Long Beach Transit Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Long Beach Transit (LBT) is celebrating its 60th Anniversary of connecting communities and moving people this year.

A lot has changed since LBT was incorporated in 1963.

LBT started with a fleet of 25 buses, which has grown ten-fold, now with all sustainable buses. In 1975, the agency expanded its services beyond traditional public transportation, by creating the Dial-A-Lift program for customers with disabilities, 15 years before the adoption of the Americans with Disabilities Act. And in 2001, LBT began serving customers on the sea with its water taxi services in Long Beach’s harbors.

Today, LBT serves 14 million annual boarding customers, with a service area covering over 107 square miles across 14 cities. In addition to Long Beach, LBT is proud to also serve the cities of Lakewood, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Carson, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Los Alamitos, Norwalk, Paramount and Seal Beach.

As LBT celebrates 60 years of moving forward, we’re also looking ahead to the future and excited for what’s to come.

LBT has pledged to become a zero-emission bus transit system by 2030, ahead of California’s 2040 zero-emission goal. Our goal of becoming a green fleet becomes closer every day, as construction is nearly complete to accommodate the power charging needs of the 44 Battery-Electric Buses (BEB) LBT will have by the end of 2023. LBT also aims to implement additional solar power charging infrastructure to create a sustainable, cost-efficient solution to support its growing BEB fleet.

There’s also plenty to celebrate in the present.

The Passport service that offers complementary rides to customers in the downtown Long Beach area returned this year after it was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the June 2023 service change, the route will also improve and will include a stop at the Queen Mary once again.

This summer, customers can also ride on LBT’s water taxi services seven days a week, offering rides with scenic views of the coast. There’s the AquaLink from Alamitos Bay to the Aquarium for $5 each way, and the smaller AquaBus that operates within Rainbow Harbor with $1 fare.