the greenest city in Southern California and the fourth greenest city in the entire nation. And the Trust for Public Land recognized Irvine’s park system as the second-best in America.

An impressive 28% of Irvine’s land is dedicated to parks and green spaces, which is nearly double the national average. And 96% of Irvine residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.

During his State of the City address, Mayor Larry Agran explained what he meant when he described Irvine’s goal to become the Smartest City in America: “I am referring to our City government, and the smart policies, programs, best practices, and overall organization, professionalism, and high performance of our workforce.”

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With so many new amenities coming to the Great Park, the City is working to improve access and traffic circulation into and around the park.

Construction is now underway to extend Marine Way and create a new rail undercrossing to provide a direct connection between the Great Park and the Spectrum area.

In 2022, Irvine electricity customers were transferred from the City’s previous provider, Southern California Edison (SCE), and automatically enrolled in the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).

In 2025, the City Council voted to change the default tier for Irvine ratepayers to OCPA’s least expensive plan, Basic Choice. However, OCPA continues to charge Irvine customers higher rates than SCE.