By Jorge Casuso

May 20, 2025 -- The Big Blue Bus will increase its fares starting in August, with a second round of increases coming in the summer of 2027.

The fare hikes approved by the City Council last Tuesday increase the cost of all existing fares and passes and eliminates two underutilized passes.

The increases "address shortfalls in transit revenue as Big Blue Bus faces declining per boarding fare revenue, rising operational costs, and uncertainty surrounding future federal funding," Transportation officials said.

The new fare policy adopted unanimously by the Council as part of Tuesday's Consent Calendar increases the Cost of Single Rides, 1-Day, 7-Day and 10 Rides, as well as 30-Day Passes.

"The proposed cost increase to these fare products will result in an average fare per boarding of approximately 85 cents, which is comparable to pre-pandemic figures," according to a staff report from the Transportation Department.

"These fares are still relatively inexpensive and in line with the other transit providers in the region," the report states. "When adjusted for inflation, the proposed fares are comparable to or cheaper than Big Blue Bus fares during the 2010s."

The new fare policy also eliminates the Annual Pass introduced in 2017 "due to its extremely rare sales and usage," according to staff. "For a variety of reasons," staff wrote, "this pass has become irrelevant over time."

Only five annual passes were sold during FY2023-24, and the low sales continue through this fiscal year, staff said.

The new fare policy also eliminates the Youth 30-Day Pass, which has "experienced rare usage in recent years" with about six passes sold monthly and has been "made largely irrelevant with the introduction of the regional GoPass Program in 2021."

The GoPass provides free transit for K-12 students at participating schools throughout the transit agency's service area, which includes all schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu and Los Angeles Unified School districts, as well as most public charter schools and many independent schools.

Under the new rate structure, the cost of a single ride paid using a mobile device would rise from $1.10 to $1.25 on August 10, then to $1.50 in July 2027.

Cash payments would go up from $1.25 to $1.50 on August 10, and rise to $1.75 in 2027.

The first phase would be implemented on August 10, 2025, while the second phase would go into effect in the summer of 2027.

The proposed rate hikes mark only the fourth fare increase since 1985, and the first since January 2016 ("Big Blue Bus Fares Poised to Rise," March 19, 2025