SR-10-27-2015-3D
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monthly pass. The proposed fare structure lowers the regular 30-day pass price to $50,
or 40 times the base fare of $1.25, providing a strong incentive for regular riders to
purchase the product instead of using cash, thereby speeding travel time, and reducing
operating costs as a result.
These findings and the detailed fare restructure proposal were presented at the public
hearing held on September 10. Staff has summarized the community/customer
feedback to the proposed fare restructure and fare media proposals and seeks Council
approval of the fare restructure proposal. If adopted, the new fare structure and fare
media would be effective January 10, 2016.
Background
At the April 28, 2015 Council meeting, staff presented Evolution of Blue, the Big Blue
Bus service integration plan for first-last mile connectivity to the Expo Light Rail Line,
which Council unanimously adopted. As part of this plan, a detailed financial analysis
was provided on new service hours, new bus stops, and new buses, including
recommendations for funding an 11% increase in revenue service hours annually
(53,400 Revenue Service Hours). In addition, BBB’s proposed biennial budget that was
adopted by Council on June 23, 2015 included a recommended January 2016 fare
restructure to increase the base cash fare from $1.00 to $1.25. Staff advised Council
that a fare analysis for all fare types and media would be conducted, including a public
hearing to obtain customer and community feedback.
On September 10, 2015, BBB, in accordance with Federal Transportation
Administration Circular 9030.1E, conducted a public hearing on the fare restructure
proposal where a presentation on the proposal was made and a question and answer
session was conducted. Members of the public were allowed to provide feedback on the
proposal up until the conclusion of the comment period, on September 10, 2015.
Discussion
The Evolution of Blue program provides enhanced service on existing and new routes,
which BBB will implement over three service changes, starting with the August 23,
2015 Service Change. In order to effectuate the implementation plan and BBB’s biennial
budget proposal, a significant increase in revenue service hours, new bus stops and
additional buses are programmed, with the requisite increase in revenue needed to
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support these. A fare increase is required to offset a portion of the 11% increase in new
revenue service hours being provided with the new plan.
In addition, two major objectives in BBB’s FY 2015-2016 Work Plan are to speed up bus
boarding to improve travel speed and move more customers over to prepaid fare media .
This would also improve BBB’s financial position and reduce the amount of time staff
spends counting revenue.
As of the end of FY 2014-15, approximately 49% of BBB customers paid with cash.
Cash customers require an average of 23 seconds of dwell time to complete payment,
while a prepaid boarding customer using a magnetic stripe card or smartcard requires
less than 4 seconds to complete payment. This significant 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
number of customers using prepaid fares through discounting of passes enhances the
attractiveness of transit, while simultaneously lowering the cost of operating the routes.
As of the end of FY 2014-15, as shown below, 3% of customers used 30-day passes,
2% used 13-ride passes, 3% used day passes, and 1% used tokens. These low
percentages of current prepaid fare media use are directly attributable to the minimal
level of discount currently being offered on most products.
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The fare restructure presented, herein, would encourage greater use of prepaid fare
media through discounting and is expected to contribute to the reduction of cash
payment customers to less than 35% of all customers.
Taking these factors into account, the proposed fare restructure would achieve the
following goals:
Increase utilization of pre-paid fares through appropriate pricing.
Minimize ridership loss by providing a range of attractively priced options.
Reduce fare handling.
Reduce vehicle dwell time operating costs.
Make no change to Senior and Disable fares.
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Increase revenue to offset operating expenditures as a result of Expo Plan
improvements.
Pricing Considerations
A peer analysis was conducted that indicates that the average one-way fare in the
region is $1.25. Peer agencies included Long Beach Transit, Foothill Transit, Metro,
Omnitrans, Culver CityBus, and Torrance Transit. Other fare categories/media were
also analyzed for the peer agencies including Day Pass, Monthly or 31-Day Pass and
Student (or Youth) Monthly or 31-Day Pass. All Senior/Disabled fare media were
included in the analysis as well as the base fare multiplier. Table 1 below summarizes
the findings of the peer review.
