After more than 20 years, bus routes throughout San Diego will change to reflect evolving residential and business centers, while leaving some riders in the dust. The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) board of directors approved the sweeping master plan, called the Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA), on March 23. Twenty-six segments of routes will change to eliminate duplicate routes and reduce service that is highly subsidized due to low numbers of riders, said Luis Gonzalez, MTS spokesman.Bus routes will change gradually between June and September of this year. MTS first plans to launch a public awareness campaign to alert riders. Even though it has taken MTS 20 years to update its bus routes, nothing is set in stone. “If we find out it doesn’t work or if it’s not what we need, we’ll find a way to change it down the road,” Gonzalez said. The two-year study aimed to realign transportation with shifting residential and commercial centers, to eliminate duplicate and heavily subsidized routes and to attract new riders. Frequency of service will decrease in La Jolla, as two bus routes merge into one. Neighborhoods in South University City will be cut from the loop, while transit will bulk in North University City to hit the shopping mall and hospitals. Route 5 will replace buses 50 and 105, but neighborhoods east of Genesee Avenue and west of Regents Road off Governor Drive will suffer. Buses will no longer run along Kantor and Gullstrand streets, Pavlov Avenue, Regents Road, Stresemann Street and Pennant Way.Bus 30 will replace the current 30 and 34 routes. The new 30 will only stop every 15 minutes between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays, as compared to bus 34, which currently picks up passengers every nine to 12 minutes, and bus 30 that arrives every 15 minutes. On weekends and after 10 p.m., buses will arrive every 30 minutes as usual. Torrey Pines Road will also fall off the radar; the new bus 30 will journey along La Jolla Shores Drive instead. Bus 48/49 ” the “UC Circulator” ” will increase frequency and service to Thornton and Scripps Memorial hospitals. Bus 31 currently only runs past the hospitals every 30 minutes, between 5:30 a.m. and 6:46 p.m. Route 48/49 will run every 30 minutes until 10 p.m. seven days a week. The new bus 48/49 will loop bi-directionally along Voigt and Towne Center drives, Genesee Avenue, Executive and Nobel drives, through La Jolla Colony and along Gilman Avenue, beginning and terminating at University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) transit center. Bus 48/49 will replace route 31 between the shopping center and Thornton Hospital; route 34 on Nobel Drive, Lebon Drive, Palmilla Drive, Arriba Street and Regents Road; and route 41 on Via Mallorca and Via Alicante. Route 150 will run more directly on La Jolla Village Drive between Villa La Jolla Drive and Genesee Avenue, as 48/49 picks up other parts of the route.Route 921 will extend beyond its current Genesee Avenue boundary to pass the Veterans Hospital and UCSD.Route 89 will replace routes 981 and 982 between Executive Drive and the Sorrento Valley Coaster Station.MTS relies heavily on state and local subsidies. Operating revenue, such as passenger fares and bus advertisement, accounts for only 38 percent of MTS’ total income.Operating revenue is important for the growth and development of the region’s transportation, as subsidies are limited, Gonzalez said.Subsidies make up the rest of MTS’ budget. Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds account for 36.2 percent. TDA funds derive from a state sales tax. San Diego County’s local sales tax called TransNet, which voters re-approved in 2004, contributes 10.9 percent. State Transit Assistance, a state tax on gasoline, equals 5.1 percent. Other state funds, such as air quality grants, generate the rest. Federal grants are based on population size and the number of riders. Start-up federal grants are also available for capital projects, such as the trolley line to San Diego State University. MTS’ budget fluctuates yearly based on expected sales tax and federal dollars. MTS’ total budget for fiscal year 2007 amounts to more than $275 million. Operating revenue contributes $74 million, while federal, state and local subsidies bring in $164 million. Start-up funds amount to $1 million of the budget. For more information about the bus route changes call (800) 266-6883 or visit www.sdcommute.com and click on the COA link.