Long Beach Transit
Long Beach Transit New Flyer GE40LFA
ParentLong Beach Public Transportation Company
FoundedMarch 31, 1963 (60 years ago)
Headquarters1963 East Anaheim Street
LocaleLong Beach, Paramount, Signal Hill, Carson and Lakewood, CA
Service typeBus service, Watertaxi
Routes39 fixed routes
Fleet220
Daily ridership57,100 (weekdays, Q3 2023)[1]
Annual ridership17,767,700 (2022)[2]
Fuel typeDiesel, Gasoline-electric hybrid, CNG
OperatorLong Beach Public Transportation Company
Websiteridelbt.com

Long Beach Transit (LBT) is a municipal transit company providing fixed and flexible bus transit services in Long Beach, California, United States, in other communities in south and southeast Los Angeles County, and northwestern Orange County. Long Beach Transit also operates the Passport shuttle, Aquabus, and Aqualink. The service, while operated on behalf of the City of Long Beach, is not operated directly by the city (such as is done with the bus service operated by the City of Santa Monica), but by a separate nonprofit corporation, the Long Beach Public Transportation Company, operated for that purpose. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 17,767,700, or about 57,100 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.

Long Beach Transit receives its operating revenue from farebox receipts and state tax revenue distributed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

History

Long Beach Transit began operation in 1963 with the acquisition of Long Beach City Lines and Long Beach Motor Bus Company from National City Lines. The primary service area of Long Beach Transit has been the city of Long Beach and to a limited extent the enclave city of Signal Hill, but it has also provided service to surrounding communities in Los Angeles County, including Lakewood, Cerritos, Norwalk, and Seal Beach in neighboring Orange County.

The company has operated various types of bus services. During the 1970s and 1980s, it also ran small shuttle buses in the downtown area, called DASH (for Downtown Area Short Hops), and because the routes were shorter, the fare was lower than on the regular buses.

Transfers

2007 New Flyer Low Floor (GE40LF)

Originally, bus transfers could be obtained upon payment of $0.05 for local transfers, and $0.10 for "interagency transfers", which allow transfer to another bus line without additional payment (except for express service). Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, instead of using a common transfer with the route number punched on the transfer, each route had its own transfer with the route number printed on them. For transfers to other bus lines, Long Beach Transit used the consolidated Los Angeles County interagency transfer, which every bus company in Los Angeles County except RTD (now Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and Orange County Transit District (now Orange County Transportation Authority) used (both RTD and OCTD regular transfers worked for both their own buses and as an interagency transfer). The consolidated interagency transfer used by all the other transit agencies even had a check box naming the twelve bus companies in the county, and the driver would punch the box for the particular agency that issued the transfer.[3] During the mid-1970s (sometime between 1972 and 1976), for a period of six months, a special subsidy was available. All bus trips in Los Angeles County were reduced from approximately $0.80 to $1.25, to $0.25 on weekdays and Saturdays, and $0.10 on Sunday (bus trips outside the county were subject to the regular rate). As a result, the issuance of transfers was discontinued for all trips within Los Angeles County. When the subsidy ended, the old price returned and bus companies resumed issuing transfers.[3]

In the early 1980s, the company changed its transfer system. Instead of using books of transfers, every bus has a ticket printer, which issues the three types of transfers: regular transfers, which allow the user to transfer to a different route; "emergency" transfers (typically used if the customer becomes sick and has to get off the bus), which allow the user to get back on the same route; and interagency transfers, which allow the user to transfer to a different bus company (and gave the user an additional 1 hour of time before it expires), such as Orange County Transit, RTD (now LA Metro), Norwalk Transit and Cerritos Transit (now Cerritos on Wheels) buses. In case of machine failure, however, operators would still carry one book of each kind of transfers.[3]

Effective in 1999, Long Beach Transit instituted a day pass, and on July 1, 2005, it eliminated transfers within the system, although the interagency transfer is available for transfers to other transit systems.[4]

Water taxis

In addition to regular service, Long Beach Transit operates two year-round water taxi services: the 49-passenger AquaBus, and the 75-passenger AquaLink, which connects the major attractions of Downtown Long Beach, including the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach Cruise Terminal, and the RMS Queen Mary hotel. In 2022, the two water routes had a ridership of 55,000, or about 800 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.

