October 22, 2013 Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus Short Range Transit Plan FY 2014-2016 Edward F. King Director of Transit Services TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Background SYSTEM UPDATE SECTION I Service Area 1 Route Information 1 Significant Improvements 1-2 Ongoing Capital Improvement 1-2 Service Planning 2-4 Alternatives Analysis for High Capacity Short Distance Transit 2-3 Connections with Expo Light Rail Recent Service Improvements 3-4 Planned Improvements 5-7 Capital Improvements 5 Service Changes 5 Service Improvements 6-7 Proposition 1B 7 Safety & Security 7 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 8 Ongoing Initiatives 8-10 Regional Coordination 8 BBB Digital Communications 8-9 Community Outreach 9 Customer Information 9 Passenger Travel Time 9 Passenger Travel Experience 10 Efficiently Track Resources 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL TABLES SECTION II Table L - 1 Current Fare Structure Table L – 2 Fleet Inventory Table L - 3 Historical and Projected Fleet Characteristics Table L - 4 Historical and Projected Financial Status Table L - 5 Performance Measurement Program Reporting Forms Table L - 6 Performance Audit Follow - Up Table L - 7 Summary of Capital Projects Table L - 8 Transportation Improvement Plan Project List EXHIBITS SECTION III Exhibit A Big Blue Bus Route Descriptions Exhibit B Route Schedules INTRODUCTION The Short Range Transit Plan update is prepared in accordance with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) planning requirements. BACKGROUND The Big Blue Bus (BBB) is a line department of the City of Santa Monica and is governed by the City’s seven-member City Council. The City of Santa Monica has historically taken an aggressive approach to providing Santa Monica and Westside Area residents with public transit services. In 1928, the Santa Monica City Council initiated bus service under powers granted by Article 11, Section 9 of the Constitution of the State of California1. The first Santa Monica bus service provided a transit link between the rapidly growing West Los Angeles-Santa Monica area and Central Los Angeles with a 12-mile bus line linking the Santa Monica Civic Center and beach area with the Pico-Rimpau terminal of the Los Angeles Railway, via Pico Blvd. The depression years and World War II prompted expansion of bus services with new routes and additional services. In 1951, the City Council purchased the Bay Cities Transit Company, a private transit company that had provided the local transit services in the West Los Angeles-Santa Monica Bay Area. Originally, the City of Santa Monica transit service was called the “Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines,” but customers usually referred to their transit service as “the Big Blue Bus,” and in 1997 the City of Santa Monica formally changed the name of the bus service to Santa Monica’s “Big Blue Bus.” Bus service continues to be operated under the City’s governance and is popularly known as the Big Blue Bus. 1 "A municipal corporation may establish, purchase and operate public works to furnish its inhabitants with light, water, power, heat, transportation, or means of communication. It may furnish these services outside its boundaries except within another municipal corporation which furnishes the same service and does not consent." SECTION I SYSTEM UPDATE SERVICE AREA The Big Blue Bus (BBB) is the primary local fixed-route transit operator serving the City of Santa Monica and adjacent Westside communities including: Pacific Palisades, West Los Angeles, Brentwood, Westwood, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Cheviot Hills, south Robertson, Mid-City, Westchester, Marina del Rey, Venice, Playa Vista, and provides regional connections to the Los Angeles International Airport, the Metro Blue, Red, Purple, Gold, Green and Expo Line rail stations, Union Station, Metrolink, and Amtrak inter-city rail services. Since its inception, the BBB has followed a policy of continuous service modifications to keep pace with changing travel patterns in the service area, which now comprises approximately 51 square miles, well in excess of the 8.6 square mile area of the City of Santa Monica. ROUTE INFORMATION There are 20 Big Blue Bus fixed routes transporting passengers throughout the Westside and metropolitan Los Angeles County. They are categorized as follows: 1) traditional local transit service with designated pickup and drop off at stops spaced approximately every 0.2 mile on a specified route, typically on avenues and major boulevards; 2) commuter transit service that supplements local service by directly connecting neighborhoods with major employment centers or educational institutions only during weekday morning and afternoon peak commuting periods; 3) limited stop service (Rapid 3) along Lincoln Blvd., which connects Santa Monica with Los Angeles International Airport and the Metro Rail Green Line; Rapid 7 on Pico Blvd.; Rapid 10, which connects Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles; and Rapid 12, which terminates at UCLA. See Exhibit A for a complete detailed description of the current Big Blue Bus routes. Existing routes and current schedules are shown in Exhibit B. