Big Blue express bus ready to roll in June
BUS BARN — An express bus line from Santa Monica to LAX is undergoing some final marketing touches before rolling out this June.
On March 8, the Santa Monica City Council approved a $67,000 marketing campaign to prepare local bus riders for a new Big Blue Bus Rapid 3 line to open this summer. The line will run north and south on Lincoln Boulevard, from Wilshire Boulevard and Fourth Street to Aviation Station, near the Los Angeles Airport.
Dan Dawson, the city’s transit marketing coordinator, said Rapid 3 will arrive at Aviation Station two to five minutes before the trains leave, providing bus riders time to purchase a ticket for the train.
“We have people who work in Santa Monica who commute as far as West-chester,” Dawson said.
The Rapid 3 line will operate simultaneously with the Local 3 line, which follows the same route but has more stops, said Dawson. The Rapid 3 line will only have 13 stops in either direction, touching on several Lincoln Boulevard locations most frequented by riders, according to a city study.
With both the local and express services in place, Dawson said the transit system is designed so a rider would never have to wait more than 15 minutes for a bus.
In addition to its limited stops, the Rapid 3 line will feature low floors which line up to the curve, intended to facilitate loading and unloading times for riders. The buses also have a “priority signal,” meaning the express buses will contain a device to keep traffic signals along their path green longer, hastening travel time.
According to Dawson, signal priority should make the Rapid 3 line 30-percent faster than the Local 3 line. A possible bus-only lane during peak hours on Lincoln — yet to be approved by the City Council — would make the express line 40-percent quicker. In addition, drivers of the Rapid 3 line will not be required to make certain stops at designated times, further benefiting travel time.
“We just tell them to keep going, as long as they are driving safely within the recommended speed limit,” Dawson said.
Service for the new express line begins Monday, June 27. The Rapid 3 line will have the same rate as the local service.
A survey taken of Local 3 line riders showed 40 percent used the bus to commute to work and another 30 percent to go to school. There was no particular demographic associated with the remaining 30 percent.
Ten buses have been purchased for the Rapid 3 line, costing $372,000 each. Five of the buses were purchased as part of a development agreement with Playa Vista, featured along the bus route. Santa Monica is covering the capital cost for the other five buses, for a total of $1,860,000.
Dawson said no significant operating costs are likely to be associated with the express buses, since drivers from the Local 3 line will be tapped to drive the Rapid 3 line.
Big Blue Bus serves 51 square miles of service area in greater Los Angeles, from Palisades to LAX and from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles, for its 80,000 daily riders.
The Rapid 3 line buses will be painted a darker, more metallic blue than the city’s traditional Big Blue buses. The $67,000 in marketing funds will also go toward new shelters, brand design and schedule printing, and updating the city Web site.
A concierge program will be put into place for service reps to promote the Rapid 3 line at some city stops and give bus riders information and one-on-one assistance, Dawson said.
The Rapid 3 line will also be advertised at high volume station locations and community events in spring such as Earth Day and Senior Day on Promenade and the Concerts on the Pier series.
The City Council also recently approved $100,000 on Big Blue Bus service promotion, which is the annual charge the city incurs to provide printed material, maps and schedules for the bus service, which are disseminated throughout the community. This annual promotional cost is separate from the $67,000 authorized for the Rapid 3 line marketing and promotion.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 5, 2005. Read the original PDF.