Water Taxi services have been paused until 2024

Route Terminals Via Notes
AquaBus Downtown Long Beach

Aquarium of the Pacific, Dock 4

Long Beach

Queen Mary

Queensway Bay The 49-passenger AquaBus has six "ports of call": Dock 4 of the Aquarium of the Pacific, Queen Mary, Shoreline Village at Larry H. Parker's Lighthouse, Catalina Landing, Dock 7 of Pine Avenue Circle, and Hotel Maya. The fare is $1.
AquaLink Downtown Long Beach

Aquarium of the Pacific, Dock 4

Long Beach

Alamitos Bay Landing

Queensway Bay The AquaLink is a 68-foot catamaran that ferries up to 75 passengers to the most popular attractions in Long Beach Harbor and on to Alamitos Bay Landing. The fare is $5, and wheelchair boarding is available at Dock 4 near the Aquarium of the Pacific and at the Queen Mary.

Routes

A LBT bus stop

History

Originally, Long Beach Transit operated its bus lines as a consecutive set of route numbers, from 1 to 18. The numbers had no significance except that route 1 ran along State Route 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. (This is the same number currently used by the Orange County Transit Authority for its route that runs on Route 1.) Some routes had more than one routing; for example, the number 9 route ran from Downtown along 7th Street to California State University, Long Beach. All of the route 9 buses would continue along Bellflower Boulevard, whereupon one would terminate at Bellflower and Stearns Street; one would turn at Willow Street and continue along Woodruff Avenue; another would continue on Bellflower all the way to Alondra Boulevard; and another would also continue to Alondra but take a slight detour to the Lakewood Center shopping mall.

Possibly due to the successful renumbering which RTD had done in 1983, Long Beach Transit also decided to renumber its routes. In the mid-1980s, the company changed some of its route numbers, keeping the original 1- or 2-digit number and adding a single digit after the number. This was done to routes which split and serviced multiple streets and destinations. The route 9, as indicated above, was renumbered into routes 91, 92, 93, and 94, based on the street and destination while routes that only served one street and destination remained the same with their original 1 or 2 digit route number, example Line 1 which still remains. Additional routes have since been added, generally using the same system. For example, if a route extends part of an existing route, it takes the first one (or two) digits of the major route number, then adds a new additional digit on the end. This is why there is now a route 96, which did not exist at the time of the original route 9.[3]

On August 16, 2021, Long Beach Transit announced they would be extending their services to Carson with three new routes. They are set to launch on September 19, 2021.[5] At the moment, Long Beach Transit is focusing on the middle tier, which would connect riders to major destinations in and around the city, including Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, Carson High School, Rancho Dominguez Preparatory School, CSUDH, Metro A Line Wardlow and Del Amo stations, Carson Community Center/City Hall, and SouthBay Pavilion.[6]

Local routes

Route # Terminals Via Days of operation Notes
1 Carson

Cal State Dominguez Hills

Rancho Dominguez

Del Amo station

Avalon Bl, Del Amo Bl Daily
2 Carson

Cal State Dominguez Hills

Carson

Figueroa St & Sepulveda Bl

Central Av, Avalon Bl Monday-Saturday
4 Carson

Carson St & Vermont Av

Rancho Dominguez

Del Amo station

Carson Street Monday-Saturday
8 Carson

223rd St & Vermont Av

Long Beach

Wardlow station

223rd Street Monday-Saturday
21 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Long Beach Bl

Paramount

Garfield Av & Petrol St

Cherry Av Daily
22 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Long Beach Bl

Downey

Lakewood Boulevard Station

Cherry Av Daily
23 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Long Beach Bl

Paramount

Rosecrans Av & Garfield Av

Cherry Av Daily
Passport
(37)
Downtown Long Beach

10th St & Pine Av

Long Beach

Queen Mary

Pine Av Friday, Saturday, Sunday
41 Long Beach

CSULB

Long Beach

Wardlow station

Easy Av, Harbor Av, Anaheim St Daily
45 Long Beach

Santa Fe Av & Cowles St

Long Beach

Anaheim St & PCH

Anaheim St Daily
46 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Long Beach

Anaheim St & PCH

Anaheim St Daily
51 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Compton

Artesia station

Long Beach Bl Daily
61 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Compton

Artesia station

Atlantic Av Daily
71 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Downey

Lakewood Bl & Century Bl

Alamitos Av, Orange Av Daily
91 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Long Beach

Woodruff Av & Alondra Bl

7th St Daily
92 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Long Beach

Woodruff Av & Alondra Bl

7th St Weekdays
93 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Long Beach

Woodruff Av & Alondra Bl

7th St Weekdays
94 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Long Beach

