San Diego MTS bus system explained

The San Diego MTS bus system is a public transport bus service operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. It is part of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The system operates 97 bus routes in San Diego and the rest of the southern half of San Diego County, California, .^{[1] [2]}

There are 85 "MTS Bus" fixed-route services, nine "Rapid" bus rapid transit routes, and the "MTS Access" paratransit service. In, the system had a ridership of, or about per weekday as of .

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 Avenue 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 marked as having "frequent service" operate with 15-minute or better frequency during weekday base hours.

Routes

Rapid Routes

See main article: Rapid (San Diego) and SuperLoop.

Type	Route	Terminals		Via	Annual ridership (FY 2023)	Links	Notes
SuperLoop Rapid	201/202			La Jolla Village Dr, Nobel Dr	2,452,699	Schedule
	204			Executive Dr, Judicial Dr, Nobel Dr	70,422	Schedule
Rapid	215	Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot	College Area SDSU Transit Center	El Cajon Bl	1,271,180	Schedule	Frequent service
	225	Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot	Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center	SR 125, I-805	495,535	Schedule
	227	Imperial Beach Imperial Beach Pier	Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center	Coronado Av, SR 905	215,097	Schedule	Frequent service
	235	Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot	Escondido Escondido Transit Center	I-15	1,035,247	Schedule	Frequent service
	237	Mira Mesa Miramar College Transit Station	University City UTC Transit Center	Mira Mesa Bl	151,933	Schedule	Weekday peak only
Rapid Express	280	Downtown San Diego Pacific Hwy & Grape St	Escondido Escondido Transit Center	I-15, SR 163	50,070	Schedule	Weekday peak only
	290	Downtown San Diego Pacific Hwy & Grape St	Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo Transit Station	I-15, SR 163	51,994	Schedule	Weekday peak only