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Table 1 - Peer Analysis of Fares
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BBB 1.00$ 0.50$ 4.00$ 4 1.50$ 3 60.00$ 60 24.00$ 48 40.00$ 40
Peer Agencies
Long Beach 1.25$ 0.60$ 4.00$ 3.2 2.50$ 4.1 65.00$ 52 24.00$ 40 40.00$ 32
Foothill Transit 1.25$ 0.50$ --70.00$ 56 22.00$ 44 33.00$ 26.4
Metro 1.75$ $.35 - $.75 7.00$ 4 2.50$ 4.5 100.00$ 57.14 20.00$ 36.36 24.00$ 13.71
Omnitrans 1.75$ 0.75$ 5.00$ 2.85 2.25$ 3 55.00$ 31.43 27.50$ 36.67 41.00$ 23.43
Culver City 1.00$ 0.35$ -----
Torrance 1.00$ 0.25$ --35.00$ 35 -30.00$ 30
Beach Cities 1.00$ 0.50$ --40.00$ 40 20.00$ 20 20.00$ 20
Peer Average 1.29$ 0.49$ 5.33$ 3.35 2.42$ 3.87 60.83$ 45.26 22.70$ 35.41 31.33$ 24.26
*The base fare multiplier is the number multiplied by the base fare in order to arrive at the price for a certain fare product.
The average base fare multiplier for each fare product (the number multiplied by the
base fare in order to arrive at the price) among BBB’s peer group is shown at the
bottom of Table 1. Knowledge of common ranges for multipliers helps transit authorities
to establish sensible and attractive pricing for multi-ride passes or period passes. For
instance, most day passes are priced at 2.5 to 4 times the base fare. At this rate, they
are inexpensive enough to be attractive to users, while still priced high enough to
generate substantial income streams.
After analyzing the fare classifications, the base fare multiplier, and media options, it
was determined that a viable fare restructure that would best meet BBB’s objectives
would include the following:
A $0.25 base cash fare increase;
Additional deeply discounted fare media;
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Some fare media offered at a higher cost in alignment with the base fare
increase;
New fare media for customers who pre-purchase period passes; and
Senior and Disabled fares would be unchanged at their current pricing.
BBB’s current pricing structure does not conform to industry norms (with some products
priced above the peer average and some below). In instances where BBB pricing has
been higher than the peer average, the result has been soft sales of those fare
products. For example, at $60, the current 30-day pass is 60 times the base fare, which
is well above the peer average of 45.26 times the base fare. Therefore, it is not seen as
a good value by riders, many of whom ride one round trip each weekday, averaging
about 40 to 45 rides per month. Although m any riders use BBB services every weekday
of the month, only 2% of riders currently use a monthly pass. The proposed fare
structure lowers the regular 30-day pass price to $50, or 40 times the base fare of
$1.25, providing a strong incentive for regular riders to purchase the product instead of
using cash, thereby speeding travel time, and reducing operating costs as a result.
Conversely, the Express 30-Day Pass is currently priced appropriately at $80, or 40
times the Express base fare of $2. The Express 30-day pass is used exclusively on
Route 10 where ridership is already high; where little additional incentive is needed to
encourage purchase of this product. In the fare restructure proposal, this pass rises to
$89 in the proposal, or 35.6 times the new Express base fare of $2.50.
In summary, to meet the fare restructure goals described above and to improve BBB’s
alignment with fare media pricing averages as seen in the peer analysis, the following
new fare structure and fare media reflected in Table 2, below, is proposed to be offered
effective January 10, 2016.
