By Jason Islas
Staff Writer

May 29, 2012 -- Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus will alter routes next month to coincide with the opening of the Expo Light Rail station in Culver City and will eliminate two shuttles with few riders in the beachside city.

Starting June 17, Routes 5, 12 and Super 12 will have their routes altered to provide direct connections to the western terminus of the Expo line at Robertson Boulevard and Venice Boulevard.

In unrelated changes, the Downtown Ride, a shuttle service from the Civic Center parking lot provided for monthly parking pass holders, and the Beach Ride to the Annenburg Community Beach House will both be discontinued.

“The goals (for) the service change are to improve regional circulation... (and) reallocate underutilized resources to routes with higher ridership,” Big Blue Bus officials said.

As a result of the Expo station opening -- which completes the first phase of a project scheduled to reach Downtown Santa Monica in 2016 -- route 5 will no longer run to the Rimpau Transit Center, but instead will deliver passengers to the Expo station.

“This means Route 5 will no longer operate along Pico between Robertson and Rimpau Boulevards,” officials said.

Routes 7 and Super 7 will still serve the Rimpau Transit Center.

The Big Blue Bus will no longer be offering free rides to monthly parking pass holders from the Civic Center parking lot “due to very poor ridership,” officials said.

According to studies by the Big Blue Bus, there was an average of 2.7 passengers an hour on the Downtown Ride shuttles, “ranking this route as the least productive service in the BBB system.”

The average throughout the whole Big Blue Bus system was 39 passengers per vehicle, officials said.

Law ridership is also cited as the reason for canceling the summer Beach Ride to the Annenburg Community Beach House. According to studies, “total ridership on the route last summer was 146 customers” for the months of June, July, and August.

Officials hope that resources saved from canceling these underused bus routes can go to help alleviate crowding on more well-traveled routes.

Finally, all buses that serve UCLA – route 1, 2, 8, and 12 – will have to use the Ackerman Terminal, instead of the usual Hilgard Transit Terminal, after 8 p.m. during the week at the request of the school.

Big Blue Bus anticipates more service changes in August “including potential modifications to Routes 1, 2 and Rapid 10.”

But according to staff, these changes will be minor in comparison.