Parent | Long Beach Public Transportation Company |
---|---|
Founded | March 31, 1963 (60 years ago) |
Headquarters | 1963 East Anaheim Street |
Locale | Long Beach, Paramount, Signal Hill, Carson and Lakewood, CA |
Service type | Bus service, Watertaxi |
Routes | 39 fixed routes |
Fleet | 220 |
Daily ridership | 57,100 (weekdays, Q3 2023)[1] |
Annual ridership | 17,767,700 (2022)[2] |
Fuel type | Diesel, Gasoline-electric hybrid, CNG |
Operator | Long Beach Public Transportation Company |
Website | ridelbt |
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
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 | 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
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 | Rancho Dominguez | 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 | 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 | 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 | Pine Av | Friday, Saturday, Sunday | |
41 | Long Beach | 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 | 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 | 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 | Redondo Av | Daily | |
141[7] | Compton
Artesia station |
Cerritos | 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 |
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 |
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 |
|
1996 | OBI | Orion II CNG (02.501) |
116-120 | Used on AquaLink & The Passport. |
1992 | OBI | Orion II (02.501) |
121-124 |
|
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 |
|
2001 | Chance | Opus | 2101-2130 | Used on Passport routes (A to D) until August 26, 2012.[10] |
2002 | NFI | D40LF | 2201-2239 |
|
2002 | NFI | D60LF | 2301-2313 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
1998 | NFI | D40LF | 9801-9816 |
|
References
- ↑ "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ↑ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2022" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- 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
- ↑ "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) - ↑ "Carson Service | ridelbt.com Long Beach Transit".
- ↑ "City of Carson City Council Meeting, July 20, 2021". City of Carson. July 20, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ↑ "Summer 2022 Service Changes Summary | City of Torrance".
- ↑ Branson-Potts, Hailey (27 April 2015). "Long Beach Transit agrees to purchase electric buses". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
- ↑ https://ridelbt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FY-2023-Operating-and-Capital-Budget-Final-Linked.pdf
- ↑ Effective August 26, 2012, Long Beach Transit is making a few key changes to your service., Long Beach Transit. Retrieved on 27 August 2012.
- ↑ www.facebook.com & www.facebook.com
Further reading
- Simon, Renee B. (2013). Long Beach Transit: 50 Years of Moving our Community Forward. Long Beach: Long Beach Transit. ISBN 978-0-615-76667-6. Retrieved 2018-10-21.