Big Blue Bus
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The Big Blue Bus is a municipal bus operator in Los Angeles Westside, USA, mostly serving Santa Monica, Westwood, and Venice. Recently the Big Blue Bus started its own Bus Rapid Transit line.
History
In 1928, the City of Santa Monica launched their first route. Choosing a blue livery, it was originally called Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines. It kept their base fare at 10 cents for an extensive period of time. The impetus for the creation was a fare increase on the Pacific Electric interurban trains between Santa Monica and Los Angeles. The Santa Monica bus would connect with the Los Angeles Railway streetcars at Pico and Rimpau Boulevards in the Mid-City section of Los Angeles. That historic terminus point has become an important transit center in Los Angeles simply because it is the point where thousands of bus riders along Pico Boulevard must transfer to continue their trips eastward to Downtown Los Angeles or westward to the Westside.The Big Blue Bus is considered one of the best bus services in the Los Angeles area. The system won the American Public Transportation Association’s Outstanding Transportation System award in 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2000. The Big Blue Bus did not raise its regular fare above 50 cents until 2002, when it became 75 cents. In contrast, most public bus lines in California were charging fares of a dollar or more well before 2000. On the other hand, there is no monthly pass except for the EZ Pass, and unlike all other EZ Pass agencies, Metrolink tickets are not accepted.
Logos
Active / Future Fleet
The first two digits of the bus number are the number of seats on each bus.
| Model | Length | Year | Bus Numbers | No. In Fleet | Fuel Type | Notes |
| New Flyer D40LF | 40' | 1997-1998 | 3801-3867 | 67 | Diesel | |
| New Flyer L40LF | 40' | 2004-2005 | 4038-4089 | 51 | LNG | 2 | NABI 40-LFW | 40' | 2002 | 4001-4037 | 37 | LNG |
| MCI TC40102A Classic | 40' | 1988-1990 | 5181-5210 | 30 | Diesel | |
| MCI TC40102A Classic | 40' | 1992 | 4951-4960 | 10 | Diesel | 1 |
| MCI D4500 | 40' | 2002 | 5501-5504 | 4 | Diesel | |
| NovaBus TC40102A Classic | 40' | 1995 | 4801-4821 | 21 | Diesel | |
| Thomas Built Buses SLF 230 | 20' | 2001 | 2606-2615 | 10 | Diesel |
1 4951-4960 retired.
2 Some used on Rapid 3 lines.
Route listings
All services unless otherwise noted run daily.
| Route Name | Terminal A | Streets Traveled | Terminal B | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA Terminal | Santa Monica Boulevard | Venice Beach- Windward Avenue | 5:00-24:00 |
| 2 | UCLA Terminal | Wilshire Boulevard | Venice Boulevard- Walgrove | 6:00-23:00 |
| 3 | UCLA Terminal | Montana Avenue/ Lincoln Boulevard | Metro Green Line Aviation Station | 5:30-24:00 |
| Rapid 3 | Santa Monica- Wilshire Boulevard | Lincoln Boulevard | Metro Green Line Aviation station | 6:00-10:00; 14:00-19:00 |
| 4 | Westside Pavilion Mall | San Vicente Boulevard | Santa Monica Civic Center | 6:00-18:00 |
| 5 | Santa Monica- Wilshire Boulevard | Olympic Boulevard | Century City- Rimpau Transit Center | 5:30-22:00 |
| 7 | Santa Monica Place | Pico Boulevard | Rimpau Transit Center | 4:45-23:45 |
| 8 | Santa Monica Place | Ocean Park Boulevard | UCLA Transit Center | 6:00-22:30 |
| 9 | Pacific Palisades | Sunset Boulevard/ Entrada Drive | Santa Monica-5th Street | 6:00-22:00 |
| 10 | Santa Monica- 4th Street | Santa Monica Boulevard/ Santa Monica Freeway Express | Downtown LA- Union Station/ Patsaouras Plaza | 5:00-20:00 |
| 11 | UCLA Medical Center | 14th/20th Street Loop | Saint John's Hospital | 7:00-18:00 (no weekend service) |
| 12 | UCLA Terminal | Robertson Boulevard/ Westwood Boulevard | Rimpau Transit Center | 6:00-23:00 |
| Super 12 | UCLA Ackerman Terminal | Westwood Boulevard/ National Boulevard | Palms-Venice Boulevard | 6:00-10:00 Northbound; 14:00-18:00 Southbound |
| 13 | Westside Pavilion | Pico Boulevard | Rimpau Transit Center | 6:00-9:00 Eastbound; 2:00-5:00 Westbound, no Sunday Service |
| 14 | Westwood Boulevard- Sepulveda Boulevard | Centinela Avenue | Culver City-Culver Boulevard | 6:00-20:00 |
| VA Commuter | Veterans Hospital | Sawtelle Boulevard/ Pico Boulevard (SB)/ Olympic Boulevard (NB) | Rimpau Transit Center | 5:54-7:03 Northbound; 15:36-19:07 Southbound |
The Motion Picture Speed
The most famous Big Blue Bus is probably the one rigged with a bomb in 1994's hit movie Speed. Driving through Los Angeles at rush hour, the driver cannot slow down below 50 mph (80 km/h) or the bomb on the bus will detonate.The bus operator in the movie is called the Santa Monica Intercity Bus Lines, a barely fictionalized version of the Big Blue Bus's official name, the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines. Even more tellingly, the bus in the film is a General Motors "New Look" bus, introduced in 1959 but kept in prominent and active service by Santa Monica until early 2005, long after most other American cities had retired the retro-looking bus.
In another effort to differentiate the movie's bus from any real-world bus, the headsigns on the Speed bus scrolled:
- 33 Downtown L.A.
- via Freeway
The bus number was 2525, not within any equipment number range operated by the real company at that time.
External links
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