Big Blue Bus (stylized in lowercase) is a municipal bus service primarily serving the city of Santa Monica and the greater Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. The service, operated by the city of Santa Monica, was founded on April 14, 1928 and throughout its existence has used a blue color scheme for its buses, leading to the Big Blue Bus nickname that would later become the official name of the agency. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 8,289,600, or about 29,900 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023. Big Blue Bus receives funding from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and offers connections to its Metro Bus and Metro Rail systems, but is operated independently from Metro.
History
A now-retired GMC "New Look" bus in service for what was then-called the "Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines".
The agency was founded on April 14, 1928 as the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines and the agency picked a unique blue color scheme for its buses, later leading to the Big Blue Bus nickname.[4] It holds the distinction of being the second oldest public transit bus system still operating in Los Angeles County; only the neighboring Culver CityBus (founded March 4, 1928) is older.[5]
Santa Monica established the bus line in response to a fare increase on the Pacific Electricinterurban trains between Santa Monica and Los Angeles.[6]
While independent from other agencies in the Los Angeles area, the Big Blue Bus has always offered connections to the other systems, most notably near the intersections of Pico and Rimpau Boulevards in the Mid-City section of Los Angeles. The historic transfer point was established by Santa Monica, the Los Angeles Railway and Pacific Electric Railway and is known today as the Pico/Rimpau Transit Center and is used the Big Blue Bus and Metro Bus.[6]
In 1978, Santa Monica became the first transit operator in California to operate a bus with a wheelchair lift, the Grumman-FlxibleModel 870. It was the third agency to order the bus after Atlanta's MARTA, and Connecticut's CT Transit. The Big Blue Bus was one of the last transit agencies using the iconic GMC New Look "fishbowl" bus, the last of which was retired in 2005.
Big Blue Bus operates 18 bus lines: 12 regular routes, 4 rapid routes, and 2 circulator routes. On weekends and holidays with weekend service, the agency operates 10 bus lines: 9 regular routes and 1 rapid route.[8]
‡ Routes 1, 2, and 8 terminate at the UCLA Hilgard Terminal (Hilgard Av at Strathmore Dr) weekdays between 7am and 8pm, all other trips terminate at the UCLA CEY/P2 Hub (Charles E Young Dr at Parking Structure 2).[9]
Bus fleet
Big Blue Bus currently maintains a fleet of 195 buses of various lengths including 29', 40', and 60' articulated, with 35-footers set to be delivered in 2024.[10] In 2018, Big Blue Bus received its last ever internal combustion vehicle. 19 buses out of its total fleet are currently battery-electric.[11] All buses feature destination signs. Newer buses (units 1801 and later) feature white LED destination signs, while older units feature a variety of other colors. The fleet is currently being equipped with passenger information displays[12] in place of the older dot-light signs. A few current examples include in buses 1506 and 2118, and they will be implemented on new buses moving forward. The new displays currently feature a three-day weather forecast, upcoming stops with time to arrival, and the line's final destination. These are subject to updates. Buses 1808 and newer currently offer complementary onboard Wi-Fi.[13] Fleet communications systems are also currently being upgraded,[12] enabling vehicles to generate more frequent and accurate GPS data for tracking purposes, such as the Transit app.
Big Blue Bus has evaluated two main options for zero-emissions propulsion of its buses in an effort to decarbonize its fleet by 2030. Both hydrogen fuel cell and battery-electric buses have been considered.[14] Big Blue Bus is installing charging for 100+ buses at its depot using a canopy with overhead reel dispensers, a project set to be complete by the end of 2024.[11] 2010 and 2011 El Dorado EZR II- BRT 32' CNG models are in need of replacement and are set to be replaced with 15 35-foot Gillig Low Floor Plus EV models.[10] Moreover, Big Blue Bus' 2011 NABI LFW 40' units are nearing the end of their life expectancy and have already passed federal minimums by age.[15]
Unit 1827 is a Gillig prototype and features the old livery and interior design
Units 2101-2118 and newer feature the redesigned livery with dark blue on the bottom third and light blue on the top. Up until these buses, the primary livery consisted of a bottom and top section connected by a downwards facing curve, but these buses now have a straight line separating the bottom and top two thirds.
Units 2101-2118 feature power-assisted wheelchair securement devices and later units removed all but one of the forward-facing rows in the low-floor section in favor of the bus in favor of sideways seating and increased standing room
2101-2118
2021
ElDorado
E-Z Rider II BRT
32
2900-2904
2010
CNG
Cummins Westport ISL G
Allison B300R
Originally powered with a gasoline electric hybrid system. Later converted to CNG.
Soon to be retired and replaced by Gillig 35-footers[10]
2906 experienced mechanical issues while pulling out of Westwood Plaza on route 18 requiring the bus to be towed back to the depot during revenue service at approximately 13:13 on 26 February 2024 and is expected to be retired
Set to replace ElDorado 32-footers from 2010 through 2012 which are at end of useful lives
Future and Electrification
Following the success of Big Blue Bus' pilot with a prototype Gillig/Cummins BEB (unit 1827), the agency committed to only purchasing zero-emission vehicles moving forward. Depending on the service blocks, buses sometimes return to the depot to be recharged and re-enter service later in the day. Big Blue Bus charges its electric fleet with 100 percent renewable energy. The second batch of battery-electric buses are expected in 2024. The agency has set itself a 2030 deadline for full conversion to zero-emissions operation.
Planned future deliveries by BBB according to BBB's Zero-Emission Bus Rollout Plan[14]
On November 20, 2012, a Big Blue Bus turned left in front of an oncoming motorcyclist, which resulted in the 25-year-old man's death. The accident occurred at approximately 10:33 a.m. at the triangular intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Marquez in the Pacific Palisades. Only buses are allowed to make the left turn, a maneuver that has been determined to be too dangerous for other vehicles.
On June 7, 2013, Bus 4057 of Big Blue Bus was among several vehicles fired at during a thirteen-minute killing spree that left six people dead, including the gunman, and four others wounded. Three women suffered minor injuries aboard the bus, one from shrapnel-type injuries and the other two from injuries unrelated to the gunfire.[16] Approximately two dozen people were inside the bus at the time of the shooting. The attack on Bus 4057 marked the first time a Big Blue Bus came under attack by a gunman in its 85-year service.[17]
Two humorous slogans Santa Monica Bank used on Big Blue Buses appeared in the film Speed.[18] The bus operator in the movie is called the Santa Monica Intercity Bus Lines, a fictionalized version of the Big Blue Bus's official name, the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines.
"Outside the narrow street fumed, the sidewalks swarmed with fat stomachs. Across the street a bingo parlor was going full blast and beside it a couple of sailors with girls were coming out of a photographer's shop where they had probably been having their photos taken riding on camels. The voice of the hot dog merchant split the dusk like an axe. A big blue bus blared down the street to the little circle where the street car used to turn on a turntable. I walked that way."
Curb Your Enthusiasm
In the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode ”Namaste" (season 9, episode 7), Larry David is forced to catch a bus, an activity he is not accustomed to. The eandevor ends with Larry being kicked off the bus.
The bus station is the Montana/San-Vincente station in Brentwood which serves lines 14 and 18.[19]
The Doors
The lyric from The Doors song “The End” “The blue bus is calling us” is sometimes said to refer to the Big Blue Buses but according Ray Manzarek this is apocryphal.[20]
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