The pandemic first showed what essential workers transit operators are: getting people where they needed to go, providing critical transportation during an unprecedented time – keeping things moving, while many other aspects of everyday life stopped. With the L.A. fires, drivers are again on the front lines steering Los Angeles through.
Santa Monica Big Blue Bus (BBB), with its lines covering the Westside, including the UCLA campus, stayed in action. BBB Route 9 carefully navigated buses and passengers out of Pacific Palisades amid intense flames and smoke. The dedication of the BBB drivers ensured safe transport for the impacted community, including large groups of seniors taken to evacuation centers.
Fare collection for every BBB route was suspended, allowing people, including those who may have left or lost their vehicle departing, to ride free. Several lines have stops at or near the Disaster Recovery Center established at the UCLA Research Park, formerly the Westside Pavilion.
LA Metro also provided free bus and train rides to support fire victims: "to ensure passengers can travel safely to reunite with loved ones, reach shelters or, deliver essential donations to those in need." LA Metro also created an interactive map, using County of LA and CALFIRE data, displaying its bus and rail routes that connect to fire-related resource centers.
Help for the victims of the fires in Los Angeles County will go on, as the agency has approved a proposal to provide free or reduced fares for six months. A statement released said:
“As residents who lost their homes try to rebuild their lives over the next few months, the last thing they should worry about is whether they can afford to take the train or bus. Thousands of residents are now without reliable means of transportation, and our Metro system may play a crucial role as an option for people to get to work and Disaster Recovery Centers to access support."
A group of Pasadena Transit bus drivers, in an act of heroism, headed toward the Eaton Fire to help evacuate seniors in continuing care facilities as flames closed in. With the blaze spreading rapidly, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions through Pasadena and Altadena, the operators ventured into the evacuation zones to rescue hundreds of people from their threatened senior living homes.
The city’s transit operators keep rolling — essential workers, engines started, ready to respond. We are appreciative and thankful for helping us ride every situation out. Bruins, find campus updates and resources related to the L.A. fires on UCLA Newsroom.
