San Diego MTS bus system

The San Diego MTS bus system of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) operates 97 bus routes in the city of San Diego and the rest of the southern half of San Diego County, California, as of April 2020^[update].^[1]^[2]

There are 85 "MTS Bus" fixed-route services, nine "Rapid" bus rapid transit routes, and the "MTS Access" paratransit service. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 33,068,400, or about 118,600 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.

Routes are operated by private contractors and by the San Diego Transit Corporation (SDTC), a subsidiary of the MTS. The SDTC operates 27 routes based out of Downtown San Diego (Imperial Av Division), Transdev operates 73 routes based out of Chula Vista (South Bay Division) and El Cajon (East County Division) and operates the "MTS Access" paratransit service that are operated with mini-buses based out of Kearny Mesa (Copley Park Division). All buses and division facilities, even those used by contractors, are owned by the MTS.

MTS serves San Diego proper and the surrounding East County and South Bay regions,^[3] while the North County area is served by the North County Transit District's BREEZE bus system.^[4]

Routes[edit]

Rapid & Express Routes[edit]

Type	Route	Terminals		Via	Annual ridership (FY 2023)^[5]
Express	20	Downtown San Diego 10th Av & Broadway	Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo Transit Station	I-15, SR-163	360,223
	60	University City UTC Transit Center	Chollas View Euclid Avenue Transit Center	I-15	55,598
	110	Downtown San Diego Front St & B St	Mira Mesa Camino Santa Fe & Flanders Dr	I-5, SR 163	17,646
SuperLoop Rapid^[7]	201/202	University City UTC Transit Center		La Jolla Village Dr, Nobel Dr	2,452,699
SuperLoop Rapid^[7]	204	University City UTC Transit Center		Executive Dr, Judicial Dr, Nobel Dr	70,422
Rapid	215	Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot Transit Center	College Area SDSU Transit Center	El Cajon Bl	1,271,180
	225	Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot Transit Center	Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center	SR 125, I-805	495,535
	227	Imperial Beach Imperial Beach Pier	Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center	Coronado Av, SR 905	215,097^[8]
	235	Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot Transit Center	Escondido Escondido Transit Center	I-15	1,035,247
	237	Mira Mesa Miramar College Transit Station	University City UTC Transit Center	Mira Mesa Bl	151,933
Rapid Express^[6]	280	Downtown San Diego Pacific Hwy & Grape St	Escondido Escondido Transit Center	I-15, SR 163	50,070
Rapid Express^[6]	290	Downtown San Diego Pacific Hwy & Grape St	Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo Transit Station	I-15, SR 163	51,994

Local Routes[edit]