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Table 2 - Proposed Fare Restructure
Fare Media Current Fare Proposed
Fare
Proposed
Change
Base Cash Fare $1.00 $1.25 $0.25
Express Cash Fare $2.00 $2.50 $0.50
Senior/Disabled Cash Fare $0.50 $0.50 No Change
Senior/Disabled Express Cash Fare $1.00 $1.00 No Change
Token $1.00 $1.25 $0.25
2 Token Express $2.00 $2.50 $0.50
Day Pass1 $4.00 $4.00 No Change
Senior/Disabled Day Pass $1.50 $1.50 No Change
Rolling 7-Day Pass (Local) N/A - New $14.00 N/A - New
13-Ride $12.00 $14.00 $2.00
Senior/Disabled 13 Ride $6.00 $6.00 No Change
Regular 30-Day $60.00 $50.00 -$10.00
Senior/Disabled 30-Day $24.00 $24.00 No Change
Youth 30-Day $40.00 $38.00 -$2.00
Express 30-Day $80.00 $89.00 $9.00
Senior/Disabled Express 30-Day $40.00 $40.00 No Change
The revised fare structure is subject to a fare equity analysis as defined by BBB’s Major
Service and Fare Change Policy. The fare equity analysis is required to ensure
compliance with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Title VI regulations as defined
by FTA Circular 4702.1B. The purpose of the analysis is to determine whether the
proposed changes will result in a disparate impact on the basis of race, ethnicity, or
national origin, or a disproportionate burden on the low-income population.
Based on the thresholds set in the stated policy, minority customers would not
experience a disparate impact as a result of the revised fare structure, nor would low-
1 Consistent with the current practice of charging a $1 premium to customers who use a regular (not
Express) 30-day or 13-ride pass to ride Rapid 10 (express to downtown Los Angeles), customers using a
Day Pass on Rapid 10 will pay $1.
9 of 13
income customers experience a disproportionate burden as a result of the revised fare
structure.
Communication Plan
Communication regarding the proposed new fares and fare media began in mid -August.
BBB staff communicated the details of the public hearing and invited the public to
participate and provide feedback via the following:
Transit Mall digital sign
Transit Store digital sign
Transit Store take-one flyers
Website feature story and web graphic
Bilingual onboard flyer
Bilingual onboard take-one flyers
Posting on smgov.net, City Facebook and Twitter
Two newspaper ad notices
Media advisory
Two BBB email alerts
Social media posts and scheduled postings for BBB and City of Santa Monica
Twitter and Facebook
Communication Timeline
April 28, 2015 – Council approves Evolution of Blue Expo Service Integration
Plan
June 23, 2015 – Council approves Biennial Budget
Late August 2015 – public awareness campaign begins
September 10, 2015 – public hearing held at Main Library
October 27, 2015 – Consent calendar staff report to Council recommending
approval of fare restructure proposal
January 10, 2016 – fare restructure implemented
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Public Hearing and Feedback
The fare restructure public hearing was held on September 10, 2015 at the Santa
Monica Main Library. Thirty-one members of the public signed-in and approximately
nine additional individuals joined without signing in after the hearing started, for a total
of approximately 40 attendees. Staff presented the proposed fare restructure and
conducted a question and answer session at the end of his presentation. A detailed list
of the feedback from members of the public is below.
The following is a summary and analysis of the public feedback:
Summary of Feedback
Feedback received as of 09/10/15 (comment period end date)
1) A total of 20 verbal comments were made at the public hearing. Fewer than half
of the comments related to the proposed fare adjustment. The main recurring
theme in the comments was the suggestion to create a youth single-ride fare or
13-ride pass, in addition to the new lower cost 30-day youth pass. Some
members of the public also commented regarding sales and implementation of
the new fare products using TAP and BBB fareboxes.
2) Six comments were received on paper at the hearing. All of these reflected the
sentiments from the verbal comments received and the primary theme was
related to student fares.
3) Eight comments were received via the GO system.
4) Big Blue Bus Customer Service Representatives reported only one phone call
about the Fare Proposal. The call was from a senior seeking to confirm that the
senior fares would not be changed. The caller was happy with this information
and had no other comment.
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Feedback received after conclusion of the public comment period
BBB received six requests for a lower youth fare between 09/21 at 12:36AM and 09/22
at 6:37AM. This was 11 and 12 days after the official public comment period concluded
for BBB’s fare adjustment proposal.
Analysis of Public Comment
Eight members of the public commented on the perceived lack of options for youth
(K-12) in terms of discounts. Although BBB offers a 30 day youth pass, and the price of
that pass is proposed as being reduced by $2, there was a perception that this product
is not well utilized and that students would prefer a youth discounted 13 ride ticket.
