By Hector Gonzalez
Staff Writer

March 24, 2015 -- Fully aligning Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus service with the coming Expo Light Rail Line will cost millions of dollars, increase the number of bus riders, and require a fare increase of 25 cents, local transit officials said in a report to the City Council.

In an updated version of the Big Blue Bus/Expo Service Integration Plan, which was scheduled to be presented to the Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday but was postponed, BBB officials detail plans for route changes, bus service to new Expo stations, ridership projections, projected expenditures and options for funding improvements.

“This is the most significant change for the BBB service network in our 80-plus year history, a milestone event that will provide seamless integration with light rail, as well as with our regional partners in Los Angeles County,” said City Transit Services Director Edward King.

Ridership on the Expo Line is projected to reach 64,000 passengers daily by 2030, the report noted.

To accommodate a projected increase in riders when Big Blue Buses begin serving 12 Expo Line stations from the current six -- including three new stations in Santa Monica -- bus service hours will need to increase by 11 percent, from 507,000 hours a year currently to 563,000 hours, according to the updated integration plan.

Originally, as presented to the Council at a December 16 study session, the plan projected a 9 percent increase in annual service hours.

“The projected cost associated with the Expo Integration Plan is $4.2 million,” said the updated report prepared by King. “Funding would require a combination of budget strategies in tandem with a Council-approved fare increase.”

Under the plan, bus fares would go from $1 to $1.25 “still one of the lowest in the County as most municipal operators are at $1.35-$1.50,” the report said, adding that the new fare for Santa Monica buses would still be “much lower than Metro’s cash fare of $1.75.”

If approved, the new rates would start January 1, 2016. Fares for seniors and the disabled would remain unchanged at 50 cents, according to the plan.

Council members had been scheduled to hold a public hearing on the integration plan at their meeting Tuesday night, but the hearing was rescheduled for April 28.

Much of the plan is unchanged from December. It continues to include greater north-south orientation of bus service while reducing redundancy with other transit providers,   eliminating inefficient routing and improving speed and reliability, the report said.

After Council and public input in December, the plan now includes changes to “four of the 20 Big Blue Bus routes that serve the 51-sqaure-mile BBB service area.”

- Route 16 was extended to create a connection to Routes 3 and Rapid 3 on Lincoln Boulevard

-Route 18 was revised to add night service until 9:30 p.m., seven nights per week, as well as weekend day service

-Route 43 was originally recommended a span of service from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. but now includes service from 6 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 7 p.m. 

-Bus frequency on Route 44, originally programmed every 20 minutes at the December study session, was increased to every 15 minutes all day, “as a result of feedback offered by Santa Monica College,” the proposed plan said.

“The changes to our system will attract new rail-to-­bus transfers that will increase ridership and reduce overall congestion in Santa Monica and the Westside, therefore creating greater multi-modal opportunities for commuters to access jobs, housing, schools, retail, recreation and more,” said King.