Route	Terminals		Via	Annual ridership (FY 2023)^[5]	Notes
1	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	La Mesa La Mesa Boulevard station	El Cajon Bl	707,665
2	Downtown San Diego Front St & B St	North Park 30th St & Adams Av	Broadway, 30th St	535,750
3	Chollas View Euclid Avenue Transit Center	Hillcrest Front St & Arbor Dr	Ocean View Bl	827,961
4	Downtown San Diego 12th & Imperial Transit Center	Skyline Hills Paradise Valley Rd & Meadowbrook Dr	Imperial Av	505,378
5	Downtown San Diego 10th Av & Broadway	Chollas View Euclid Avenue Transit Center	Market St	389,179
6	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	North Park 30th St & University Av	Camino De La Reina	245,394
7	Downtown San Diego Front St & B St	Redwood Village University Av & College Av	University Av	1,731,404
8	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Clairemont Balboa Avenue Transit Center	Grand Av, Mission Bay Dr	511,208
9/9A	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Pacific Beach Jewell St & Garnet Av	Ingraham St (9/9A) & Sea World (9)	259,822
10	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Redwood Village University Av & College Av	University Av	870,403	^[9] ^[10]
11	Downtown San Diego 1st Av & Broadway	College Area SDSU Transit Center	Adams Av, 1st Av	467,450
12	Downtown San Diego City College Transit Center	Skyline Hills Paradise Valley Rd & Meadowbrook Dr	National Av, Skyline Dr	850,892
13	National City 24th Street Transit Center	Grantville Crawford St & Zion Av (Kaiser Hospital)	Fairmount Av	1,490,154
14	Grantville Grantville station	La Mesa Baltimore Dr & Lake Murray Bl	70th St, Camino Del Rio	37,146
18	Grantville Grantville station		Camino Del Rio	12,846
25	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Aero Dr, SR-163	37,693
27	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Pacific Beach Bayard St & Garnet Av	Garnet Av, Balboa Av	213,310
28	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	La Playa Anchorage Ln & Shelter Island Dr	Rosecrans St	214,790
30	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	University City UTC Transit Center	La Jolla Bl	1,017,256
31	University City UTC Transit Center	Mira Mesa Miramar College Transit Station	Miramar Rd	77,216
35	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Ocean Beach Cable St & Newport Av	Midway Dr, Cable St	318,441
41	'Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	Torrey Pines Gilman Transit Center (UCSD)	Genesee Av	759,248
43	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Clairemont Balboa Avenue Transit Center	Clairemont Mesa Bl	386,007
44	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Linda Vista / Mesa College	683,179
83	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Downtown San Diego America Plaza station	Reynard Way / Mission Hills	14,106
84	Point Loma Cabrillo National Monument	Point Loma Sub Base Gate	Rosencrans St (Sub Base) or Catalina Bl (Cabrillo Monument)	12,473
88	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	'Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	Hotel Circle	88,452
105	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	University City UTC Transit Center	Morena Bl, Clairemont Dr	192,420
115	College Area SDSU Transit Center	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Jackson Dr, Fletcher Pkwy	189,961
120	Downtown San Diego 4th Av & C St	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Fashion Valley Rd, Linda Vista Rd	483,432	^[9] ^[11]
701	Chula Vista H Street Transit Center	Chula Vista Palomar Street Transit Center	Main St, Hilltop Dr, F St	296,390
704	Chula Vista E Street Transit Center	Chula Vista Palomar Street Transit Center	Naples St, Orange Av	291,968
705	Chula Vista E Street Transit Center	Chula Vista Southwestern College	E St, Otay Lakes Rd	146,765
707	Chula Vista Eastlake Pkwy & Olympic Pkwy	Chula Vista Southwestern College	Eastlake Pkwy	82,390
709	Chula Vista H Street Transit Center	Chula Vista Olympic Pkwy & Eastlake Pkwy	H St	534,694
712	Chula Vista Palomar Street Transit Center	Chula Vista Southwestern College	Palomar St	434,158
815	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	El Cajon Main St & Oakdale Av	Main St	262,403
816	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Rancho San Diego Cuyamaca College	Washington Av, Jamacha Rd	82,034
832	Santee Santee station		Cuyamaca St, Woodglen Vista Dr, Magnolia Ave	31,578
833	Santee Santee station	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Graves Av	53,920
834	Santee Santee station		Mission Gorge Rd	20,796
838	Granite Hills East County Square	Alpine Viejas Casino	Alpine Bl	105,830
848	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Lakeside Mapleview St & Ashwood St	Winter Gardens Bl	218,127
851	La Mesa Spring Street Station	La Presa Spring Valley Shopping Center	Bancroft Dr, Sweetwater Rd	44,973
852	San Diego Orange Av & 54th St	La Presa Grossmont Transit Center	University Av	200,986
854	La Presa Grossmont Transit Center	El Cajon Grossmont College	Lake Murray Bl (854) or Route 125 (854X)	33,583
855	La Mesa Spring Street station	Rancho San Diego Jamacha Bl & Folex Way	Campo Rd	156,213
856	San Diego SDSU Transit Center	Rancho San Diego Cuyamaca College	College Av, Jamacha Bl	373,080
864	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Granite Hills East County Square	Madison Av	238,460
872	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center		Chase Av, Magnolia Av	29,232
874/875	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center		Washington Av, Broadway	230,852
901	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	Downtown San Diego 3rd Av & B St	Silver Strand Bl	512,372
904	Coronado Glorietta Bl & 2nd Av	Coronado Silver Strand Bl & Av de las Arenas	Orange Av	67,772
905	Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	SR 905, Otay Mesa Rd	398,812
906/907	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	San Ysidro San Ysidro Transit Center	Beyer Bl, San Ysidro Bl, Calle Primera	824,801
909	Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center	Otay Mesa Southwestern College Otay Mesa	Otay Mesa Rd, Britannia Bl	40,149
916/917	Chollas View Euclid Avenue station		Streamview Dr, Massachusetts Av	107,619
921	San Diego UTC Transit Center	Mira Mesa Miramar College Transit Station	Mira Mesa Bl	186,603
921A	Torrey Pines Gilman Transit Center (UCSD)	Mira Mesa Miramar College Transit Station	Mira Mesa Bl	186,603
923	Ocean Beach Point Loma Av & Sunset Cliffs Bl	Downtown San Diego 9th Av & C St	Voltaire St, Harbor Dr	113,318
928	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	Ruffin Rd	125,303
929	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	Downtown San Diego 1st Av & Broadway	Highland Av, 3rd Av	1,180,640
932	National City 8th Street station	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	National City Bl, Broadway	623,475
933/934	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center		Imperial Beach Bl / Palm Av	1,095,907
936	College Area SDSU Transit Center	Spring Valley Orville St & Brucker Av	College Grove / Skyline Drive	299,196
944	Sabre Springs Sabre Springs Transit Station	Poway Hilleary Pl / Hilleary Park Dr	Poway Rd	37,693
945/945A	Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo Transit Station	Poway Temple St / Midland Rd	Pomerado Rd / Poway Rd (945) / Poway Loop (945A)	83,693
955	National City 8th Street station	College Area SDSU Transit Center	43rd St / Euclid Transit Center / 54th St	805,316
961	National City 24th Street station	Encanto Encanto/62nd Street station	30th St / Plaza Bonita / Woodman St	407,638
962	National City 8th Street station	Spring Valley Orville St & Brucker Av	Plaza Bl / Paradise Valley Rd	356,058
963	National City 8th Street station	Paradise Hills Saipan Dr & Potomac St	Plaza Bl / Reo Drive	109,486
964	Mira Mesa Camino Ruiz & Capricorn Way	Scripps Ranch Alliant International University	Miramar College Transit Station	78,325
965	City Heights City Heights Transit Plaza		University Av / Azalea Park / Home Av	37,981
967	National City 8th Street station	Alta Vista Division St & Ava St	D Av / Division St	27,497
968	National City 8th Street station	National City Westfield Plaza Bonita	4th St / Euclid Av	44,426
985	University City UC San Diego Central Campus station	Torrey Pines Torreyana Rd & Science Park Rd	N Torrey Pines Rd	22,896
992	East Village City College Station	San Diego San Diego International Airport	Broadway / Harbor Dr	288,060

