SANTA MONICA, CA – Big Blue Bus (BBB) will
hold a Public Hearing about the proposed fare adjustment on Thursday, September
10th from 6-7:30pm at the Santa Monica Main Library’s Multi-Purpose
Room.
Throughout the past five years, BBB has held
the line on fare increases while maintaining high quality services and
implementing new customer amenities such as NextBus, TAP cards and 3-position
bike racks.
BBB will be adding 11% more service over the
next 12 months as part of the Evolution of Blue campaign to provide connections
to the upcoming Expo Light Rail Line. In order to ensure a balanced operating
budget and encourage customers to use new fare media, BBB is proposing several revisions
to its current fare policy, including an increase in the
regular base fare cash price from $1.00 to $1.25, the creation of a new 7-Day Pass
for a sale price of $14.00, and an adjustment to pass prices such that in many
cases prices are reduced. Senior, Disabled and Medicare cash fares, including
the $0.50 reduced cash base fare, and all other reduced rate pass prices will
remain the same. See full details at BigBlueBus.com.
A major objective for BBB in
2016 is to speed up bus boarding and
improve travel speed. This can be achieved by encouraging more customers to use prepaid fare media.
Cash customers require almost six times as long to complete payment, compared
to customers using a magnetic stripe card or TAP card. This difference in
boarding speed of cash customers produces a drag on system efficiency, as all
passengers must wait for each transaction to complete before the bus can move
forward. Increasing the percent of customers using prepaid fares through
discounted pass prices increases the attractiveness of pass use, while
simultaneously lowering the cost of operating the routes. The fare
restructure as proposed, will encourage greater use of prepaid fare media and
is expected to contribute to the reduction of cash payment customers from 48%
to 35%.
A peer analysis was also
conducted comparing fares on other transit agencies and the results indicate
that the average one-way fare in the region is $1.25. Peer agencies
included Long Beach Transit, Foothill Transit, Los Angeles Metro, Omnitrans,
Culver City Bus, and Torrance Transit. In October BBB will take feedback
from the September 10th Public Hearing, and staff will prepare a detailed
Consent Calendar report summarizing community/customer feedback to the above
referenced proposals and seek Council approval for the changes.
BBB fares are currently $1 per ride
on all routes with a $1 surcharge on the Rapid 10 Express to Downtown Los
Angeles. Day-passes are available for $4 that allow unlimited rides in a
calendar day and regular priced monthly passes are $60. All passes are available
on TAP cards and can be purchased online at taptogo.net.
About
Big Blue Bus
Big Blue Bus operates a fleet of nearly 200
vehicles transporting more than 61,000 passengers daily across a 51-square mile
service area. Nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to a
cleaner environment, the entire fleet operates on alternative fuels, including
renewable natural gas (RNG) a form of liquefied and compressed natural gas
(LNG/CNG), which helps to cut emissions by up to 90 percent. Serving Santa
Monica and the Los Angeles area since 1928, Big Blue Bus has won numerous
awards for its marketing, customer service, safety and efficiency.
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