SANTA MONICA—On February 21, the city of Santa Monica announced in a press release it is reimagining Big Blue Bus, working with community partners to expand access to quicker, more frequent, and reliable transportation in the city and west Los Angeles.
Community members are invited to share feedback on Big Blue Bus service improvements during two public workshops in March as part of the city’s Brighter Blue service planning initiative.
Through Brighter Blue, Big Blue Bus will establish a roadmap for applying system enhancements over the next five years, taking into consideration the following factors:
-Impacts of COVID-19 on current travel patterns and service conditions
-Changes in the region and operating environment
-Big Blue Bus’s ongoing transition to a zero-emission fleet
“It has been nearly 10 years since Big Blue Bus last conducted a planning effort of this scale, and our riders’ needs have shifted drastically during this period,” said Anuj Gupta, director of the Santa Monica Department of Transportation. “We encourage current and future riders to take part in this process as we seek to better align our system with post-pandemic travel behavior, promote greater connectivity with built and planned regional transportation projects, enhance first-last mile connections, and improve bus frequency and travel speeds.”
Community members are invited to provide input at two public workshops:
Virtual Workshop
Wednesday, March 6
6-8 p.m.
In-Person Workshop
Thursday, March 7
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Santa Monica Main Library – Multipurpose Room located at 601 Santa Monica Blvd.
To attend a workshop, register at brigherbluebbb.com. Those unable to attend a workshop can provide input via an online survey at sur-vey.typeform.com/brighterblue.
To get to the in-person workshop individuals can take the Big Blue Bus Routes 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 18, Rapid 7, and Rapid 10 that serve the Santa Monica Main Library. Parking is available in the library garage (enter on 7th Street, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard).
The Santa Monica Main Library is ADA-accessible. Disability and translation accommodation requests should be made at least three days prior to the meeting by calling (310) 458-1975, ext. 2386. All written materials are available in alternate formats upon request.
For more details about Brighter Blue please visit: brighterbluebbb.com.
By Trevor