Rural Routes[edit]

Route	Terminals		Via	Annual ridership (FY 2023)^[5]	Notes
888	El Cajon Parkway Plaza	Jacumba Hot Springs Campo St & Old Hwy 80	Alpine / Guatay / Pine Valley / Campo	788	Weekdays
891	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Borrego Springs Christmas Cir & Palm Canyon Dr	Shelter Valley / Ramona	246	Friday only
892	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Borrego Springs Christmas Cir & Palm Canyon Dr	Ranchita / Ramona	232	Thursday only
894	El Cajon Parkway Plaza	Tecate Tecate Rd & Thing Rd Campo Hwy 94 & Buckman Springs Rd (Cameron Corners) Lake Morena Lake Morena Dr & Gladiola Dr (Oak Shores Malt Shop)	Tecate / Campo / Morena Village	42,321	Weekdays

Bus fleet[edit]

Active fleet[edit]

Make/Model	Fleet Numbers	Year	Divisions	Notes
ElDorado National AeroElite	3001–3006	2014	Copley Park	These cutaways are used on Sorrento Valley Coaster Connection Routes, and occasionally on Route 83.
ElDorado National AeroElite	3101–3131	2016	Copley Park	These cutaways entered service in late 2016, replacing the 3400–series cutaways.
Gillig Low Floor CNG 40'	201–223	2015	Kearny Mesa
	801–826	2013	Imperial Av
	901–912	2014	Kearny Mesa
	1401–1410	2017	Kearny Mesa	All 10 buses transferred to the Kearny Mesa Division in early 2023 to replace the now–retired MTS Rapid C40LF buses. They have been repainted in the MTS Rapid Livery.
	1701–1738	2020–2021	Imperial Av/Kearny Mesa	1701–1722 are the 2020 models, 1723–1738 are the 2021 models. These buses entered service in early 2021, replacing the 300–series C40LF buses. These are the first Gillig buses delivered to San Diego MTS with an updated roof design.
	2001–2014	2015	South Bay
	2101–2136	2017	South Bay	These buses entered service in 2017, replacing the 2700–series C40LF buses.
	2201–2238	2022	South Bay	These are the final batch of Gillig CNG buses delivered to San Diego MTS. These buses entered service in late 2022, replacing the 2800–series C40LF buses. These Gillig buses have an updated roof design.
	2301–2324	2013	South Bay/East County	2301–2306 were transferred to the East County Division in early 2022.
	2401–2438	2014–2015	South Bay	2401–2418 are the 2014 models, 2419–2438 are the 2015 models.
	2601–2632	2021	South Bay	These buses entered service in late 2021, replacing the 2800–series C40LF buses. These Gillig buses have an updated roof design.
	2781–2787	2018	South Bay	These buses are exclusively used on Route 992. All 7 buses are equipped with luggage racks.
	2791–2795	2021	South Bay	These buses entered service in late 2021, replacing the 7200–series C40LF buses, These Gillig buses have an updated roof design.
	8201–8213	2015	East County
	8301–8338	2016	East County	8325 is the only Gillig bus with the Cummins Westport ISL G NZ engine.
	8351–8356	2019	East County
Gillig Low Floor Plus EV 40'	1601–1602	2020	Imperial Av
Gillig Low Floor Plus EV 40'	1603–1607	2021	Imperial Av	These buses are painted red instead of green.
MCI D4500CT CNG	8531–8554	2020	East County	These buses entered service in early 2021, replacing the Blue Bird Express 4500 buses. These buses are exclusively used for MTS Rapid Express Routes 280 and 290.
New Flyer C40LFR	601–621	2011	Imperial Av	These buses entered service in 2011, replacing the 1997 C40LF buses. There are currently only 21 buses in this series, as 622–626 transferred to the South Bay Division in early 2022, and were renumbered as 2923–2927.
	701–731	2012	Imperial Av	These buses entered service in 2012, replacing the 2000 C40LF buses.
	2901–2927	2011–2012	South Bay	2923–2927 are the 2011 models, and were originally numbered 622–626. 2901–2922 are the 2012 models.
New Flyer XE40	1501–1506	2019	Kearny Mesa/South Bay/East County	These are the first electric buses in the MTS fleet. These buses entered service in late 2019.
New Flyer XE60	7551–7562	2023	South Bay	These are the first electric buses in the MTS Rapid fleet. These buses are exclusively used for MTS Rapid Route 227.
New Flyer XN60	1101–1129	2013	Kearny Mesa	These buses are used for MTS Rapid Route 235. Some units were retrofitted with 3–slot bike racks. These buses are in the process of being retired as of late 2023. 10 buses were sold to Santa Cruz METRO.
	1201–1218	2013	Imperial Av/Kearny Mesa	These buses are used for MTS Rapid Route 215, and occasionally on Routes 7 & 13.
	1301–1313	2015	Kearny Mesa	These buses entered service in 2015, replacing the 2001 D60LF buses. These buses are painted in the standard MTS livery, but are regularly assigned to Rapid routes.
	1801–1826	2021	Imperial Av	These buses entered service in early 2021, replacing the 1000–series NABI 60–BRT buses. Used on Routes 7, 10, 13 & occasionally on Rapid Route 215.
	1901–1924	2023	Kearny Mesa	These buses entered service in late 2023, currently replacing the 1100–series XN60 buses. Used on MTS Rapid Route 235, SuperLoop Rapid Route 201/202, and occasionally on Route 10.
	7401–7410	2017	South Bay	These buses are used on Route 929, & occasionally on Rapid Routes 225 & 227.
	7501–7517	2017–2018	South Bay	These buses are used for MTS Rapid Route 225, and occasionally on Rapid Route 227.