Bellflower Bl & Stearns St

7th St Daily
96

ZAP

Long Beach

6th St & Long Beach Bl

Long Beach

CSULB

7th St Weekdays during Fall and Spring Semesters
101 Long Beach

Santa Fe Av & 25th St

Hawaiian Gardens

Carson St & Norwalk Bl

Willow St Daily
102 Long Beach

Santa Fe Av & 25th St

Hawaiian Gardens

Carson St & Norwalk Bl

Willow St Weekdays
103 Long Beach

Santa Fe Av & 25th St

Lakewood

Lakewood Center

Willow St Daily
104 Long Beach

Santa Fe Av & 25th St

Hawaiian Gardens

Carson St & Norwalk Bl

Willow St Daily
111 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Lakewood

South St & Downey Av

Broadway Daily
112 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Lakewood

South St & Downey Av

Broadway Daily
121 Long Beach

PCH & Clark Av

Long Beach

Catalina Landing

Ocean Bl Daily
131 Long Beach

Wardlow station

Long Beach

Alamitos Bay

Redondo Av Daily
141[7] Compton

Artesia station

Cerritos

Los Cerritos Center

Artesia Bl Daily
151 Long Beach

Cesar E. Chavez Park

Long Beach

4th St & Ximeno Av

4th St Daily
171 Long Beach

Villages at Cabrillo

Seal Beach

Electric Av & Main Av

Pacific Coast Hwy Daily
172 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Norwalk

Norwalk station
Cerritos Los Cerritos Center (172, M-F)

Pacific Coast Hwy Daily
173 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Norwalk

Norwalk Station

Pacific Coast Hwy Daily
174 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Long beach

PCH & Ximeno Av

Pacific Coast Hwy Daily
175 Long Beach

Villages at Cabrillo

Long Beach

CSULB

Pacific Coast Hwy Weekdays
181 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Long Beach

Wardlow station

Magnolia Av Daily
182 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Long Beach

Wardlow station

Pacific Av Daily
191 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Lakewood

Bloomfield Av & Del Amo Bl

Santa Fe Av, Magnolia Av Daily
192 Downtown Long Beach

1st St & Pine Av

Cerritos

Los Cerritos Center

Santa Fe Av, Magnolia Av Daily
405

Express

LGB)Long Beach Airport UCLA Gateway Plaza Interstate 405 Weekdays UCLA/Westwood Commuter Express (formerly Route 510)

Decommissioned routes

Route Termini Major street(s) Fate Notes
5
Long Beach Transit Mall Artesia Station Long Beach Boulevard Replaced with Routes 51, 52
7
Long Beach Transit Mall Rosecrans Avenue Orange Avenue

Alamitos Avenue

Replaced with Routes 71, 72 (Route 72 decommissioned in 2019)
23
Long Beach Transit Mall Carson Street Cherry Avenue decommissioned; revived in 2020 as a new route
52
Long Beach Transit Mall Artesia Station Long Beach Boulevard

Victoria Street

decommissioned Deviated from route 51 via Victoria St and Santa Fe Ave in North Long Beach
62
Long Beach Transit Mall Alondra Boulevard Atlantic Avenue decommissioned Ran alongside 61, & 63 until Artesia Blvd which then solo to Alondra Blvd
63
Long Beach Transit Mall Artesia Boulevard Atlantic Avenue decommissioned Served northbound during peak hours only
66 ZAP
Long Beach Transit Mall Artesia Station Atlantic Avenue decommissioned

Ran alongside Route 61, Partially 62, & 63

72
Long Beach Transit Mall Rosecrans Avenue Orange Avenue

Alamitos Avenue Hunsaker Avenue

decommissioned Deviated from route 71 via Artesia Blvd, Atlanta Ave, Hunsaker Ave, and Alondra Blvd in Paramount
176 ZAP
Villages at Cabrillo LBCC Liberal Arts Campus Pacific Coast Highway

Lakewood Boulevard

decommissioned Ran alongside 170s on PCH, and 111 on Lakewood Blvd
193
Long Beach Transit Mall Del Amo Station Santa Fe Avenue decommissioned Possibly decommissioned in favor of Route 1 due to its current route (see above)
194
Long Beach Transit Mall Del Amo Station Santa Fe Avenue

Hughes Way

decommissioned Possibly decommissioned in favor of Route 1 due to its current route (see above)
Passport A
Catalina Bay Landing Alamitos Bay Ocean Boulevard

2nd Street

Partially absorbed into Route 121, remaining portion absorbed into Route 131. Free Service
Passport B
Cesar Chavez Park(West)

