The Big Blue Bus will make changes to some of its bus lines that have stops at UCLA starting June 17.
The 1, 2, 3, 8 and 12 lines that currently stop at Hilgard Avenue after 8 p.m. will move to Ackerman Student Union turnaround indefinitely, said Joe Stitcher, chief administrative officer for the Big Blue Bus.
The change to the bus routes was decided after UCLA received noise complaints from residents living near Hilgard Avenue, said Alison Hewitt, a UCLA spokeswoman.
The university conducted a poll of bus riders on these lines and determined that about half of students preferred the Ackerman Student Union stop.
Officials decided that the split ridership and neighborhood complaints were enough to warrant the change, Hewitt said.
The Big Blue Bus relies on student riders, and the bulk of the student population lives near the Ackerman Student Union turnaround, Stitcher said.
For first-year nursing student Nancy Nguyen, the shift to a location closer to her dorm is a welcome change.
When she was new to Westwood, she often could not find the right bus late at night because she assumed that all buses stopped at Ackerman turnaround.
“I waited with 20 to 30 other people at Ackerman but the bus never came.” Nguyen said.
On another occasion, Nguyen took a bus back to UCLA late at night and stayed on the line, assuming that it would take her back to Ackerman turnaround. She said she was instead taken to Hilgard Avenue and had to walk across campus unnecessarily.
The shift from Hilgard Avenue to Ackerman is not the only change being made.
The 12 line will be rerouted permanently from its current destination near Pico and Robertson boulevards to the new Expo station in Culver City.
Route 5 will now go down Robertson Boulevard to take its place, Stitcher said.
Some of the changes may only be temporary, however.
The 11 bus, which runs from Hilgard Avenue to Santa Monica Community College, will run less frequently over the summer.
Transit officials are making this change because they expect a drop in ridership after the academic year ends, Stitcher said.
The buses on the 11 line that leave UCLA at 8:21 a.m. will be cut. The buses leaving Santa Monica at 11:25 a.m. and 1:25 p.m, will also no longer run.
Riders who frequent the 11 line can find alternative bus lines, such as the 1 and the 8, to reach Santa Monica, said Laura Redford, a graduate student in history who takes the 11 bus often.
“Because I have so many more options it’s not very stressful, but I’m sure it is for those who live along the (current) routes,” Redford said.
The fate of the 11 bus will be re-evaluated for the Big Blue Bus’s fall schedule that will be released on August 26.