Below is the total 30 day youth pass and 13 ride tickets sales for FY 2014-15 (not
including disability passes).
Total revenue for Youth 30 day pass $103,220
Total revenue for a regular 13 ride ticket $213,633
Although twice as much value was sold in 13-ride passes as youth 30-day passes, it
must be taken into consideration that any customer can purchase a 13 ride pass and
only students up to 18 years of age can purchase a youth 30 -day pass. In that light, it is
likely that more students are using a youth 30-day pass than are using a 13-ride passes
when looking at the whole universe of sales.
When viewing only sales through schools, a clearer picture of the relationship between
the products is revealed. BBB had three school customers in FY 2014-15 and together
they purchased $19,016 worth of the two fare products in question. Of that total cost,
13-ride passes accounted for only $2,616 in total sales, while 30-day youth passes
accounted for $16,400 in total sales. BBB sold six times as many 30-day youth passes
to schools as 13-ride passes. Stated another way, the 13-ride passes made up only
13.7% of the non-disability fares purchased by schools. Regarding the suggestion that
BBB should match the LA Metro youth fare in terms of a single ride price, the proposed
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pricing of the 13-ride pass at $14 makes the cost of one ride $1.08, which is near to the
$1 fare offered by LA Metro for students.
BBB favors encouraging use of the 30-day youth pass over the 13-ride pass, as the
option of the 13-ride pass for students inadvertently encourages the practice of parents
driving students to school in the morning, and the students using transit only one way,
to get home. While this practice is commonplace, it creates significant congestion
around the schools as numerous parents approach nearly simultaneously to drop
students off. The discounting of the monthly pass encourages higher overall transit
utilization as all rides for the month are paid for up front. This by nature encourages
parents to put students on the bus for both directions of the trip, reducing congestion
around schools in the morning and creating a safer environment . While certain parents
may still want to drive their students one way to school, the fare structure wil l not
encourage this practice by making it cheaper to do so. In light of this analysis, BBB
does not recommend changes to what is proposed in terms of student fares.
Five members of the public advocated consideration of varying distribution channels to
support BBB goals of faster boarding time and ease of use. The goal is to increase the
number of retail locations that sell BBB fare media and TAP cards with the option to
load and reload value. Currently, retail locations in Santa Monica selling BBB fare
products include BBB’s Transit Store, the libraries in Santa Monica, Vons grocery store
on Wilshire Blvd. and Ralphs grocery store on Cloverfield Blvd. TAP cards are available
for sale at all ticket vending machines at Metro rail stations, the Transit Stor e and the
Vons and Ralphs stores. Suggestions were made to work with Metro to add more retail
outlets that will sell TAP cards in the BBB service area. BBB is currently reviewing these
options.
All other public comments were reviewed in light of the recommended action.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the
recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required
in the future. Staff anticipates that the fare restructure will increase passenger revenues
by $0.5 million in FY 2015-16 and $1 million in FY 2016-17. Revenue changes are
included in the FY 2015-16 Adopted Budget and FY 2016-17 Budget Plan.
Prepared By: Suja Lowenthal, Transit Government & Community Relations
Manager
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A - Comments from Public Hearing
B. FTA C 9030.1E Web Link
C. Adoption of the First Year and Approval of the Second Year of the Fiscal Year
(FY) 2015-17 Biennial Budget Web Link
D. Big Blue Bus/Expo Service Integration Plan Public Hearing and Adoption of
Service Plan Web Link
E. Big Blue Bus/Expo Service Integration Proposal Web Link
Comments Received Verbally in person at the Public Hearing
1. Likes the real-time signs and 13-ride passes. Alvin
Epstein
2. Concern about Bus Stops and spacing. No name
3. Feedback same as verbal feedback: disappointed that the youth
fares that were dropped at the last minute in 2010 isn’t being
reinstated. Says that 30 day pass a failure – “young people aren’t
using it”. Disservice scheduling meeting during back-to school
night at SamoHi. Suggests encouraging youth to ride when they
are young creates a lifetime of transit travel. Please reinstate
single ride youth discounts. Youth “fair share” shouldn’t be adult
fare. Who’s next – seniors? How can you say 3% of riders are
youth when they are paying full fare?
