Local officials are backing away from a sweeping plan that had aimed to quickly make mass transit more appealing by cutting wait times on the San Diego Trolley, adding bus routes and making service more frequent on existing routes.
The Metropolitan Transit System board voted Thursday to significantly scale back a previously approved plan for dramatic service upgrades. And the more modest upgrades they chose won’t take place immediately.
Speeding up transit service is considered critical to getting people to try mass transit instead of driving, a switch that could help California and local cities achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Money for the upgrades comes from San Diego’s $284 million share of a $4 billion California program that aims to bolster transit systems, many of which have suffered ridership dips and financial losses since the pandemic began.
MTS had planned to spend $75 million to help close projected budget deficits and the remaining $209 million on service upgrades, overhead chargers for buses, modernizing the Orange Line and other enhancements.
But the board voted Thursday to devote $126 million — $51 million more than planned — to closing budget deficits, which required sharp reductions in money for service upgrades.
Money for more frequent trolley service was slashed from $39 million to $21 million, and money for better bus service was cut from $54 million to $30 million.
In general, the enhancements would have increased service on most trolley lines to at least every 15 minutes and sped up service on part of the Blue Line to every 7 1/2 minutes.
The bus service upgrades would have included new routes, shorter wait times on many routes and extended service hours on some routes.
Under the new plan, trolley upgrades would likely be delayed until at least late 2025, and bus upgrades would probably not happen until at least late 2026. And because there will be less money, the enhancements will be smaller in scope.
The board also eliminated $4 million for bus stop improvements, such as lighting and benches, and $5 million to study improving service to Otay’s new border crossing and a nearby bridge to Tijuana International Airport.
Enhancements that survived Thursday’s funding shift include $16 million to boost security on buses and trolleys, $19 million for a South Bay rapid bus route, $46 million for overhead bus chargers and $26 million to modernize the trolley’s Orange Line.
The board also voted to spend $2 million for a nighttime express bus between downtown and the San Ysidro border crossing. The bus is needed because conflicts with freight operations force the Blue Line to stop running at night.
RideSD, an advocacy group for local transit, said it’s a mistake to not follow through on more frequent trolley service.
“Increased frequency shortens travel times, alleviates overcrowding and helps passengers feel safer,” said Alex Wong, a data researcher for the group.
The shift comes just a few months after the package of upgrades was scheduled to take effect in June. But that timeline was derailed by state budget negotiations, which delayed disbursement of the transit money.
MTS officials said the transit money remains less secure than they’d like, citing that as a reason for taking the more conservative approach of devoting much of the money to closing projected deficits.
“The amount hasn’t changed, there’s just some uncertainty on timing, and now it’s part of the California budget development process instead of the standalone thing we thought it was going to be,” said Mike Thompson, deputy chief financial officer for MTS.
Thompson stressed that Thursday’s board decisions aren’t binding and could be reversed or altered if things change — for instance, if state money comes in sooner than expected or MTS finances improve.
He said the agency faces structural budget deficits between $80 million and $90 million during each of the next four fiscal years.
“Our recurring revenue streams are less than our recurring expense streams,” he said.
“We’ve been operating this way since 2020, where those things do not match,” he said. “Prior to 2020, recurring revenue and recurring expenses were always balanced in the budget.”
MTS has relied on federal pandemic aid and reserves to cover most of the gaps since 2020, but only about $62 million of that aid is projected to remain when the ongoing fiscal year ends next June.
MTS board member Vivian Moreno, who is also a member of the San Diego City Council, said she’s optimistic MTS can secure grants for the bus stop upgrades and the Otay study.
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