'Speed' Turns 25: Planners Think About Fast Buses

In the '90s, Keanu Reeves was hurtling down the roads and freeways of L.A. in a bus; 25 years later, city officials ponder ways to bring the city’s average bus speed above 10 mph.

2 minute read

June 20, 2019, 10:00 AM PDT

By Casey Brazeal @northandclark


A lot has changed since the 1994 premiere of Speed, but the big blue buses are still operating. The premise of the movie is that a bomb planted on one of these buses is armed when the bus hits 50 mph, and will detonate if the bus drops below that speed. The plot was always far-fetched, but today, "It’s difficult to envision any vehicle, let alone a bus, reaching and sustaining 50 miles per hour at 8:30 a.m. on the 10 freeway," Elijah Chiland writes for Curbed.

In the quarter century since the film came out, average bus speed in that corridor is down about 3 mph, and costs are up. The buses that serve Santa Monica face worse traffic today than they did in the Speed-era. "As Virginia-based transit analyst Mobility Lab points out, bus riders are generally most impacted by worsening congestion, since even slight delays can create a domino effect that makes buses run behind schedule for much of the day," Chiland reports. When bus routes take longer, it means each vehicle can run the route fewer times. "Bus schedules don’t change when there’s bad traffic, so in order to ensure on-time arrivals, agencies must add more buses to a route as regional congestion worsens," Chiland writes.

The city could address the issue with a congestion pricing scheme or bus rapid transit (BRT) lanes, but neither is an easy sell politically. Though there are already some BRT lanes in the city, BRT works best where there’s already congestion, so while taking away a traffic lane can anger some drivers, asking them to pay congestion pricing can have the same effect. The other option is to let service quality on these buses continue to decline. So far that's the option the city has taken.

Monday, June 10, 2019 in Curbed Los Angeles

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Canada geese and ducks on the shore of a lake with red brick boathouse in background across the lake in Lincoln Park, Los Angeles.

Connecting Communities to Nature Close to Home

Los Angeles County’s Nature in Your Neighborhood program brings free, family-friendly wellness and nature activities to local parks, making it easier for residents to enjoy and connect with the outdoors.

8 seconds ago - Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation

Children inside large slide at water park.

Palmdale’s Beloved Water Park Gets $2 Million Upgrade

To mark its 20th anniversary, DryTown Water Park has undergone major renovations, ensuring that families across the Antelope Valley continue to enjoy safe, affordable, and much-needed water-based recreation in the high desert.

1 hour ago - Antelope Valley Press

Close-up of black and yellow oak borer beetle.

Help Stop the Beetle Killing Southern California’s Oak Trees

Claifornia residents can join a volunteer “blitz” this June to help detect and map infestations of an invasive beetle that is killing thousands of oak trees across Southern California.

2 hours ago - University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources