Public uproar over proposed changes to the city’s bus routes delayed the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) board from voting on the plan last Thursday, March 9. After more than three hours of public comment, the board ran out of time.
The board will discuss and vote on the plan at its next meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 23 at 9 a.m. Public testimony will not be heard.
More than 250 people attended both the March 2 and 9 meetings, and 100 people signed up for public comment at the latter meeting.
No one praised the plan at the March 2 meeting, according to Dan Allen, chairman of the La Jolla Town Council’s Transit Committee. Nonetheless, staff continues to believe that the plan is efficient and will save MTS money, Allen said.
The only excuse the board gave the public was that the system is too poor, according to Allen. The board explained that cities comparable to San Diego, such as San Francisco, spend ten times the amount of money on transit, Allen said.
Public outcry was fierce against changes to bus 210 that runs from downtown to Mira Mesa Boulevard. Under the new proposal, service to Camino Santa Fe, Flanders Drive and Aderman Drive would cease. After immense opposition, MTS reinstated six of the eight 210 buses slated for elimination.
South University City would also lose service. Route 5 running from downtown through University City will be discontinued, replaced by routes 50 and 105. But neighborhoods east of Genesee Avenue and west of Regents Road off Governor Drive will suffer, citizens said. Buses will no longer run along Kantor and Gullstrand streets, Pavlov Avenue, Regents Road, Stresemann Street and Pennant Way.
“People who live in that area don’t want to see service discontinued,” said Rob Schupp, MTS director of marketing and communications.
A few people spoke out against the reduced frequency of bus service through La Jolla and University City.
Under the proposal, a new bus 30 will replace current bus routes 30 and 34. The new bus would only stop every 15 minutes from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. on weekdays, as compared to bus 34, which picks up passengers every nine to 12 minutes, and bus 30 that arrives every 15 minutes. On the weekends and after 10 p.m., buses would arrive every 30 minutes. Bus 30 would also drive up La Jolla Shores Drive, eliminating service on Torrey Pines Road.
Bus 31 through University City will be replaced by the new 48/49 route known as the UC circulator that loops bi-directionally along Voigt and Towne Center drives, Genesee Avenue, Executive Drive, Nobel Drive, through La Jolla Colony and along Gilman Drive, beginning and terminating at University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) transit center.
The proposed 48/49 route would increase frequency and service to Thornton Hospital and Scripps Memorial Hospital. Under the current route 31, the area is only serviced during the week with a bus running every 30 minutes, from 5:30 a.m. to 6:46 p.m. Route 48/49 would run every 30 minutes until 10 p.m. seven days a week.
MTS will hold its March 23 meeting at Plaza Hall San Diego Concourse, 1st floor, 202 C. St. For more information call (800) 266-6883 or visit www.sdcommute.com and click on the COA link.