Big Blue Bus Info For Bicyclists
Tips to ride the Big Blue Bus Smart with your Bicycle
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BIG BLUE
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The Little Blue Card for the BIG Blue Bus |
Metrolink
NEWS 7/25/2003 - Culver CityBus (Transit) has bicycle racks installed on some of their buses. They will continue to install bike racks at a pace of about 5 per day, not every day, till the racks are all installed. CLICK HERE FOR Culver CityBus
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If your planning on using your bicycle with the Big Blue Buses, here is some special information that could make it easier for you and possibly help all of us at the same time. In November of 2001, the Big Blue Bus
compa As a bus company they are known to be very good, friendly, courteous, and safe drivers. The fares are reasonable and the lowest in the area. The Big Blue Bus does have a web site with tons of info on schedules and routes and costs. Most of this is good for everyone who uses the bus. One piece of information I encourage you to email, call, fax, your comments and complaints to
Sometimes you might be waiting for the last bus of the day and it doesn't have a rack or all the spots are full (try to report incidents like that, if you can). You might be lucky and the operator will allow you to bring the bicycle inside the bus. Additionally, sometimes operators might offer you an special ticket (which will allow you to ride the bus free). if the bus you wanted does not have a rack. As the weather warms up the competition for rack space increases. Fortunately, if you want to get somewhere in Santa Monica, riding your bicycle is a possible option. But if not, consider taking another parallel line to the one you want to use (like the 7, 1, and 2). Another possibility is to ride your bicycle to the beginning of the line (or as close as you feel you can get). The closer you are to the start of the line, the better chance you have of getting a spot on the bicycle rack. Additionally, the MTA has racks on there buses (suppose to) and taking them is an option in a jam. Some of the best MTA lines (most likely with bike racks) servicing Santa Monica are the 720 and the 33, and 333.You might come across an operator that wants you to take a "bicycle check" (a yellow mouse pad looking disk). The Big Blue Bus instituted this to deal with anticipated bicycle theft. I have seen it less and less.The Big Blue Bus had originally created a policy about which rack is first to be used. You might run into an operator that will ask you to move your bicycle from the spot furthest from bus to the one closest to the bus. This policy is inconsistent with all the other transit agencies. Additionally, this is a cumbersome and complicated system in actual practice. And as bikes are coming on and off, it is not practical to use this method. Although, if you are asked to do this by the operator, follow their instructions and you may follow up with a complaint to the Big Blue Bus (by e mail and/or by phone).
The
Little Blue Card for the Big Blue Bus
The Little Blue Card for the Big Blue Bus can be used in place of coins and
tokens. They can be obtained by purchasing them at the Big Blue Bus office
on Colorado st. Also they can be ordered by mail or the telephone. The
card is free. You only pay for the amount of credit you want on the card.
It is used like a debit card. And it is good on all Big Blue Buses and
Culver City buses. It is also good on several other lines. The card can be
charged with additional money on the Big Blue Buses. The card is much more
convenient and faster to use than change or tokens. For more info go to the
Big Blue Bus's website
Serving
Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside Counties Currently
Metrolink train cars have space
for about 2-4 bikes per cars. Caltrain has system with a single bicycle car
that holds up to 32 bikes and is at the end of the train. Another transit
company ACE has devised a remodeled car that can hold 14 bikes with
apparently little conflict to non-bike passengers and easy usability to
bicyclists. For more info see brochure ( PDF
)
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ny debuted bicycle racks on all the buses. Well, that was the end intention. They actually were not going to put them on all the existing buses. They were going to phase out some of their older buses and were not going to install racks on them because of cost. Slowly those buses are being phased out and new buses with bike racks are being phased in. Big Blue Bus's web site, unfortunately, has not produced a web page for bicyclists. So I have put together this page to help some of you that are new to the area or who are considering using the bicycle racks. I hope that it helps some of you that are planning to visit Santa Monica from another city as well. Hopefully, it will make your trip more pleasant and enjoyable. Santa Monica is really a nice place to bicycle, compared to some other cities.
If you happen to forget your bicycle on the bus. The Big Blue Bus has a system where they collect the bicycles and keep them in a secure storage area on their bus lot. I was told that it is an outdoor covered space that is secure. You can call the Big Blue Bus during normal working hours to arrange to collect your bike. If you can't reach them by phone, it is possible to contact them through Santa Monica Police department 310-395-9931, and asking them to help connect you with the Big Blue Bus's dispatch to arrange to pick up your bicycle. I have not done this myself and the Big Blue Bus does not advertise this, but you can give it a try. If you do, please report back to CSM!
The Big Blue Bus as installed an advertising frame on many of the racks. These frames add a great deal of weight to the rack. And occasionally it obstructs the release mechanism of the rack to be raised and lowered. If you experience this, I encourage you to report it. Any time you report an issue about a bus, get the bus number. you usually can see them on the side, or front or rear of bus. Additionally, they are over the driver seat in big numbers. For other concerns it is advisable to note the line number, and date and time. This will be enough information for the administrators to track down who was the operator and other information they need to process your complaint/comment.