Karen
Melick –
Klmelick@y
ahoo.com
4. Most of the fare proposals seem OK. However, 13-ride pass
should not be any higher than $13. Rapid 10 passes should be
$85, not $89 as proposed. BBB must put on hold the youth fare
proposals until they can meet with students and the schools.
Written feedback from John Fennell is same as verbal feedback:
John W.
Fennell,
starwords@
me.com (?)
5. Believes the fare proposal is fair. Jerry Rubin
6 Believes student fares should be considered. Richard
Kopple
7. Question about cost of new service for the Expo line, compared to
operations cost.
Bob Wolf
8. Questions on the cost of new buses. Laura
Wilson
9. Question on executive compensation. Erin
Johnson
10 Concern about 4th & SM and Westwood and Weyburn Stops
(same as in writing)
Bill Davids
11 Concern about R10 express charges (that might discourage new
ridership) and suggests that seniors should pay more, he
suggests $0.25.
Carl
Shoeber
12 Concern about Bus seats No name
13 Expressed gratitude for technology improvements such as
NextBus, real-time signs and new TAP cards.
Jerome Hall
14 Question about elimination of transfers and concern about shift
from local service to rapid not serving “us in Santa Monica.”
Karen
Melick
15 Questions about on-time performance. Likes the real-time info at
some stops, but not the removal of schedule information at stops.
Likes Little Blue Books. Issues with #8 late at OP & 28th in July
and #14 late.
Ralf Quint
323-744-
1081
r.a.quint@g
mail.com
16 Asked about ridership changes expected due to fare change.
Young man was part of Coral Group –didn’t say his name.
17 Request for Free transfers on TAP cards. No name
18 Question about Union Station service – what about duplication of
R10 service and the future of that line.
Andreas
19 Question about TAP validity on different agencies (general mis-
understanding about the fare products on the tap card being
important, more than just having a tap card)
20 Comment on problem of bus bunching.
Paper comments received at the meeting on 9/10/15
1. Why are you doing this? Customer service “sucks.” Drivers are for
the most part good. Who is responsible for bus stops? Like the LBB
and RTS. Question about Lincoln & Idaho bus stop – very dark and
hard to be seen.
Larry
Skuce,
LarrySkuce
@yahoo.co
m 310-
394-8732
2. What’s the point – you are going to raise fares anyway to pay for
your fat cat executive fix figure salaries and perks. You people don’t
give a damn about serving the people, just yourselves. You got rid
of bus stops so people will have to take more buses, you cater to
businesses who don’t want bus stops near their facilities, so
passengers have to walk long distances between stops etc. Reduce
your salaries, not raise fares. This city needs to reduce t raffic not by
increasing fares, especially for students as well as seniors. Other
comments: New bus stops suck. Need more stops near
supermarkets, i.e. #5 and #8 on Broadway removed due to
complaints from pharmacy and SMFD. Passengers come first, not
businesses and public servants. Give us feedback when we
complain when drivers don’t stop, etc. Need a one day pass fare for
$2.50. Rapid 10 needs to pick-up when dropping off. More busses
stop at 4th & Broadway and other transfer stops. Fix your
website/trip planning with other transit. Go back to free transfers.
Get rid of mushroom seats.
Jon Mann,
resident
activist,
net_democ
racy@yaho
o.com
3. Feedback same as verbal feedback: disappointed that youth fares
was dropped at the last minute in 2010 isn’t being reinstated. 30 day
pass a failure – young people aren’t using it. Disservice scheduling
meeting during back-to school night at SamoHi. Suggests
encouraging youth to ride when they are young creates a lifetime of
transit travel. Please reinstate single ride youth discounts. Youth
“fair share” shouldn’t be adult fare. Who’s next – seniors? How can
you say 3% of riders are youth when they are paying full fare?
Karen
Melick –
Klmelick@
yahoo.com
4 Written feedback from John Fennell is same as verbal feedback. John W.
Fennell,
starwords
@me.com
(?)
