By Jorge Casuso

July 10, 2024 -- Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus (BBB) will provide more frequent service on most routes and expand the hours its buses run under a five-year plan approved by the City Council Tuesday.

The "Brighter Blue" plan proposes ways to build ridership that has been steadily eroding over the past decade in part due to competition from "ride-hailing and shared scooters and bikes," according to a report to the Council.

Ridership -- which was dealt a critical blow by the coronavirus shutdown -- remains 70 percent below pre-pandemic levels, according to transit officials ("BBB Ridership Far Below 2019 Despite 2-Year Rise," January 4, 2024).

"Ridership challenges were present long before the pandemic, with Big Blue Bus and national transit ridership steadily declining since 2013," said the staff report from the Transportation Department.

"The pandemic exacerbated the ridership losses and Big Blue Bus, like most transit agencies, was forced to drastically cut service and reduce frequency."

The plan -- the agency's first "comprehensive operational analysis" since 2015 -- "was developed "in response to post-pandemic travel behavior changes and a rapidly growing regional rail network."

The plan largely relies on a surge in students from local public schools, Santa Monica College (SMC) and UCLA -- who participate in free fare transit programs--, as well as on several upcoming regional transit projects, agency officials said.

Scheduled to open within the next five years, the projects include the opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center and the Metro Rail D Line extension to the Westside.

Under the Brighter Blue Plan, the BBB will provide:

• More frequent service on most routes, including a high frequency network with weekday service every 10 minutes or better on select corridors during peak hours;
  
  
• Expanded operating hours so that most routes start earlier in the day, end later at night and operate on weekends, and
  
  
• Improved connectivity to key destinations, such as the LAX/Metro Transit Center, Culver City Transit Center and the Metro Rail D Line extension.

"Over the next five years, these enhancements will significantly elevate the experience for Big Blue Bus riders, drivers, and the broader Santa Monica and West Los Angeles community,” said Anuj Gupta, who heads the Transportation Department.

“While travel patterns have changed post-pandemic, the fundamentals of high-quality transit remain the same," Gupta said. "Service needs to be fast, frequent, safe, and reliable to serve as an effective transportation mode.

According to BBB officials, "the restoration of Big Blue Bus service levels has been gradual, hampered by a shortage of motor coach operators."

It also has been hindered by "an increase in remote working and flexible schedules, creating new travel patterns, to which Big Blue Bus continues to adapt."

The Brighter Blue plan is one of several Department of Transportation initiatives that include achieving "a complete zero-emission, battery electric bus fleet by 2030" and upgrading the agency's communications system.

It also includes using AI cameras to enforce illegal parking in bus lanes and deploying "unarmed security guards across the system wherever data shows their services are most needed."

In addition, the agency will continue to improve bus stops by upgrading lighting, increasing shade and providing larger boarding areas and more seating.