By Lookout Staff
September 10, 2009 -- Schools are back in session, which means a big spike in Big Blue Bus ridership, as the system dispatches extra buses to fill the demand. On Monday, the Super 12 will resume serving riders traveling to UCLA.
Other lines have already increased their fleets after a record 35 percent of Blue Bus riders were students during the last school year, most of them from Santa Monica College.
“I give local students an ‘A’ for their efforts in alleviating traffic by taking transit,” said Stephanie Negriff, the City's director of Transit Services. “They’re commitment has taught Big Blue Bus that we better be prepared for this coming back-to-school season by adding extra service.”
The bus system began dispatching extra buses on select routes on August 31, with nine of the buses added along Pico Boulevard, where SMC's Main campus is located. They serve both the local Line 7 and the Rapid 7 routes
"The extra buses will dispatched on an as-needed basis by a BBB communications supervisor monitoring live traffic conditions along the Pico Blvd. corridor, allowing the most responsive service to ridership demands," Blue Bus officials said in a statement.
Mini Blue services also are seeing a rise in back-to-school passengers. The Sunset Ride, which serves both Sunset Park residents and nearby SMC campus riders, resumed a “school year” schedule with rides beginning at 7:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. every 15 minutes on Mondays through Thursdays and every 20 minutes on Fridays, transit officials said.
The additional lines were made possible by reallocating resources the Tide Ride, the Big Blue Bus’ most unpopular route, which has an average of only 12 riders an hour.
On September 12, the Tide Ride began operating only on weekends after local hoteliers, merchants and neighbors agreed the service should be reduced. The Tide Ride is operating according to its current Saturday and Sunday schedule.
BBB attributes recent increases in student ridership to increased outreach and services to UCLA, Santa Monica High School, and Santa Monica College (SMC).
This includes the “Any Line, Any Time” program, which allows SMC students and staff to ride for free by showing a valid college ID with current semester sticker when boarding.
In addition, Line 11 was recently re-launched as a route connecting UCLA and Santa Monica College, to decrease car trips between the two campuses.
