Big Blue Bus

Big Blue Bus

Big Blue Bus at UCLA Hilgard Terminal
Parent	City of Santa Monica, Department of Transportation
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	26,900 (weekdays, Q3 2024)[2]
Annual ridership	8,289,600 (2023)[3]
Fuel type	CNG, Electric
Operator	City of Santa Monica
Chief executive	Anuj Gupta (Interim)
Website	bigbluebus.com

Big Blue Bus (stylized in lowercase) is a public transit agency that provides public bus services for 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 26,900 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. 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.

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]

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]

The agency is currently undergoing a COA (Comprehensive Operational Analysis) which will inform service and route changes over the next five years. These aim to help the agency better connect with future Metro Rail extensions, most notably the D and K lines, adjust to new travel patterns, increase service frequency, and make service blocks compatible with a zero emissions bus fleet. ^[9]

Sunday schedules are operated on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

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 2025.^[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. In 2024, the fleet was equipped with passenger information displays^[12] in place of the older dot-light signs. These are part of a fleet-wide communications system replacement with Clever Devices systems. The passenger displays currently feature a three-day weather forecast, upcoming stops with time to arrival, and the line's final destination. As part of this upgrade, electric buses also gain access to Clever's EV fleet integration software during the agency's transition to a zero-emissions fleet. This also enables ^[12] vehicles to generate more frequent and accurate GPS data for tracking purposes, such as the Transit app. Buses 1808-1827 and 2101-2118 came standard with free passenger Wi-Fi; this was added to the rest of the fleet with the installation of the new fleet comms systems.

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.^[13] The agency has determined that battery-electric buses can replace their CNG buses at current service levels with a 1:1 replacement ratio.^[10] 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 set to be replaced with 15 35-foot Gillig Low Floor Plus EV models.^[10] Moreover, Big Blue Bus' 2011 NABI LFW 40' and NABI BRT 60' units have already exceeded their design life.^[14] The agency has subsequently delayed its fleet electrification deadline to 2031.

Manufacturer	Model	Length (ft)	Fleet Numbers	Thumbnail	Year	Fuel	Notes
Gillig	BRT	40	1300		2012	CNG
			1301-1344		2013
			1345-1357		2014
			1500-1510		2015
New Flyer	XN60	60	1560-1566		2015		Used primarily on Rapid services
Gillig	BRT	29	1600-1603		2015
		40	1701-1725		2016-2017
		29	1801-1807		2018
		40	1808-1826		2018
	Low Floor Plus		1827		2018	Electric	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 1827 and 2101 are equipped with the old interior layout with forward facing seating in the low-floor section of the bus. These do not include the powered wheelchair securement devices from Quantum. The former has its interior in the green color that had been standard up until the 2100 series. 2101 is configured with the old interior layout with the new light blue color seating. Units 2102 and later feature the powered Quantum wheelchair securement devices and only 2 forward facing seats in the low-floor section of the bus, and instead feature more longitudinal seating. This interior configuration is always in light blue.
			2101-2118		2021
ENC	E-Z Rider II BRT	32	2900-2904		2010	CNG	Originally powered with a gasoline electric hybrid system. Later converted to CNG. Soon to be retired and replaced by Gillig 35-footers[10] Regularly suffer mechanical issues during revenue service leading to 40-foot buses to be occasionally used on 30-foot routes
			2905-2914		2012
NABI	LFW	40	3868-3876		2011
	BRT	60	5300-5310				Used primarily on Rapid services Soon to be retired
			5311-5320				Used primarily on Rapid services Soon to be retired

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. Big Blue Bus charges its electric fleet with 100 percent renewable energy. The second batch of battery-electric buses are expected in 2025. The agency has set itself a 2030 deadline for full conversion to zero-emissions operation, which as of February 2023, it has determined it can achieve with exclusively battery-electric buses.^[10]

The agency is slated to replace vehicles as they reach the end of their useful service lives. Next to be replaced are El Dorado 32' BRT models, with delivery of replacement Gillig 35' Low Floor EVs slated for 2025. The agency's fleet of remaining NABI vehicles is the next group of buses to be replaced.

Due to dynamic service changes, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ridership changes, amongst other factors, the agency is pursuing a more dynamic fleet replacement timeline than that which was outlined in their original CARB document.

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.^[15] 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.^[16]

Two humorous slogans Santa Monica Bank used on Big Blue Buses appeared in the film Speed.^[17] 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.

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."

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 endeavor 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.^[18]

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.^[19]

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

Media related to Big Blue Bus at Wikimedia Commons

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