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS Ongoing Capital Improvements Bus Replacements will continue in accordance with the fleet management plan and as funds become fully available. A contract was awarded in June 2012 to purchase up to 58 natural gas 40-foot buses with Gillig, LLC. and buses have been and continue to be delivered on schedule. The 40-foot Gillig buses replace the 1997 New Flyer diesel buses. BBB continues to convert from biodiesel to alternative fueled vehicles operating on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), or by hybrid-electric 1 propulsion. With the complete delivery of all 58 Gillig buses in 2014, 100 percent of the fleet will operate on natural gas. Implementation of the Bus Stop Improvement Program is a multi-phased project that will include updating the brand of the Big Blue Bus, designing a new form of eye-level for bus stops, and designing and installing bus shelters and amenities. Phase I of the project is to focus on the 321 bus stops within the City of Santa Monica which includes one very high volume stop, 48 high volume stops, 37 medium volume stops, and 235 low volume stops. A contract for fabrication and installation of the shelters and amenities was awarded on June 25, 2013 to West Valley Investment Group, Inc. Installation of the first shelter is expected to occur in April 2014. The program will include street furniture, trash cans, real-time transit information at high volume boarding locations and other customer amenities. System wide implementation of improved bus stops and information at the over 1,000 bus stops outside the City of Santa Monica is anticipated over the next three years. The Big Blue Bus continues to be involved with the regional Transit Access Pass (TAP) program, in conjunction with procurement of a replacement fare collection system. The TAP program will allow passengers to ride multiple transit systems with a single fare medium utilizing smart card technology. Issuing unique electronic passes will provide enhanced convenience and security to passengers and allow for more accurate reporting of travel patterns in the region. A contract was awarded to LECIP for state- of-the-art fareboxes with an anticipated installation schedule for Winter 2013-14 with Metro’s lite validators in 2014. Upgrading the current asset management system will allow the BBB to better provide reports to the City and funding entities (e.g. Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority) on performance and cost accounting. Improved reporting tools will help the BBB manage its fleet more effectively by providing access to detailed work order, parts and billing history information along with key performance measurement data. Along with the improved reporting, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) will enable the BBB to closely monitor ongoing expenditures from the moment parts are ordered, as opposed to the current financial system reflecting the expenditures after invoicing. EAM will also integrate asset management data with AFMS and share certain types of data between all our Trapeze systems and the BatRF system (hub-odometer system). SERVICE PLANNING Preliminary Alternatives for High Capacity Short Distance Transit Connections with Expo Light Rail Phase II of the Metro Expo Line consists of a seven-mile rail extension from the current terminal in Culver City to 4th St. in Santa Monica. All seven of the new stations will be 2 in the Big Blue Bus service area. Construction began in late 2011 and completion is anticipated for late 2015 or early 2016. In the fall of 2013, BBB will embark on a comprehensive study of BBB integration with the eight stations on the Expo Line that will be in the BBB service area. They include the already opened Venice/Robertson station in Culver City, and the following stations, which are all slated for completion by the time the Expo Line goes into service: Palms, Westwood, Sepulveda, Bundy, Bergamot, 17th Street-SMC, and downtown Santa Monica stations. As part of this study, Big Blue Bus will examine existing conditions with regards to the bus service, feeder lines for all stations, bus rail interface at or near each station, key destinations, best practices review for bus/rail integration, and pending new developments. This study includes a substantial stakeholder and public participation process, a Title VI review of proposals, and a follow-up study one year after implementation. Goals of the study will be the effective integration of first and last mile trips from Expo, elimination of low performing or duplicative services, integration with Expo and other intermodal connections, a budget neutral plan, and adjustment of the predominant east-west orientation of the Big Blue Bus system to one more balanced with the new transit needs present after the arrival of the Expo Line. Big Blue Bus is also an active participant in a series of land use and zoning studies being conducted around various stations.