Santa Monica Transit
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Big Blue Bus at UCLA Hilgard Terminal
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| Slogan | Ride Blue. Go Green. |
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| Parent | City of Santa Monica |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Headquarters | Santa Monica, California |
| Locale | Santa Monica, Westwood, and Venice, California |
| Service area | United States |
| Service type | Transit Bus |
| Routes | 20 |
| Fleet | 201 |
| Daily ridership | 65,600 (weekdays, Q1 2016) |
| Fuel type | CNG, LNG |
| Operator | City of Santa Monica |
| Chief executive | Edward F. King |
| Website | www |
The Santa Monica Big Blue Bus is a municipal bus operator in the Westside region of Los Angeles County, that provides local and bus rapid transit service in Santa Monica and adjacent neighborhoods of Los Angeles (including LAX). Express service is also provided to Downtown Los Angeles and Union Station.
In 1928, the City of Santa Monica launched its first route. Choosing a blue livery, it was called Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines. It kept its base fare at 10 cents for a long 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 connected 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, 2000 and 2011. 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. There was no monthly pass until August 2010 except for the EZ Pass, and unlike other EZ Pass agencies, Metrolink fare media are not accepted. However, allowing for the inevitability of traffic delays on weekday afternoons, the Big Blue Bus system provides frequent and convenient service to most neighborhoods in its service area. Many routes serve UCLA.
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Wikipedia