Long Beach Transit Mall(East)

Long Beach Transit Mall(West)

Colorado Logoon(East)

4th Street(All Lines) Replaced with Route 151 Free Service

Only Route in the LBT to be split, rather than one

Passport C
Downtown Long Beach Queen Mary Pine Avenue Absorbed into Current Passport Route Free Service
Passport D
Catalina Bay Landing Traffic Circle

Atherton and Outer Circle

Ocean Boulevard

2nd Street

Bellflower Boulevard

Replaced with Route 121 Free Service
Pine Avenue Link
Downtown Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific Pine Avenue Absorbed into Passport C, which in turn was absorbed into current Passport route Free Service

Bus fleet

As of 2018, Long Beach Transit's fleet is composed of mostly New Flyer buses, which are the GE40LF, GE40LFA, XN40, and XN60 models. It also has a large number of Gillig BRT+ models, a decreasing number of New Flyer D40LF models, and one Prévost coach used for charters. It also uses the battery-powered BYD K9 buses,[8] as well as the relatively new New Flyer XE35. These zero-emissions buses are mainly used for the Passport zero-fare service and a few extra routes, such as the 40s routes, 131, 151, and 180s routes.

Long Beach Transit has had several major firsts. It was the first agency to:

  • Operate the General Motors RTS bus in the late 1970s, in addition to other variants
  • Operate the first gasoline-electric buses in the world
  • Use the first Gillig bus powered by CNG

The buses have four-digit numbers, of which the first two digits represent the year the bus was put into service. Buses numbered 90## (the ## representing number in fleet) entered service in the 1990s, 20## - 29## entered service in the 2000s, and 12## - 18## entered service in the 2010s.

Long Beach Transit buses are operated out of 2 yards:

  • Headquarters
  • Jackson Transit Center

Most buses are stored at the headquarters on Anaheim Street. The articulated buses are stored at the Jackson Transit Center bus depot in Long Beach, CA. Both bus depots are located on Cherry Avenue.

Active fleet

Make/Model Fleet Numbers Thumbnail Year Engine Transmission Notes
Gillig BRT CNG 40 1201 2011 Cummins Westport ISL G ZF 6HP594C 1201 is a 2011 demo unit and was Gillig's first CNG-powered bus.

Replaced 1996–97 D40LFs and 2001 Opus

Gillig BRT CNG 40 1202-1233 2012 Cummins Westport ISL G ZF 6HP594C Replaced 1996–97 D40LFs and 2001 Opus
Gillig BRT CNG 40 1301-1331 2012 Cummins Westport ISL G ZF 6HP594C Replaced 1996–97 D40LFs and 2001 Opus
New Flyer XN60 1501-1513 2015 Cummins Westport ISL G ZF 6HP594C Replaced D60LFs
Gillig BRT CNG 40 1521-1528 2015 Cummins Westport ISL G ZF 6HP594C Replaced 1996–97 D40LFs and 2001 Opus
BYD K9 1601-1610 2016 First electric buses in fleet.
New Flyer XN40 1801-1840 2017-2018 Cummins Westport ISL G NZ ZF 6AP1400B Includes options for 89 buses until 2021.

Replaced 1998–2000 D40LFs

Prevost H3-45 2000 2000 Detroit Diesel Series 60 Allison B500R Used for charters and special events.
New Flyer GE40LF 2401-2427 2005 Ford Triton V10 ISE TB40-HG

hybrid system

First gas-electric buses in the world to enter public service

2401 was retired following an accident

New Flyer GE40LF 2501-2520 2005 Ford Triton V10 ISE TB40-HG

hybrid system

New Flyer GE40LF 2521-2522 2005 Ford Triton V10 ISE TB40-HG

hybrid system

2521 and 2522 were originally from OCTA
New Flyer GE40LF 2701-2715 2007 Ford Triton V10 ISE TB40-HG

hybrid system

New Flyer GE40LFA 2901-2925 2008-2009 Ford Triton V10 ISE TB40-HG

hybrid system

The only LFA buses to use gasoline

First buses to feature current red/orange livery.

Replaced 1994 D40LFs

BYD K9M 16011-16024 2021
New Flyer XE35 16025–16044 2022 Units entering service throughout 2023.
Replacing 2002 D40LFs and 2005 GE40LFs

Five (5) battery electric high-floor commuter busses are currently on order and due to be delivered in Q1 2024.[9] However, LBT has not publicly disclosed whether they have chosen to purchase the 45-ft busses from Motor Coach Industries (MCI) or BYD, the only two manufacturers that currently sell models in the aforementioned category in North America.

