Has the Big Blue Bus Local #7 been thrown "under the bus"?

Has anyone else noticed a sharp decline in the Local 7 service on the Big Blue Bus since the extended and increased Rapid 7 service to the Wilshire/Western Purple Line station was instituted?

Buses come less frequently and are far more crowded. Yesterday, four #7 buses came at once. One woman stated she had waited an hour for a Local #7 bus.

This is not a criticism of the new Rapid 7 service, which seems very popular. I just wish the Rapid 7 now went all the way to the Wilshire/Vermont station so there could be a one-seat transfer to the Red Line as well.

However, as inconvenient as bus stacking is, to have FOUR buses approach Pico and Beverly around the same time last night tells me that something is off operationally. The Big Blue Bus normally runs a stellar service with clean, on-time buses, so this is not an overall criticism of them.

What is your experience on the Local 7 during the last two weeks?

UPDATE:

Things are getting ugly on the Local 7 Big Blue Bus.

On Friday morning, I was riding the Local 7 to work, stuffed to capacity, when an angry older gentleman started saying very loudly to anyone who would hear:

- "They are treating us like animals making us stand. My rapid stop (Beverly/Pico) has been eliminated and now I am twenty minutes late for work every day. I called the Big Blue Bus and no one can tell me why. We all need to write the Mayor of Santa Monica!"

- Another woman said loudly back to him, "they've written off this corridor."

They both complained about the Rapids getting the longer buses while they were standing.

This Monday morning, the Local 7 was LATE, and stuffed to capacity. People were denied entry because the bus was so full, meaning they'd be even later having to wait for the next one. The same elder gentleman from Friday. who was pressed up against the front of the bus was shouting, "We are taxpayers! We are not animals. We don't have to be treated this way. Write a letter, make a phone call."

Now I am a big fan of the Big Blue Bus and the normally stellar service it offers, but the Big Blue Bus needs to do something. If people can no longer board a bus or get to work on time, that is their bread and butter.

Please put articulated Local 7s and/or just plain more Local 7s on Pico during rush hour.   I do not believe the Rapids are to blame and they are just as crowded as the Locals.

Maybe we should think big about this corridor and consider rush hour bus-only lanes on Pico.

If you would like to contact Big Blue Bus yourself, you may click here.

Articulated Rapid 7 buses debut!

I am happy to report that the Big Blue Bus now has articulated Rapid 7 buses running on Pico, now extended east to Western/Wilshire and the Purple Line subway.  That's just great.  (Why not extend them to Vermont/Wilshire so that Red Line riders from the Valley only need one transfer to/from the Rapid 7 instead of two -- but then I am always asking for more.)

Note:  While I was waiting for my Local #7 Big Blue Bus, I notice that the Rapids were stuffed to capacity.

UPDATE:  Maybe what is REALLY needed for Pico, as I rarely see a Rapid 7 pass a Local 7 because of the traffic through Pico-Robertson are transit-only lanes during rush hour.  Since I am not running for office, I can readily suggest taking away a lane of traffic in each direction so that buses may run faster.  Cars can switch to Olympic or the 10 Freeway (as Venice should have its own transit-only lanes with streetcars running in them).