TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to work with Long Beach Transit to schedule a study session to provide information about and discuss Long Beach Transit’s relationship with the City and its vital role in the City’s public transportation system, including transit service to residents and workers, its critical role in providing mobility for students, seniors and people with disabilities, programs to ensure the safety and security of riders and employees, decision-process on transit routes, stops and shelters, and steps taken to address recent challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
DISCUSSION
BACKGROUND:
In 1963, the Long Beach City Council approved the establishment of the Long Beach Public Transit Company, creating a publicly-owned transit system for the City. Long Beach Transit (LBT) is wholly owned by the City, and is operated by a separate nonprofit corporation that is governed by a citizen board appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council.
Long Beach Transit currently provides public transportation to more than 23 million annual boarding customers, while operating more than 30 bus routes with hundreds of bus stops throughout Long Beach, as well as 13 surrounding cities. The transit company also operates the Aqualink and Aquabus water taxi services, and the local paratransit service (Dial-A-Lift) to assist in mobility access for persons with disabilities.
LBT receives approximately $6 million annually through the City of Long Beach’s local return for public transit from Los Angeles County’s Proposition A. LBT also contracts with the City for a transit enforcement detail through the Long Beach Police Department.
Long Beach’s public transportation network is heavily dependent on LBT’s services for thousands of residents, students and workers each day. Given the critical role Long Beach Transit plays in the City’s mobility and planning efforts, and the unique relationship between the City and LBT, it will be instructive fo...
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