By Lookout Staff

August 20, 2013 – Santa Monica Big Blue Bus officials will unveil new service changes and fare boxes at a community meeting Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Main Public Library.

After operating with a structural budget deficit for the past two year, the local transit agency will unveil a plan to discontinue sales of local transfers and slash underperforming routes.

Discontinuing the sale of local transfers used for multiple Big Blue Bus trips will allow the agency keep the base fare at $1 and reduce fraud, officials said. Under the plan, inter-agency transfers would still be sold and accepted.

Big Blue Bus officials also will unveil the new fare boxes that will be installed next year, along with new smart cards that will speed up boarding and also help reduce fraud.

Officials also will present a plan, which will require City Council approval, to detour the Sunset Ride as of August 25, while Santa Monica College’s Academy of Entertainment & Technology is closed for construction. The route will only operate to Pico Boulevard.

In addition, Route 11 will be discontinued since it duplicates the service on Route 8 between UCLA and SMC or a combination of Route 8 or 7/Rapid 7 and 12/Rapid 12. The change also requires council approval.

“The primary strategy for any service improvements has been to regularly review all service and reallocate operators/buses from underperforming routes to those routes and times of day with the greatest ridership,” transit officials said.

Those unable to attend the meeting can view the proposals on the City’s website here.

The Main Library is ADA-accessible. For any accommodations, please contact Jennie Campos at (310) 458-1975, ext. 5541.