The Big Blue Bus got about double the expected turnout at its first Community Meeting on Monday. A crowd of 50-60 people came to the Santa Monica Public Library to hear about, and give input on, upcoming changes at Santa Monica’s major bus system.

Dan Dawson, Public Information Officer at BBB, kicked things off with a powerpoint that really covered a LOT of ground. For this post I’ll just write about one of the more exciting features to get introduced: The Mini Blue bus system.

Mini Blue’s a new proposal for a grid five community-based bus lines with short routes and smaller buses that’ll allow Santa Monica residents to get anywhere within the city without getting in a car. Although this might sound like an entire new bus system, Mini Blue effective just adds one line — The Sunset Line — while modifying the current line 11 and the Farmers’ Market and Tide shuttles.

Still, Mini Blue will help unify the rather difficult-to-decipher, seemingly-disorganized array of shuttle and bus lines that currently serve the local community. With the Mini Blue makeover, all buses will run at a regular frequency and have easy schedules — and a unified fare: 50 cents per ride (25 cents for elderly or disabled).

The 5 proposed lines are:

Crosstown Ride: This line will basically replace the current line 11, except the buses will run more frequently and add evening service.

Tide Ride: This line will replace the Tide shuttle, extending its route.

Pico Market Ride and Downtown Market Ride: These lines will run only on Farmers’ Market days, replacing the current Farmers’ Market shuttles.

Sunset Ride: This new route will serve Santa Monica College, the Arboretum, and some city parks. The route will run from the Santa Monica Airport, down Ocean Park Blvd, then make a loop via 20th St., Olympic Blvd, Stewart St., and Pico.

All buses will be between 22 to 30 feet long and run on alternative fuels. Two different buses are expected: Thomas Bus, a 30′ biodiesel bus, and Trolley Bus, a smaller, open-air California trolley bus that’ll run on an as-of-yet unnamed alternative fuel.

The Mini Blue’s not a done deal. These proposals first need to be approved by Santa Monica City Council on April 20. Once approved, Mini Blue’s expected to roll out on June 24 (the Sunset Ride is expected to roll out later, around Sept.).

Want to hear about the Mini Blue first-hand? The remaining community meetings will happen:

• Thurs., March 8, 12 - 2 pm, UCLA Student Activity Center (Room B05/Conf. Rooms 1 & 2), 220 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles.
• Sat, March 10, 10 am - 12 pm, Ken Edwards Center (Room 100 A-B), 1527 4th Street, Santa Monica.
• Mon, March 12, 6 - 8 pm, Virginia Park (Thelma Terry Center), 2200 Virginia Avenue, Santa Monica.

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