Big Blue Bus

For other uses of "Blue Bus", see Blue Bus (disambiguation).

Big Blue Bus (stylized in lowercase) is a municipal bus service serving the city of Santa Monica and the greater Westside region of Los Angeles County. 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 2022, the system had a ridership of 7,119,600, or about 25,100 per weekday as of the first 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.

Big Blue Bus

Big Blue Bus at UCLA Hilgard Terminal
Parent	City of Santa Monica
Founded	1928 (as Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines)
Headquarters	Santa Monica, California
Locale	Santa Monica, Westwood, and Venice, California
Service area	United States
Service type	Transit Bus
Routes	20^[1]
Fleet	195
Daily ridership	25,100 (weekdays, Q1 2023)^[2]
Annual ridership	7,119,600 (2022)^[3]
Fuel type	CNG, LNG, Electric
Operator	City of Santa Monica
Chief executive	Edward F. King
Website	bigbluebus.com

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 Electric interurban 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-Flxible Model 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.

The Big Blue Bus has been honored with the American Public Transportation Association’s Outstanding Transportation System award in 1987, 1992, 1997, 2000 and 2011.^[7]

Routes

Big Blue Bus operates 19 bus lines: 14 local routes, four Rapid routes and one express route.

Route	Terminals		Via	Days of Operation^#	Notes
1	UCLA^‡	Venice Windward Circle	Santa Monica Bl, Main St	Daily
2	UCLA^‡	Santa Monica Civic Auditorium	Wilshire Bl	Daily
3	Santa Monica Arizona Av & 5th St	Westchester Aviation/LAX station	Lincoln Bl	Daily	Operates alongside Rapid 3 Serves LAX City Bus Center
Rapid 3	Santa Monica Arizona Av & 5th St	Westchester Aviation/LAX station	Lincoln Bl	Weekdays, peak hours	Operates alongside Line 3 Serves LAX City Bus Center See also: Metro Rapid
5	Santa Monica Civic Auditorium	Palms Palms station	Colorado Av, Olympic Bl, Motor Av	Weekdays
7	Santa Monica 7th St & Olympic Bl	Mid-Wilshire Wilshire/Western station	Pico Bl	Daily	Operates alongside Rapid 7 & Express 7 Three trips westbound in the morning and three trips eastbound in the afternoon deviate from Pico Bl to serve Beverlywood.
Rapid 7	Santa Monica 7th St & Olympic Bl	Mid-Wilshire Wilshire/Western station	Pico Bl	Weekdays	Operates alongside Line 7 & Express 7 See also: Metro Rapid
Express 7	Santa Monica 7th St & Olympic Bl	Mid-Wilshire Wilshire/Western station	Pico Bl	Weekdays	Service suspended until further notice Operates alongside Line 7 & Rapid 7 Makes five intermediate stops at major transfer points: Downtown Santa Monica station, Santa Monica College, Expo/Sepulveda station, Pico/Rimpau Transit Center, Pico & Crenshaw
8	Santa Monica 7th St & Olympic Bl	UCLA^‡	Ocean Park Bl, National Bl, Westwood Bl	Daily
9	Pacific Palisades Sunset Bl & Marquez Av	Santa Monica Civic Auditorium	Sunset Bl, Chatauqua Bl, 4th St	Daily
Rapid 10	Santa Monica 2nd St & Colorado Av	Downtown Los Angeles Main St & Alameda St	In Santa Monica: Santa Monica Bl, Bundy Dr Express Portion: Santa Monica Freeway In Downtown LA: Grand Av/Olive St, Figueroa St/Flower St, Temple St	Weekday, peak hours	See also: Metro Rapid Operates into Downtown LA in the AM rush and into Downtown Santa Monica in the PM rush
Rapid 12	UCLA Gateway Plaza	Culver City Overland Av & Venice Bl	Westwood Bl, Overland Av	Daily	See also: Metro Rapid
14	Brentwood VA Medical Center	Westchester Westchester/Veterans station	Bundy Dr, Centinela Av	Daily	Select trips extend from Brentwood north to Paul Revere Middle School
15	Brentwood Barrington Pl & Chayote St	West Los Angeles Expo/Bundy station	Barrington Av	Weekdays
16	Marina del Rey Lincoln Bl & Mindanao Wy	West Los Angeles Saltair Ave & Wilshire Bl	Walgrove Av, 23rd St, 20th St	Weekdays
17	UCLA Macgowan Hall Terminal	Culver City Culver City station	Sawtelle Bl, Palms Bl	Daily
18	UCLA Gateway Plaza	Marina Del Rey Via Marina & Admiralty Wy	Montana Av, 4th St	Daily
41	Santa Monica 14th St & Pico Bl		14th St, 20th St	Daily	Service operates in a clockwise loop and terminates at 14th St & Pico Bl Operates opposite of Line 42
42	Santa Monica Santa Monica College (16th St & Pico Bl)		20th St, 14th St	Weekdays	Service suspended until further notice Service operates in a counterclockwise loop and terminates at Santa Monica College (16th St & Pico Bl) Operates opposite of Line 41
43	Santa Monica Santa Monica College (16th St & Pico Bl)	Santa Monica San Vicente Bl & 14th St	26th St, San Vicente Bl	Weekdays, peak hours	Select eastbound trips serve Paul Revere Middle School.
44	Santa Monica 17th Street/SMC station	West Los Angeles Santa Monica College Bundy Campus	Bundy Dr, Ocean Park Bl, 14th St, 17th St	School days	Service suspended until further notice Connects 17th Street/Santa Monica College station, Santa Monica College Main Campus, and Santa Monica College Bundy Campus Limited service when Santa Monica College is not in session
Notes:	# Sunday schedules are operated on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. ‡ 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).^[8]