5 Miscellaneous non fare related comments Please increase
frequency of #1 service – buses are frequently overloaded. Keep
rear exits clear of personal belongings and passengers. Frequent
malfunctions of fareboxes delay boarding time. Aggressive
marketing is needed to increase passenger revenues and ridership.
Bring back your excursion bus trips.
Richard B.
Kopple,
310-231-
0000 (no
email):
NB 4th street bus stop at SM Blvd. overly congested with buses.
Articulated #3 and #7 buses prevent #2, #34, #4 and #9 buses from
conveniently reaching the stop and pulling in parallel to the curb.
Problem also exists at Westwood & Weyburn with Metro and Culver
City buses. No contact.
Bill Davids:
6 Written document from Manuel Kitay who lives at Casa Gateway
and is requesting service further towards Palisades Drive.
Manuel
Kitay
Comments received in writing via the GO system (through 9/15/15)
1 Thank you for offering me the opportunity to submit feedback
regarding Big Blue Bus's fare adjustment proposal.
I fully understand BBB's need to raise fares in order to accommodate
increasing costs, and I support your efforts to do so. I am troubled,
however, by several details of the proposal:
a) Transfers should be encouraged, not discouraged. BBB's recent
service realignment has placed an increasing reliance on the use of
transfers within a single trip. But the new fare proposal continues the
archaic practice of a significant transfer penalty, charging customers
a "per vehicle" fare rather than a "per trip" fare. By implementing a
route structure that encourages transfers but a fare structure that
discourages them, BBB is sending customers a mixed
message. From a commercial standpoint, mixed messages rarely
make for good business practice. I would urge BBB to follow the
example recently set by Metro, and instead raise the base fare high
enough that it will be an economically feasible fare for a one -way trip
rather than for a one-vehicle ride - at least for passengers using TAP
cards where transfers require no additional effort on the part of the
driver.
b) Compatibility with Metro’s fares. With the arrival of Expo, this is
the moment for BBB to work with Metro on fare integration. While it
is laudable that BBB tries to keep its fares low and consequently
distinct from Metro's fare structure, as passengers' trips increasingly
rely on a mix of Metro's and BBB's services, there will be an
increasing need for harmonization between the two. I would urge
you to consider making your fare structure more compatible with
Metro's, notably by abolishing the distinction between BBB -BBB and
BBB-Metro transfers. From a fare structure point of view, both of
these should be considered a "normal" part of the one-way trip that
many of your prospective customers would be making.
c) Today's children will be tomorrow's adults. If you follow Metro's
approach of making fares more attractive for children and families,
you will help cultivate a new generation of public transportation
customers. In years past, you offered a discount to children in the
form of a punch card. That was labor-intensive for drivers, but Metro
now offers student TAP cards that make fare differentiation much
simpler. Ironically, under your current fare proposal, the base fare
for adults is lower than Metro's while the base fare for K-12 students
is higher. In fact, for the frequent case of a one-way trip involving
two buses, a child would now pay $2.50 on BBB vs. $1.00 on
Metro!!! I urge you instead to adopt a fare policy similar to Metro's,
where K-12 students benefit from one-way student TAP fares that
Allon
Percus
are lower than full adult fares. I think you will find that this is not only
good karma, but also good business.
Note that all of the measures I suggest above could (and should) be
limited to passengers using TAP. This would help accomplish your
objective of encouraging the use of prepaid fare media, by providing
a genuine incentive: not only lower fares, but what is sometimes
even more important, simpler fares.
2 The email below came in to the Council mailbox. Please respond on
our behalf. Thanks in advance for your assistance.
From: Freida [mailto:fdubin@webtv.net]
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2015 8:40 AM
To: Ed King; Santa Monica City Manager's Office; Council Mailbox;
Kevin McKeown Fwd; Ted Winterer
Subject: BIG BLUE BUS FARE INCREASE
NO BIG BLUE BUS FARE INCREASE IS JUSTIFIED.THE BIG
BLUE BUS IS OBSOLETE -- BIG BLUE BUS SHOULD MERGE
WITH METRO TO SAVE THE CITY & BUS RIDERS MONEY. The
Big Blue Bus no longer serves the local population. Its main goal
now is to get people to and from Metro - but Metro doesn't go where
most local people need to go - it basically will be bringing people into
Santa Monica. Local service has been extremely cut to provide more
service to bus lines which serve mostly Los Angeles.
