Big Blue Bus

No ventilation or AC on most buses, very stuffy and uncomfortable. Great for getting to work sweaty
BBB just doesn’t have people that understand air.
Drivers at night think they’re boy racers.

I’m incredibly disappointed in this service. I ride BBB on a regular basis, and usually the service isn’t too bad besides always being late. However, today I was yelled at by a driver for no reason. The driver of Bus 15 was on a stop reading, when I politely approach her and asked if this bus went to San Vicente to which she answered by yelling at me. She yells at me that she is reading and to no talk to her and a bunch of other things. I apologized because I didn’t want to get yelled at or even worse get punch or something. The driver seemed to have problems controlling her anger. She refused to answer my question. It really upsets me because drivers like her give the service a terrible name. I just got off the bus and wished her a nice day. She yelled at me even more for saying that. She said she was having a nice day until I came along. I’ve never been treated like this in my life.

Convenient bus line but absolutely trashy, rude bus drivers. With few exceptions, you get treated absolutely horribly by these miserable excuses for human beings. This company needs to provide some attitude adjustments or a large round of firings.

For the most part the buses are clean and run on time
Drivers are generally friendly and helpful, and nice to be able to
get a seat most of the time
Wish they had more routes into central Los Angeles County but
what can you do

First off, there are some surprisingly friendly, warm and patient BBB drivers, as much as there are impatient, callous and rude BBB drivers. Hence the two-​star review, though «I’ve experienced better» may be inaccurate, since in Los Angeles, you are lucky to get as much as mediocre or worse public transportation compared to awful.
I’m not a seasoned LA Metro rider, so I cannot speak to the accuracy of their schedule tracking tools, but BBB has been slower to provide these aids, and I have noticed that since their real-​time bus info has been made available, it’s been inaccurate or intermittently out-​of-​service.
It seems to me that the problem lies in the management of their drivers; there is no incentive to not be the latter impatient, callous and rude type. Comment cards are not collected for anything other than positive feedback. One time an impatient bus driver closed the door on my wrist (and I’m petite, I don’t have the wrists of Hercules, mind you) as I was getting in, and then started screaming at me for being too slow. When I called BBB to report the incident, they said nothing would be done and that the most they would do is take a written report. The operator was beyond indifferent and did not even care that I was hurt in the incident. That sounds like a huge liability, not to mention a disaster waiting to happen…

I’m really surprised to see a lot of negative reviews :(But I can understand the frustration, as I have been ignored & passed by a couple of their buses (but then again, that happens a lot with all buses– so life in the big city, with so many people & being overlooked:(Anyhow…
I normally take the 10 Rapid Express from DTLA to SM. I’ve also done the #3 bus from LAX to SM and maybe the one that runs on Santa Monica Blvd. I’d have to say, the 10 Express is by far the best bus services running — for me. I’ve never had any issues and it’s a far better experience that Metro Rapid (red 720) — ewwww!
If you’ve dealt with taking any of the Metro buses (and for that matter Municipal buses — eg Montebello Bus lines) Santa Monica Big Blue Buses are by far the best — even when they pass me up, I rather wait for another one than have to ever go back to riding those «other» crappy buses ever again.

This happened last year; however, I kept a small note as a reminder not to forget about the extremely rude behavior of one driver ID # 16 845 on bus # 4671. This individual consistently has a scowl on his face. Calling him rude would actually be an injustice to that word. In addition, he drove the bus so fast on Crenshaw one night, (between Pico and Wilshire), that I was in fear of my life. Everyone on the bus began bouncing up an down because he was hitting pot holes at a high rate of speed. It was crazy…
Many times I have seen him have a nasty attitude towards people. I really hope that this person is okay because he might have some real issues outside of work thus his disrespectful disposition towards others. Perhaps he might think of doing something else if he is that unhappy with driving a bus which I think is admirable employment.

Worst public transportation system in Southern California. Their standard #3 buses simply don’t show up in the rain. Waited at the Century/​Airport stop for 45 minutes and NO sign of a standard bus and then suddenly FOUR RAPID #3 buses show up back to back to back to back. What, were they all just shooting the breeze at the same transit stop? NO standard #3 ever showed up. Their customer service and social media CS are just as terrible. TERRIBLE public service performance all around. Avoid patronizing their awful service in the rain at all costs. I, along with all of my marketing clientele that uses their system, will be sure to monitor and report their PITIFUL performance during the rain from now on. I’m sure they feel invincible and impenetrable so they can just operate however they choose to but I will sound the alarm on their HORRIBLE excuse for service as loud and long as I can.

This bus driver on the #7 bus. Driver I’d 20 719. Driving as slow as he can be. When we get to a stop. He txt on his phone. Making the stop extra long. He made me late for my gathering. I have to get to Roxbury.

BBB is really ramping up everything to get ready for the new train coming to town. More routes are coming to better access westside areas, more expandable buses are in use where needed and they’ve begun to put back some benches where they are needed most.
Lately I have found my most used routes to be less crowded; I think they’re doing a better job at accommodating the needs of their riders. My 30 pass is a breeze to get reloaded on my Tap card, and 99% of the drivers are wonderful.
I also enjoy communicating with BBB through social media; they are very attentive.
All in all, I am once again really enjoying being a frequent rider on BBB.