Retired fleet

Year Manufacturer Model Fleet numbers Notes
1991 OBI Orion II
(02.501)
101-110 Used on AquaLink & The Passport.
1992 OBI Orion II
(02.501)
111-115
  • 1991 models.
  • Used on AquaLink & The Passport.
1996 OBI Orion II CNG
(02.501)
116-120 Used on AquaLink & The Passport.
1992 OBI Orion II
(02.501)
121-124
  • Ex-?
  • Used on AquaLink & The Passport.
1998 OBI Orion II
(02.501)
125-128 Used on AquaLink & The Passport.
1990 OBI Orion II
(02.501)
129-130
1973 GMC TDH-3302A 144-147
2000 NFI D40LF 2001–2018
  • Retired in summer 2018
2001 Chance Opus 2101-2130 Used on Passport routes (A to D) until August 26, 2012.[10]
2002 NFI D40LF 2201-2239
  • Retired in 2023
2002 NFI D60LF 2301-2313
  • Used on routes 51, 101, 102, 103, and 104
  • Retired in 2015.
1979 GMC RTS-03
(T7H-603)
3501-3525 3508, 3507, 3524, 3522, 3520 & 3518 to Kitsap Transit 824-829.
1965 GMC SDM-4502 4101
1975 GMC T6H-4523A 4201-4215
1981 GMC RTS-04
(T8J-604)
4401-4451
1983 GMC RTS-04
(T8J-604)
4452-4476 1984 models.
1985 GMC RTS-04
(T8J-604)
4477
1987 GMC RTS-06
(T8J-606)
4478-4491 1986 models.
1965 GMC SDM-4502 4500
1963 GMC TDH-4519 4516-4530
1965 GMC TDH-4519 4531-4556
  • 4547 to CyRide 870.
  • 4556 was chopped down to 30 feet by TDT (Transportation Design and Technology?) in San Diego, CA. It spotted on eBay in Palm Springs, CA at an unknown time. It was sold to a 2nd private owner in West Oakland, CA and was spotted in August 2018 & on 11/30/2019. (Lic. Plate: HV040P).[11]
1966 GMC TDH-4519 4557-4561
1968 GMC T6H-4521 4562-4576 4565 & 4574 to CyRide 869 & 872.
1969 GMC T6H-4521A 4577-4581
1970 GMC T6H-4521A 4582-4601
1972 GMC T6H-4523A 4602-4606
1977 GMC RTS-01
(TH-8201)
4701-4715 First production RTS buses to be manufactured.
1979 GMC RTS-03
(T8H-203)
4716-4725
1963 GMC TDH-5303 5101-5110 5110 to CyRide 884.
1964 GMC TDH-5303 5111-5125
1967 GMC TDH-5303 5126-5130
1989 TMC RTS-06
(T80-606)
8901-8917 Retired in 2004–05.
1989 TMC RTS-06
(T80-206)
8918-8927 8918-8925 were originally numbered 8951–8958. Retired in 2004–05.
1991 TMC RTS-06
(T80-606)
9001-9026 1990 models. Retired in 2004–05.
1992 TMC RTS-08
(T80-608)
9201-9220 Retired in 2004–05.
1993 TMC RTS-08
(T80-608)
9301-9320 Retired in 2004–05.
1995 NFI D40LF 9401-9420 Retired in 2009.
1996 NFI D40LF 9601-9625 Retired in January 2013.
1997 NFI D40LF 9701-9720
  • Retired in summer 2018
  • 9708 and 9714 were the last active units.
1998 NFI D40LF 9801-9816
  • Retired in summer 2018
  • 9815 and 9816 were the last active units.

References

  1. "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  2. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2022" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Remembering RTD and the "good old days" of cheap LA area public transit Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine, paul-robinson.us, January 9, 2012
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2012-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Carson Service | ridelbt.com Long Beach Transit".
  6. "City of Carson City Council Meeting, July 20, 2021". City of Carson. July 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  7. "Summer 2022 Service Changes Summary | City of Torrance".
  8. Branson-Potts, Hailey (27 April 2015). "Long Beach Transit agrees to purchase electric buses". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  9. https://ridelbt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FY-2023-Operating-and-Capital-Budget-Final-Linked.pdf
  10. Effective August 26, 2012, Long Beach Transit is making a few key changes to your service., Long Beach Transit. Retrieved on 27 August 2012.
  11. www.facebook.com & www.facebook.com

Further reading

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