Fleet

Current

Manufacturer	Model	Length	Image	Order Year	Fleet Series (Quantity)	Fuel	Notes
NABI	60-BRT	60-foot		2010/2012	5300–5320 (21)	CNG	Used primarily on Rapid services 5300–5315 are 2010 models 5316–5320 are 2012 models
	40-LFW	40-foot		2011	3868–3876 (9)
ElDorado National	E-Z Rider II BRT	32-foot		2010/2012	2900–2914 (15)		2900–2904 are 2010 models. Originally powered with a gasoline electric hybrid system. Later converted to CNG. 2905–2915 are 2012 models
New Flyer	XN60	60-foot		2015	1560–1566 (7)^[9]^[10]		Used primarily on Rapid services
Gillig	BRT	40-foot		2012–2014	1300–1357 (58)
				2015	1500–1510 (11)^[11]
				2017	1701–1725 (25)
				2018	1808–1826 (19)
		29-foot		2016	1600–1603 (4)
				2018	1801–1807 (7)
	Low Floor Plus	40-foot		2018	1827 (1)^[12]	Electric	Powertrain supplied by Cummins 2nd generation and later: Batteries provided by AKASOL Used primarily on Rapid 12 First generation offers 150 miles of range Charging equipment supplied by ChargePoint Next generation to begin production in 2023
				2021–2022	2101–2118 (18)^[12]

Incidents

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.^[13] 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.^[14]

In popular culture

Speed

Main article: Speed (1994 film)

Two humorous slogans Santa Monica Bank used on Big Blue Buses appeared in the film Speed.^[15] 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.

Raymond Chandler

In Raymond Chandler's novel Farewell, My Lovely, first published in 1940, he writes as protagonist Philip Marlowe, describing a scene in Bay City (Chandler's version of the City of Santa Monica):

"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.^[16]

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.^[17]

References

1. "Routes and Schedules". Big Blue Bus. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
2. "Transit Ridership Report First Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. May 30, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
3. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2022" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
4. "Our History – Big Blue Bus". www.bigbluebus.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
5. "Public Transit Ridership, Los Angeles County, California". www.laalmanac.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
6. Hobbs, Charles P. (September 6, 2011). "Big Blue Bus Breakthrough | More Than Red Cars – The Obscure, Offbeat and Half-Forgotten Transportation History of Southern California". Retrieved December 14, 2020.
7. "2011 APTA Awards Program" (PDF). October 4, 2011. pp. 25–26.
8. . UCLA Transportation. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
9. . Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. . Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
11. "Purchase Eleven (11) 40-foot Compressed Natural Gas Buses – City of Santa Monica". www.smgov.net. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
12. "We're Going Zero Emissions! - Big Blue Bus". www.bigbluebus.com. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
13. "Injured victims of Santa Monica shooting". Cbsnews.com. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
14. ""City of Santa Monica: July 7th, 2013 Shooting Incident After-Action Report"" (PDF). Retrieved October 7, 2019.
15. Pool, Bob (December 1, 1999). "Bus Line's One-Liners to Stop". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
16. Surrey, Miles (November 13, 2017). "Who Won 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Week 7?". The Ringer. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
17. "SongFacts: "The End" by The Doors".

Further reading

Ayer, Bob. History of Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus. Santa Monica, CA: City of Santa Monica, 1992.

External links

  Media related to Big Blue Bus at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Google Map of Routes (last updated 2007)