Long Beach Bus is a public transportation system serving Greater Long Beach on the Long Beach Barrier Island of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The service operates twenty-four hours a day, with six different routes connecting to one another and to

Nassau Inter-County Express The Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) is the local bus system serving Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States. It also serves parts of western Suffolk County, as well as eastern portions of the New York City borough of Queens. ...

and

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

at Long Beach station in the city center. Although Long Beach Bus is designed to complement county bus and

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

service, it is run independently by the Long Beach Department of Transportation.

Service overview

The service operates 24-hours a day, except early Monday mornings. The service operates six routes, with two regular services within the city, one extended route to the Long Beach's eastern suburbs, two midday routes on weekdays, and one overnight circulator;

tourist trolley A tourist trolley, also called a road trolley, is a bus designed to resemble an old-style streetcar or tram, usually with false clerestory roof. The vehicles are usually fueled by diesel, or sometimes compressed natural gas. The name refers ...

s are used during the summer months. Viability of such an extensive service in a suburban setting is made possible by Long Beach's high-density layout: due to the limited supply of land on the island, fewer than 40% of homes are detached houses, making Long Beach one of the fifty densest cities in the country. The service also plays an important role in transporting the many tourists who arrive in the summer by train from New York City, and a tourist trolley route is operated during the summer months. Because it is owned and operated independently by the City of Long Beach, and not by Nassau County, Long Beach Bus was unaffected by the 2012 privatization of Long Island Bus. Most service information is provided bilingually in both English and American Spanish.

History

Much of what now constitutes the Long Beach Bus network originally was operated privately. It was taken over by the City of Long Beach in the mid-20th century, following the 1947 bankruptcy of the Long Beach Bus Company and subsequent legal issues with the Beach Transit Corporation, which operated the system under a franchise for the city from 1947 until the early 1950s. In 1973, the City of Long Beach considered possibly having the system taken over by the then-new Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority. The plans were ultimately called off, with the system remaining in the city's control.

Fare

The fare for all routes is $2.25, except for the Point Lookout service, which has a $2.75 base fare.

Long Beach Bus Pass

Bus passes, known as the Long Beach Bus Pass, are also available for purchase. The passes, introduced on October 1, 2022, come in two variants: 10-trip passes and 20-trip passes. The standard fare for a 10-trip pass is $22.50, while the standard fare for a 20-trip pass is $45.00.

Bus routes

Long Beach Bus operates six bus routes within the City and to Lido Beach and Point Lookout, all originating from the system's hub: the bus terminal at the Long Beach station on the

's Long Beach Branch, adjacent to City Hall. The network consists of approximately 70 bus stops.

Paratransit

In accordance with the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

paratransit Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...

service is offered by Long Beach Bus to those unable to utilize traditional buses.

Fleet

Mainline bus service is operated using Gillig Advantage buses. These are supplemented by Gillig Trolley Replicas on the

line and

Ford E-Series The Ford E-Series (also known as the Ford Econoline, Ford Econovan or Ford Club Wagon) is a range of full-size vans manufactured and marketed by the Ford Motor Company. Introduced for 1961 as the replacement of the Ford F-Series panel van, four ...

-based paratransit vehicles. All vehicles are wheelchair accessible. Mainline buses are equipped with bicycle racks and extensive bicycle parking is available at the

bus terminal A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

References

External links

Official website (Long Beach Department of Transportation)

Schedule
{{NYC surface transit Surface transportation in Greater New York Transportation in Nassau County, New York Bus transportation in New York (state)

Buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...