How to get from Santa Monica to Downtown LA on the Bus

Downtown LA and the Westside are two big job centers, so being able to travel between them (and avoid traffic) is critical.

Personally, my office is in Santa Monica, but I go to meetings in downtown Los Angeles often.  I take the bus.  This is generally shocking news to people in LA, but I find it to be a great option, since it takes about the same amount of time door-to-door as I would allow for driving and parking (less than an hour total) and I can get a bit of work done on the bus instead of practicing colorful descriptions of other people’s driving (a creative and mind-expanding exercise, to be sure, but one I would really rather avoid).

If you also need to travel between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica and have thought about taking the bus but then discarded the idea because it seems too hard, I hope this simple how-to will encourage you to give the bus a try:

Here’s some general information about Big Blue Bus, and below are the specific instructions on getting downtown:

• You can find out where all you can go on Big Blue Bus by looking at the system map.
• If you prefer google maps interface, someone has created a mashup here (see screenshot below).
• You can get more info about each Big Blue Bus line, including schedules and stop locations, here.
• Fare and pass info is here.  You can get a pass on-line, or at one of the locations listed here.

 How to get from Santa Monica to Downtown on the Big Blue Bus:

• Let’s say you pick up the bus close to the Big Blue Bus Store and the Third Street Promenade, at Santa Monica Blvd. @ 3rd.  There is a covered bench there, and a scrolling red LED display that tells you when the next buses are coming. (Big Blue Bus is going to roll this cool type of busstop out at over 70 stops around Santa Monica in the next year!)
• Look for Bus 10.  It will say “10 Freeway Express” on the front of the bus.
• During rush hour, the 10 comes every 15 minutes.  During mid-day and after 6pm, it runs every 30 minutes.
• Get on and pay $2.  (I find having a pass to be more convenient than carrying exact change, since there is no guarantee I will have exactly $2 in my wallet at any given time.  Since I don't commute on the bus every day, the 13 ride pass is a good option for me. It costs $12 and is good for 13 regular ($1) rides with it.  Unfortunately, the 10 Express to downtown costs $2 and Big Blue Bus won’t let you just insert your pass twice – you have to insert the pass, and also insert $1 cash.  I, for one, find this to be seriously annoying as it defeats the purpose of carrying a pass instead of having to carry exact change. Now I have to have the pass and a single dollar bill in my wallet!  Big Blue Bus says they are thinking of coming out with a 13 ride Express pass that you can use on the 10 Express without having to also carry exact change.)
• If you get on the 10 in Santa Monica, you are sure to get a seat – lucky you!  (There are usually seats available at all the stops along Santa Monica Blvd, but then the bus turns on Bundy and stops a few more times before getting on the freeway.  Seats are often filled up by those last few stops on Bundy)
• Ride for approximately 45 minutes. (I ride from Santa Monica @ Lincoln to City Hall (Temple @ Spring) and it usually takes 40 minutes without traffic and 55 with traffic.)
• The stops will pop up on a red LED display at the front of the bus.  Sometimes a voice will also announce them.  Pull the yellow cord when you see your stop pop up, get off when it stops next.

To get back, just reverse the process.  On the reverse trip (from downtown LA to Santa Monica) during business hours you have the benefit of being able to use Los Angeles MTA’s hotline to find out when the next bus is scheduled to arrive:  (213) 626-4455. Again, this is scheduled data rather than real-time data, so it is really only helpful if the bus is running close to on-time.