I usually ride Metro, which is a whole other story, but this bus service is awful to the core. The new buses are clean and cool — but what’s up with the drivers? They seem to be miserable and extend their misery to the riders. Horrible demeanor and temperaments. Not sure where Santa Monica hires these people, but they need to do better. I actually felt threatened by a couple of them. I cannot deal with that «certain» mentality.
Cleanliness: 4
Customer Service: –7

Last night, the driver of the #12 bus I was on did not make a stop where she was supposed to. I caught the #12 bus from the Westwood area and anticipated to get off at National & Venice, but the bus driver dropped me off at National & Robertson instead. When the bus driver passed my stop I told her and she replied saying, «I don’t stop there.» The #12 has a stop at National & Venice (the Big Blue Bus sign is still on the street there and I pulled the cord on the bus when the automated electronic message on the bus said that the bus was approaching National & Venice). I was disappointed that I had to walk more than I had planned once off the bus. I did not like the demeanor of this particular bus driver.
For the record: I only truly take Big Blue Bus lines because I genuinely like the aesthetics of the buses, the routes, and the fact that if you are a student at a particular school your boarding fee is waived.
Note: I give the Big Blue Bus a 1-​star Unilocal review based on my negative experience yesterday.

The driver of this Big Blue Bus #1329 on line 14 at 12:49 today came about one second away from TOTALING a car turning left from Montana westbound onto Westgate, via the «Keep Clear» section of Montana at Westgate right before the light. The LIGHT WAS RED, A STALE RED, NOT RECENT, AND THE BUS WAS DOING AT LEAST 20 – 25 MPH WITH THE CORNER WHERE HE HAD TO STOP MAYBE 100 FEET AWAY!!! WHO THE FUCK DOESN’T SLOW DOWN TO A RED LIGHT, DRIVING SOMETHING AS BIG AS A BUS, ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS SHITFORBRAINS SAW A CAR PULL IN FRONT OF HIM A FEW SECONDS BEFORE! BUT DOESN’T HAVE THE BRAINPOWER TO THINK THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER CAR ALSO TURNING??? What is the problem with these drivers??? Are they all psychopaths? I try to never drive near a bus because they are fucking CRAZY! And BULLIES! As a driver these people (I use the term loosely) are responsible for being safe in traffic, not only for passengers but for other people. Just because they are up high enough to see cars doesn’t mean the driver of another car can always see the bus when other cars block their view! The driver of the second car was being cautious too! But he couldn’t see around my car and the one behind me. These buses have cameras but no one apparently ever reviews for driver safety! The public is at risk from every side from these dicks. Of all the times I have ridden the bus, I only remember one driver who didn’t ride the brake and floor the gas pedal when they should have been coasting. Who the hell floors it to a red light? Right, only crazy or super aggressive people!
I have seen so much dangerous driving by BBBs, especially on Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvd, it is crazy how much disregard they have for other traffic, pedestrians, bicycles, parked cars, and traffic signals! I don’t understand it, it’s not like they give a shit about keeping to their schedule! They also drive past people waiting at the bus stop. I’m not talking about express buses, seems like they just won’t pick up if there is only one person.
Someday one of these egotistical self righteous ignoranuses is going to kill a car full of people through outright arrogance and negligence, and is going to be dragged from their bus and have the shit beat out of them.

Your bus experience will vary wildly depending on what line you take. Thankfully, the bus line I ride most of the time is Route 2.
Routes 1, 8, and 12 seem to be consistently crowded, because they either go a lot of places or go to transit hubs or the Expo line.
Routes 2 and 3M seem to be much less crowded, because they go through slightly less densely populated (and more upscale) areas. I ride route 2 most of the time, and there’s minimal riff-​raff on the bus, and usually very pleasant drivers.
Rapid 10, the line that runs along the 10 freeway, is AWFUL. If you’re heading from Santa Monica to downtown, it’ll probably be OK. But if you’re trying to go from downtown to Santa Monica, it’ll usually be packed, even on weekends. Worst of all, some stops downtown are either pickup only or dropoff only. Dropoff only makes sense at the end of a bus route. But a bus stop where you’ll pick up riders, but can’t let people off? That makes no sense.
Today on Rapid 10, the bus was packed to the gills at the last stop right before we were about to get on the freeway to Santa Monica. Rather than be sandwiched between people standing on the bus for an entire freeway ride, I chose to get off. But even though there was a long line of people getting on the bus, and it was a safe location to let people off, the bus driver refused to open the back door, or even answer my request with WORDS or a head shake «no.» I had to force my way through the front of the bus to get off. There is no reason for this.
In general, buses are clean and well kept, have minimal graffiti, minimal riffraff, and working air-​conditioning. Most drivers acknowledge your «hello» and are quite friendly. Buses seem to be more on time in the morning than in the evening.
But avoid the Rapid 10!

I take the #2 bus on Wilshire all the time and it gets me where I need to go. However, have you seen where they put one of the new «stools» at the westbound stop at Wilshire & 26^th (northeast corner)? It’s diagonally to the right of the 2 other stools, seemingly for no good reason. If you sit on it and look left down Wilshire to see if the bus is coming, you look into a palm tree, not Wilshire. What were they smoking when they put it there? I never sit on those stools anyway, nor did I sit on the old benches, because they’re usually dirty and the old benches often had people sleeping on them, but still, this is an example of not thinking things through.

Update — If you are not aware the real time tracking is up and working, several options to track, but the Transit (that’s the name) App seems to have the best layout/​options.
Good Job BBB.

I enjoyed the Big Blue Bus for many years, the new régime in the last couple of years has ruined the service.

The worst customer service in the transportation industry! Too bad we have so few choices in bus companies.

So of course the buses can pick up some interesting people along the way, but there are a lot of nice ones as well. Drivers too. Our son went on his first bus ride today, and the driver greeted him super enthusiastically. We ended up accidentally leaving a toy plane, and amazingly the same driver was the one to pick us up for home. Somehow he found our son’s plane, and saved it for him, and then made sure we got it.

On the weekends, I take a break from driving, especially if I’m drinking. The Big Blue Bus is reliable and is ubiqutous in the west side.
The drivers are gracious. The riders can be quite interesting. It’s entertainment on the cheap.