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Winning Designs for "Bus of the Future" to be Unveiled at Special Event on September 26 in Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, Calif.-(Business Wire)-September 5, 2008 - Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus and Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design will showcase visually stunning visions of the “next generation” of transit at a special event being held on September 26 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, and is being held in connection with AltCar Expo.

The futuristic transit project is the culmination of a four-month-long partnership involving transportation officials from the Big Blue Bus and a team of senior-level design students from Art Center College of Design, and also includes input from the public.

The origin for the project came out of the transit agency’s celebration and reflection on what the Big Blue Bus has accomplished over the last 80 years, and where public transit needs to go in the future to inspire people to become regular transit riders instead of drivers.

“People are more interested in public transportation now than they have been in the past 50 years for a variety of reasons, including high fuel costs and the environmental concerns that are a direct result of so many cars on the road,” said Stephanie Negriff, director of transit services for the Big Blue Bus.

“This project was launched to give people an innovative vision of what public transit might be like in the future, and to show how it can solve some of the real problems we’re facing today. We also wanted to give the public an opportunity to share their own ideas about what they want transit to become.”

Negriff said a key component of the project’s success is the feedback they are receiving from the bus manufacturing industry itself. Several bus manufacturers are participating as judges on the project.

“We’re thrilled to be receiving such valuable input from our transit partners,” said Negriff, “and we hope this is just the beginning of an important and ongoing discussion.”

The final Bus of the Future designs all utilize environmentally conscious materials and alternative fuel sources, and include such advanced design features as:

Exterior “gills” that clean the surrounding air by breaking down ozone into oxygen
Roof-mounted solar cells that provide energy for interior lighting and climate control
Chameleon panels that change color from white to black depending on energy needs
Self-cleaning paint that saves water and other resources by eliminating daily washings
Front vertical seating for the convenience of short-term riders
Floating digital panels along the front and rear windows for displaying images
Large unobstructed translucent panels that create an outdoor-like riding experience

“We’ve all been inspired by the many creative solutions the Art Center students have come up with,” said Negriff, “and we hope they will enthuse and motivate others to consider a wide range of new and exciting possibilities.”

The project’s blog (www.busofthefuture.com) continues to be updated regularly, and includes concept sketches, inspirations behind the designs, technical specifications, and an area where people can post comments.

“The public response has been overwhelming,” said Negriff. “We’ve received insightful comments from all over the country and world, including Europe, Asia and South America. Some of the suggestions even made their way into the final designs!”

Scoring the designs is a stellar group of internationally recognized experts in the fields of design and transit, and also leading environmentalists, futurists, bus manufacturers and authors. The final scoring results will be revealed at the special event.

The Bus of the Future event will also feature a public symposium called “Transforming Transit” and will include experts discussing various aspects of transit’s future, including how best to integrate public transportation into society so that it becomes an integral and natural part of how we travel. Big Blue Bus Director of Transit Stephanie Negriff will serve as moderator.

During the event, the public will be able to meet the project team, view large-scale representations of the futuristic designs, view a motion graphic presentation, vote for their favorite vehicles and see a special video chronicling the life of the project.

The “Bus of the Future” event will take place September 26 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica. Visit www.bigbluebus.com, www.busofthefuture.com or call 310-451-5444 for information. For AltCar Expo information, visit www.altcarexpo.com.

Hi-res images of the winning designs and a complete list of judges and panelists are available for media use.

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