New fares take effect in July
For the first time in nearly two decades, bus fares in Santa Monica will increase.
The Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday voted 4-1 to raise the Big Blue Bus’s fare from 50 cents to 75 cents.
The council also voted to raise the $1.25 base fare on the Line 10 express to downtown Los Angeles to $1.75. Bus tokens and single fares on the Big Blue Card will increase to 70 cents.
The new fares will take effect on July 1.
Fearing the increase would be hurtful to persons living on a fixed income, the council did not raise any discounted fares for seniors, students and the disabled.
“The focus should be on helping those that cannot afford a car at all,” said Councilman Richard Bloom. “Middle-class people who choose to ride the bus now at 50 cents won’t mind paying an extra quarter, but to some people the extra $10 to $20 a month in bus fare will make a big difference.”
Seniors and the disabled will continue to pay 25 cents for a local fare; college students will pay 40 cents and the Blue Card for students K-12 will cost 25 cents. Seniors and the disabled will continue to have a reduced fare of 60 cents on the Line 10 Express bus.
The Big Blue Bus has not increased fares since 1983. However, the average cost to the bus company per rider has increased from 66 cents to $1.49 since then. The 50 cent fare, adjusted for inflation would have been 86 cents, city officials say.
Compounding bus fare pressures, the bus company has had to increase the number of buses traveling on each route to accommodate more riders. The Big Blue Bus also has invested heavily in replacing its diesel powered vehicles with environmentally friendly buses, which are more expensive.
Besides fares, the Big Blue Bus helps pay its operating expenses through revenue from advertisements that appear on its buses.
The Big Blue is renegotiating its advertising contract. If approved, the new 6-year contract with Viacom Outdoor would bring in almost $500,000 more than the existing $6 million contract with Gateway Outdoor Advertising.
That money would help stave off future fare increases.
Councilman Ken Genser, who voted against the fare increase, argued the Big Blue Bus should explore more options that would allow the company to continue offering the same low fare.
Mayor Mike Feinstein and Councilman Bob Holbrook were absent from the meeting.
“I’m not sure this is the right trade-off.” he said. “It would do more good for more people to keep the fare at 50 cents, and by making bus transportation cheaper may encourage more ridership.”
However, other council members argued the plan would not bring long-term stability to the bus company and the bus system was designed so riders would transfer buses to reach their final destination.
“It’s a hub and spoke system,” said Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown. “Bus riders have to transfer to get across the city.”
Councilwoman Pam O’Connor said you get what you pay for.
“We have to adjust the fares to pay for the transportation system we have today,” she said. “For us to continue to operate a bus company, we have to help provide some stability for its services and give some assurances that it will continue.
“We can’t expect them to continue to roll out new services and expand on their current services if we don’t give them an adequate budget to work with,” she said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 16, 2002. Read the original PDF.