Column: We already have a world-class transportation network. The buses just need to come more often.
If Long Beach wants to give people easy mobility options around town, the city should do whatever it takes to make the buses show up at the shortest intervals possible.
Long Beach recently announced an extension of the free micro-transit shuttle program that has been operating in Belmont Shore and the Downtown area for almost two years now.
With roughly $6.4 million, the service will expand to connect the two locations, offering free rides throughout the city’s coastal neighborhoods that you can hail on the Circuit app.
But the program that was intended to reduce car trips is not going to scale up to meet the transportation needs of the whole city.
“Something that picks up five people is not going to solve anything in the long term,” Council member Megan Kerr pointed out.
She asked if it could be better to spend public dollars on local transit agencies, like Long Beach Transit — which already operates multiple bus lines between Belmont Shore and the Downtown area, plus all around the rest of the city.
However, the issue with relying on the bus network is that they don’t show up often enough.
The Circuit shuttle, ride-share services like Uber or Lyft, or a personal vehicle operate roughly on demand, while a lack of convenience is what’s keeping people from riding the buses.
