Big Blue Buses at the UCLA terminal

The Big Blue Bus is a municipal bus operator in Los Angeles Westside, USA, mostly serving Santa Monica, Westwood, and Venice. Recently the Big Blue Bus started its own Bus Rapid Transit line. Big Blue Buses parked at the UCLA bus terminal on Hilgard Avenue, on September 10, 2003. ... Big Blue Buses parked at the UCLA bus terminal on Hilgard Avenue, on September 10, 2003. ... The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. ... The Westside is generally considered to be the portion of Los Angeles, California and its suburbs that lies east of the Pacific Ocean including Brentwood, west of La Brea Avenue (varying definitions set the boundary at Fairfax Avenue or even the eastern border of Beverly Hills), south of the Santa... Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica is a coastal city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA, by the Pacific Ocean, south of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, and north of Venice. ... High-rise buildings line Wilshire Boulevard through the Westwood area Another view of the Westwood skyline Westwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California. ... Venice Beach and Boardwalk Venice, California, is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California. ... Silver Line in Boston Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a broad term given to a variety of different transportation systems that, through infrastructural and scheduling improvements, attempt to use buses to provide a service that is of a higher quality than an ordinary bus line. ...

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. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Pacific Electric Railway company depot in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1910. ... Interurban was the name used to describe a streetcar line connecting urban areas, primarily during the early 1900s. ... During World War II, the LARy replaced the mission bell tower in its logo with the slogan Dedicated to Victory. ...

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. The American Public Transportation Association is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that serves as an advocate for the advancement of public transportation programs and initiatives in the United States since the organizations founding in 1882. ...

Bus fleet

Big Blue as it is commonly known, runs a fleet of 205 buses from its depot on Colorado Avenue. The first two digits of a bus number denote the number of seats on the bus.

North American Bus Industries

• 40LFW LNG (2002); 4001-4037
• 40LFW CNG (2006); 4101-4137
• 60BRT CNG (2007); 5301-5330
• 60LFW LNG (2008); 4201-4235
• 60LFW CNG (2009); 2616-2680

Motor Coach Industries

• TC40102A Classic (1988, 1989, 1990, 1992); 5181-5210, 4951-4960 (many retired)
• D4500 (2000); 5501-5504

New Flyer Industries

• D40LF (1997-1998); 3801-3867
• L40LF (2004-2005); 4038-4089
• C40LF (2007-2008); 4138-4190
• D60LF (2006-2007); 5331-5360

NovaBus

• TC40102A Classic (1995); 4801-4821

Thomas Built Buses (Dennis/Alexander)

• SLF 230 (2001); 2606-2615

North American Bus Industries, commonly known as NABI, is a major transit bus manufacturing company based in Anniston, Alabama and was linked to Ikarus Bus and Crown Coach joint venture. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is a Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada-based bus manufacturer. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... New Flyer Industries is a leading bus manufacturer in North America, headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Nova LFS operated by Grand River Transit. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Thomas Built Buses, Inc. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Route listings

All services unless otherwise noted run daily.

A picture taken of a Gold Line train in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, commonly referred to as LACMTA, MTA, or Metro, is the agency charged to provide public transportation to the county of Los Angeles. ... The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (also known as Metro, MTA or LACMTA) is the regional transportation planning and public transportation operating agency for the county of Los Angeles. ... Metro Green Line The Metro Green line of the Los Angeles County Metro Rail is a light rail line connecting Redondo Beach and Norwalk. ... Santa Monica Place is a three-story, 570,000 square-foot shopping mall in Santa Monica, California. ...

Speed

The most famous Big Blue Bus is probably the one rigged with a bomb in 1994's hit movie Speed. The bus was a route 33 bus, and the operator was the fictional Santa Monica Intercity Bus Lines. Driving through Santa Monica at rush hour, the driver cannot slow down below 50 mph (80 km/h) or the bomb on the bus will detonate. Movie poster for Speed Speed is a 1994 film directed by Jan de Bont, starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock (her breakout role), and Dennis Hopper. ...

Another conflicting topic is the routing. While the headsigns on the bus scrolled:

33 Downtown L.A.

via Freeway

number 33 buses are operated by Metro, not Big Blue. The 33 also runs on Venice Boulevard, not the Santa Monica Freeway. The closest thing to that routing is the SM's 10 express route. A picture taken of a Gold Line train in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, commonly referred to as LACMTA, MTA, or Metro, is the agency charged to provide public transportation to the county of Los Angeles. ... Southern California freeways Interstate 10; the Santa Monica Freeway segment is highlighted in red and the San Bernardino Freeway is highlighted in blue. ...

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

External links

• Big Blue Bus homepage