Many people need to use Big Blue & Metro which increases bus
fares and more than doubles the monthly pass for seniors and the
handicapped. One bus service would save everyone money. There
is no connectivity between many bus lines/stops from Metro to Big
Blue. With no transfers, you have to pay a fare just to go a few
blocks to connect from Wilshire to either Big Blue #7, #8 or #1.
Important bus stops have been moved or removed (especially 4th
Street & Arizona & 4th & Wilshire). Others are closed for more than a
month to install new unnecessary benches – but there seems to be
no money to put up any “No Smoking” signs with them. You cannot
use the bus to go somewhere on weekends or evenings if you are
not near a major street as local service has been drastically cut
within Santa Monica. Bus schedules are not for the convenience of
riders. Example: When stores, library, etc., close at 9:00, it would be
convenient to have the #9 leave downtown going North about 10
minutes after the hour (as it used to several years ago). It now
leaves ten minutes before the hour and only runs once an hour. The
real time sign doesn’t even work at one of the busiest corners (4th &
Wilshire), there are no schedules at the stop – everyone needs to
have a smart phone to access bus schedules or carry a heavy bulky
Freida
Dubin
fdubin@we
btv.net
booklet containing all the schedules. If you want people to take the
bus and not drive, you must have somewhat timely buses. If you
need to catch a scheduled bus to get to work on time and it never
shows up, it is totally unacceptable to get to work 20 to 30 minutes
late. If you have a local bus service, you need someone local who
understands the bus riding habits of local people. Big Blue Bus
wants to serve Los Angeles, so why not just merge with Metro?
3 Spanish request: It’s my opinion that the reason you are increasing
fares is to pay for the bus stops (and I think that’s a waste of money).
Lo único que me gustaría opinar sobre el incremento a las tarifas del
Bus es que quieren recuperar todo lo que gastaron en esas nuevas
paradas de autobús. Sinceramente creo que no es justo que hagan
esto y que los que tengamos que asumir las consecuencias sean
nuestros "bolsillos" (economía familiar). Esa remodelación de
paradas de autobús fue un gasto innecesario, habrá quien opine que
estan "bonitas" pero en lo personal a mi no me gustan, y en algunas
no hicieron bien el trabajo y no quedaron bien fijas en el suelo y se
mueven. Si van a aumentar las tarifas que sean al menos 5 o 10
centavos.
Maria
Mendoza
4 My comment on a possible fare increase for BBB: Please don't put a
fare increase on minimum-wage workers who travel to Santa Monica
by bus. They are already struggling! Thank you.
Anonymous:
5 Please do not raise fares! Anonymous:
6 With the transition to TAP I would have liked to see something
benefiting occasional riders who don't want to load Santa Monica -
specific fare media. For example, automatic fare capping (no more
than $4 in Santa Monica Big Blue Bus fares charged per calendar
day), bringing back the transfer on TAP (perhaps at a 75 cent rate,
which also would apply for interagency transfers), or a discount to
TAP users (charging them $1.10, which would be equivalent to
giving them the 13 -ride fare discount, and eliminate the 13-ride
pass, which I doubt is significantly used). Also, BBB will need to fix
the upgrade fee issue on the Rapid 10. People are less likely to have
$1.25 of cash in their hand to upgrade from a regular stored ride TAP
card over a flat dollar. The LADOT mobile validators are able to be
programmed to charge the different LADOT fares, so I don't
understand why a rider who boards Rapid 10 can't be charged the
full amount off their TAP card.
Henry Fung:
7 On behalf of SamoHi students (Suja has longer email) Concern
about fare change and impact on students paying cash fares – now
higher. Ms. Melick has voiced previous concerns about why BBB
doesn’t have student fares.
Karen
Melick
8 Inclusion of support for student fare media, including a 13-ride pass
for students to be sold for $12.
Anonymous