The Big Blue Bus campus at 1660 Seventh Street encompasses nearly two full city blocks adjacent to downtown Santa Monica, housing the transit agency’s maintenance building, administration building, bus wash station, and parking for its entire fleet. The City of Santa Monica commissioned JWA to evaluate existing employee amenities across the campus and propose improvements aimed at increasing productivity, improving morale, and making better use of available space.
The study began with direct engagement with the people who use the campus. Through discussions with Big Blue Bus senior management and a written survey completed by 53 employees, JWA documented how staff currently use amenities — cafeterias, exercise rooms, quiet spaces, outdoor areas — and what improvements they most wanted. A consistent theme emerged: employees wanted access to the outdoors, but the lack of shaded, comfortable areas kept them inside.
Working closely with management to balance employee-driven priorities with operational and budgetary realities, JWA developed a final program covering thirteen improvement areas across both buildings and the bus yard: expanded cafeterias in the Administration and Maintenance Buildings, a larger exercise room relocated to the second floor, a dedicated driver ready room, upgraded quiet and meditation spaces, an outdoor sports court accommodating both basketball and pickleball, a meditation garden on the Administration Building’s first-floor deck, and activation of the 3,400 square foot second-floor deck for outdoor dining, games, and yoga.
The City of Santa Monica is now implementing the recommendations in phases. JWA has been engaged to design the outdoor sports court and the driver ready room as the first construction projects to proceed.
