Big Blue Bus

Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines, more commonly known as the Big Blue Bus, is a municipal bus operator in the Westside region of Los Angeles, providing both 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.

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 other agencies participating in EZ, Metrolink tickets are invalid. Schedules for the buses are also less frequent when compared to some Metro lines (especially the Rapids). 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. Its usefulness to UCLA students is outstanding, as so many of its routes terminate there.

The Big Blue Bus was one of the last transit agencies using the GMC New Look buses; they were retired in 2005. The only remaining New Look in the fleet is #5180, which was the last bus built by GM.

The system was started by former Brentwood resident Ruldolph F. Brunner, who later sold the system thinking it wouldn't amount to any more than a few dollars a week.

Some popular destinations

Big Blue Bus provides service to the following popular destinations:

• Century City
• Downtown Los Angeles
• Downtown Santa Monica
• Los Angeles Convention Center
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Metro Green Line Aviation Station
• Rimpau Transit Center
• Santa Monica Civic Center
• Santa Monica College
• UCLA
• Union Station
• Venice Beach
• Will Rogers State Beach

Routes

The Rapid 3 and Rapid 7 are listed in the Metro Rapid article, as they are part of the Metro Rapid network.

Fares

Bus Fleet

Active

Roster

Current

Retired

Big Blue Buses in popular culture

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 display:

33 Downtown L.A.

via Freeway

However, number 33 buses are operated by Metro, not Big Blue, and run on Venice Boulevard, not the Santa Monica Freeway. The closest thing to the movie bus's routing is Santa Monica's number 10 express route.

The bus number was 2525, not within any equipment number range operated by the real company at that time.

It should also be noted that at the time the movie was released, Santa Monica's GM New Look fleet were the Canadian-built versions with wheelchair lifts; the US-built version were retired in 1990 to make room for the Classics.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

In an episode that originally aired on May 15, 2007, the ABC late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, was filmed on a New Flyer L40LF model LNG bus. In this episode, titled Jimmy Kimmel Live on a Bus, Kimmel sat behind the desk, which was rigged to fit in a bus. This particular Santa Monica Big Blue Bus that was used in the episode was driven by veteran bus driver Erskins Robinson, who picked up unsuspecting passengers along his route. The celebrity guests who appeared in the Jimmy Kimmel Live on a Bus episode were Paula Abdul, Flavor Flav, and musical guest Feist.

The Doors

A Blue Bus is referred to twice in The Doors's classic 1967 song "The End", when singer Jim Morrison says "The blue bus is calling us", and "Meet me at the back of the blue bus".

Raymond Chandler

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."

References

External links

• Big Blue Bus homepage
• Google Map of Routes