Los Al Link Now Reaches Rossmoor: How the City's Free Electric Shuttle Works This Winter

The press release that introduced Los Al Link drew two lines. Riders 50 and older rode free, and everyone younger paid $2.50 a trip. Rides also had to stay "within City limits," with one exception written into the rules: the Shops at Rossmoor.

The City of Los Alamitos launched the on-demand electric shuttle on January 6, 2026, with Circuit running the service. Ten months later, the cover of the city's Winter 2027 recreation brochure says "FREE RIDES! NOW EXPANDED TO ROSSMOOR." Both of the original lines have moved. For a quick trip to the pharmacy, the market or the hospital, the boundary between Los Alamitos and unincorporated Rossmoor now matters much less than it did in January.

The terms in January, and the terms now

Younger riders gain the most from the new fare. Under the launch pricing, a round trip for anyone under 50 cost $5. A parent and a teenager traveling together, or a working-age adult going to an appointment, now ride on the same terms as the seniors the program was first built around.

When the service started, adding Rossmoor was only something the city hoped to do. In February, Los Alamitos assistant city manager Ron Noda told the Orange County Register that the city hoped to work with the County of Orange, which oversees Rossmoor, and with the City of Seal Beach "to expand the Los Al Link's service to include their residents." The Rossmoor part of that plan is now printed on the brochure cover.

What the city spelled out, and what it left to the app

The brochure is short on fine print. Its description of the expansion ends by telling riders to "check the app for operating hours, service details, and applicable restrictions."

That instruction matters more than usual because the rules have changed since spring. In March, a Rossmoor Homeowners Association article explained that pickups and drop-offs had to be inside Los Alamitos city limits, at the Shops at Rossmoor, or at the shopping center anchored by Target and Ralphs. The same article said pickups at Rossmoor homes were not available at that time. The city now describes Rossmoor as part of the service. The app is the place to confirm exactly which Rossmoor addresses it accepts as a starting point.

Circuit's own page for the service is worth reading slowly too. It lists both a $2.50 fare and free rides in the same block of text. The city's winter brochure, which says "free rides for all," is the more recent statement.

Booking a ride

The basics have stayed the same since launch:

1. Download the Ride Circuit app, or call the dispatch line at 562-609-4121.
2. Enter a pickup point and a destination. The app then matches you with a nearby vehicle, much like other rideshare apps.
3. If you need the ADA-accessible vehicle, ask for it when you schedule.
4. Expect to share. Circuit runs pooled rides, so other riders may join you, and each request can carry up to five passengers.
5. Be ready to walk a little. Circuit says riders may be asked to walk a short distance to meet the driver.

Circuit lists service Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with no service Sunday or Monday. Summer hours shift to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from the Tuesday after Memorial Day to the Tuesday after Labor Day. Through this winter, the standard 7-to-7 window applies. You don't have to live in Los Alamitos to ride.

The stops that make the expansion useful

Circuit names the places its Los Alamitos riders go most often. The list reads like a week of errands and meals:

• Los Alamitos Medical Center
• Ralphs, Target and Sprouts
• The Potholder Cafe
• Polly's Pies
• Maderas Steak & Ribs
• Los Alamitos Race Course

Add the Shops at Rossmoor, which was part of the service from the start, and you can see why bringing Rossmoor in was the natural next step. Rossmoor households already lived close to all of these places. What they lacked under the original rules was a ride that could begin in their own neighborhood. The brochure says the service is meant to improve mobility, support local businesses and strengthen connections "throughout Los Alamitos and Rossmoor."

Three December dates that fall inside service hours

Most of the city's early-winter calendar runs on days the shuttle operates.

Winter Wonderland is the one to plan around. The city's listing includes snow play, snow sledding, Santa's Village, live music and the tree lighting. The event runs until 7:30 p.m., but Circuit's posted Saturday service ends at 7 p.m. If you take the shuttle to Pine Street, arrange a different way home for the last half hour, or check the app that day in case hours change.

The toy drive bins stay out through December 10. Local nonprofits will hand out the toys on December 16 at 1:30 p.m. at the Community Center.

Funding that runs to 2031

Free shuttles in Orange County have a mixed record of lasting. The Orange County Register reported that Circuit ran service in parts of Huntington Beach for several years until that city's grant funding ran out.

Los Al Link has a longer runway. According to the same Register article, a $1.9 million Orange County Transportation Authority grant funds the service for seven years, through fiscal year 2030-31. The city is required to match that amount, bringing total program funding to $3.8 million. The grant comes from Project V, an OCTA program set aside for community shuttles and trolleys that fill gaps where regional bus and rail service falls short. Daniel Kramer, Circuit's vice president of business development for the West region, told the Register that service tends to last longer when it is treated as infrastructure rather than as a pilot, and designed "to be sustainable from day one."

The interchange work on Katella this November

Shuttle riders and drivers both use Katella Avenue, and the I-605 interchange is in its final phase. OCTA and Caltrans have already finished the Katella median upgrade, the southbound loop on-ramp, the northbound on-ramp, the straight northbound off-ramp, two new retaining walls, and the widening of Katella to add a bike lane in each direction.

Starting in November, crews move to the southbound on- and off-ramps on the eastbound Katella side, which includes the third and last retaining wall. Repaving Katella and the ramps is the final major piece of work, and the city expects the project to finish in spring 2027. The city says to plan for delays through the interchange. Closures, detours and weekly construction alerts are posted at octa.net/605Katella.

How easily someone can get to Los Alamitos Medical Center, the Shops at Rossmoor or a Saturday at Winter Wonderland without driving often figures into a family's thinking when a parent is weighing where to live next. If that conversation is happening in your family, Kimberly Kelly is glad to talk through how Los Alamitos and Rossmoor fit together day to day. Let's Connect.