The free shuttle service operating downtown and around Alamitos Bay just expanded to connect the two areas.
Riders can now visit the Queen Mary and get dropped off as far north as 10th Street between Atlantic and Magnolia avenues.
The LB Circuit shuttles previously operated along two separate, circular routes. With the addition of Bluff Heights, Bluff Park and portions of Belmont Heights, the expanded path now serves 19 neighborhoods.
Riders can, for instance, travel all the way from downtown to the end of the Peninsula and from the 2nd and PCH outdoor mall to Shoreline Village.
Shuttles operated between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Riders can call a shuttle by using an app, much like other rideshare services.
The city’s fleet now features six additional electric vehicles, growing the number of vehicles from eight to 14. ADA-accessible vans and electric SUVs are new additions to the group, reserved for longer trips.
Last September, the City Council approved a one-year contract extension with Circuit Transit Inc. for the expanded service area, with an option to extend the contract for up to two additional one-year periods until Jan. 31, 2027.
The city began offering the service in November 2022 as an alternative to short car trips within downtown and Belmont Shore, two areas known to be difficult to park in.
Since then, the service has completed 134,000 zero-fare rides, Public Works Director Eric Lopez wrote in a memo to City Manager Tom Modica.
The expansion was funded in part by a $410,000 grant from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which required the city to match the funds in order to receive the grant. Long Beach used a portion of its Los Angeles County Proposition A funding to match the grant.
A link to download the Circuit app can be found here. More information on the program can be found here.