On Order[edit]

Make/Model	Fleet Numbers	Year	Notes
New Flyer XN40	(138)	2024-2027	New 5 year contract with New Flyer to supply CNG & Battery Electric Buses. These will likely replace the 600-series, 700-series, & 2900-series C40LFR buses along with the 800-series & 2300-series Gillig buses.
New Flyer XE40	(91)	2024-2027	New 5 year contract with New Flyer to supply CNG & Battery Electric Buses.
New Flyer XE60	(34)	2024-2027	New 5 year contract with New Flyer to supply CNG & Battery Electric Buses.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

^ "About MTS". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 14 May 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
^ "Bus Routes". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 24 August 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
^ "San Diego Regional Transit Map" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. September 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
^ "North County Transit District System Map" (PDF). North County Transit District. October 8, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Annual Service Performance Report" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System . November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Rapid Bus Service | San Diego Metropolitan Transit System". www.sdmts.com. 22 May 2015.
^ Routes 201/202 and 204 were formerly known as SuperLoop until the introduction of Rapid in 2015. Some parts of the MTS website still use the names "SuperLoop Rapid 201/202" and "SuperLoop Rapid 204" for these routes, however.^[6]
^ From predecessor route 950
^ ^a ^b Limited stop
^ No service east of City Heights Transit Center on weekends
^ No service north of Sharp Memorial Hospital on weekends

External links[edit]

[aboutMTS-1] "About MTS". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 14 May 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2020.

[routes-2] "Bus Routes". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 24 August 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2020.

[mts-map-3] "San Diego Regional Transit Map" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. September 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.

[nctd-map-4] "North County Transit District System Map" (PDF). North County Transit District. October 8, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2020.

[sdmts-report-5] "Annual Service Performance Report" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System . November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[RapidBusService-6] "Rapid Bus Service | San Diego Metropolitan Transit System". www.sdmts.com. 22 May 2015.

[SuperLoop-7] Routes 201/202 and 204 were formerly known as SuperLoop until the introduction of Rapid in 2015. Some parts of the MTS website still use the names "SuperLoop Rapid 201/202" and "SuperLoop Rapid 204" for these routes, however.^[6]

[8] From predecessor route 950

[LS-9] Limited stop

[CityHeights-10] No service east of City Heights Transit Center on weekends

[Sharp-11] No service north of Sharp Memorial Hospital on weekends

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v t e Transportation in San Diego County
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