Local Routes

Route	Terminals		Via	Annual ridership (FY 2023)^[5]	Links	Notes
1	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	La Mesa La Mesa Boulevard station	El Cajon Bl	707,665	Schedule	Frequent service
2	Downtown San Diego Front St & B St	North Park 30th St & Adams Av	Broadway, 30th St	535,750	Schedule	Frequent service
3	Chollas View Euclid Avenue station	Hillcrest Front St & Arbor Dr	Ocean View Bl	827,961	Schedule	Frequent service
4	Downtown San Diego 12th & Imperial Transit Center	Skyline Hills Paradise Valley Rd & Meadowbrook Dr	Imperial Av	505,378	Schedule
5	Downtown San Diego 10th Av & Broadway	Chollas View Euclid Avenue station	Market St	389,179	Schedule
6	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	North Park 30th St & University Av	Camino De La Reina	245,394	Schedule
7	Downtown San Diego Front St & B St	Redwood Village University Av & College Av	University Av	1,731,404	Schedule	Frequent service
8	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Clairemont Balboa Avenue Transit Center	Grand Av, Mission Bay Dr	511,208	Schedule	Frequent service
9/9A	Old Town Old Town Transit Center		Ingraham St, Sea World	259,822	Schedule	Route 9A does not enter Sea World
10	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Redwood Village University Av & College Av ----City Heights City Heights Transit Center	University Av	870,403	Schedule	Makes limited stops east of Albatross St
11	Downtown San Diego 1st Av & Broadway	College Area SDSU Transit Center	Adams Av, 1st Av	467,450	Schedule
12	Downtown San Diego City College Transit Center	Skyline Hills Paradise Valley Rd & Meadowbrook Dr	National Av, Skyline Dr	850,892	Schedule	Frequent service
13	National City 24th Street station	Grantville Crawford St & Zion Av (Kaiser Hospital)	Fairmount Av	1,490,154	Schedule	Frequent service
14	Grantville Grantville station	La Mesa Baltimore Dr & Lake Murray Bl	70th St, Camino Del Rio	37,146	Schedule	Weekdays only
18			Camino Del Rio	12,846	Schedule
20	Downtown San Diego 10th Av & Broadway	Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo Transit Station	I-15, Fashion Valley Transit Center, SR-163	360,223	Schedule	Express service
25	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Aero Dr, SR-163	37,693	Schedule	Weekdays only
27	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Pacific Beach Bayard St & Garnet Av	Garnet Av, Balboa Av	213,310	Schedule
28	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	La Playa Anchorage Ln & Shelter Island Dr	Rosecrans St	214,790	Schedule
30	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	University City UTC Transit Center	La Jolla Bl	1,017,256	Schedule	Frequent service
31	University City UTC Transit Center	Mira Mesa Miramar College Transit Station	Miramar Rd	77,216	Schedule	Weekday peak only
35	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Ocean Beach Cable St & Newport Av	Midway Dr, Cable St	318,441	Schedule	Frequent service
41	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	Torrey Pines Gilman Transit Center (UCSD)	Genesee Av	759,248	Schedule	Frequent service
43	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Clairemont Balboa Avenue Transit Center	Clairemont Mesa Bl	386,007	Schedule
44	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Linda Vista / Mesa College	683,179	Schedule	Frequent service
60	University City UTC Transit Center	Chollas View Euclid Avenue station	I-805, I-15, SR-15	55,598	Schedule
83	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Downtown San Diego America Plaza station	Reynard Way / Mission Hills	14,106	Schedule	Weekdays only
84	Point Loma Cabrillo National Monument	Point Loma Sub Base Gate	Rosencrans St (Sub Base) or Catalina Bl (Cabrillo Monument)	12,473	Schedule	Weekdays only
88	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	Hotel Circle	88,452	Schedule	Monday–Saturday only
105	Old Town Old Town Transit Center	University City UTC Transit Center	Morena Bl, Clairemont Dr	192,420	Schedule
110	Downtown San Diego Front St & B St	Mira Mesa Camino Santa Fe & Flanders Dr	I-15, SR-163	17,646	Schedule
115	College Area SDSU Transit Center	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Jackson Dr, Fletcher Pkwy	189,961	Schedule
120	Downtown San Diego 4th Av & C St		Fashion Valley Rd, Linda Vista Rd	483,432	Schedule
701	Chula Vista H Street station	Chula Vista Palomar Street station	Main St, Hilltop Dr, F St	296,390	Schedule
704	Chula Vista E Street station	Chula Vista Palomar Street station	Naples St, Orange Av	291,968	Schedule
705	Chula Vista E Street station	Chula Vista Southwestern College	E St, Otay Lakes Rd	146,765	Schedule	Monday–Saturday only
707	Chula Vista Eastlake Pkwy & Olympic Pkwy	Chula Vista Southwestern College	Eastlake Pkwy	82,390	Schedule	Weekdays only
709	Chula Vista H Street station	Chula Vista Olympic Pkwy & Eastlake Pkwy	H St	534,694	Schedule	Frequent service
712	Chula Vista Palomar Street station	Chula Vista Southwestern College	Palomar St	434,158	Schedule	Frequent service
815	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	El Cajon Main St & Oakdale Av	Main St	262,403	Schedule	Frequent service
816	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Rancho San Diego Cuyamaca College	Washington Av, Jamacha Rd	82,034	Schedule	Weekdays only
832			Cuyamaca St, Woodglen Vista Dr, Magnolia Ave	31,578	Schedule	Loop service, operates clockwise
833	Santee Santee station	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Graves Av	53,920	Schedule
834			Mission Gorge Rd	20,796	Schedule
838	Granite Hills East County Square	Alpine Viejas Casino	Alpine Bl	105,830	Schedule
848	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Lakeside Mapleview St & Ashwood St	Winter Gardens Bl	218,127	Schedule
851	La Mesa Spring Street Station	La Presa Spring Valley Shopping Center	Bancroft Dr, Sweetwater Rd	44,973	Schedule	Weekdays only
852	San Diego Orange Av & 54th St	La Presa Grossmont Transit Center	University Av	200,986	Schedule
854	La Presa Grossmont Transit Center	El Cajon Grossmont College	Lake Murray Bl	33,583	Schedule	Weekdays only
854X	La Presa Grossmont Transit Center	El Cajon Grossmont College	SR-125		Schedule	Express service. Operates when Grossmont College is in session for Fall and Spring semesters
855	La Mesa Spring Street station	Rancho San Diego Jamacha Bl & Folex Way	Campo Rd	156,213	Schedule
856	College Area SDSU Transit Center	Rancho San Diego Cuyamaca College	College Av, Jamacha Bl	373,080	Schedule	Frequent service
864	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Granite Hills East County Square	Madison Av	238,460	Schedule
872			Chase Av, Magnolia Av	29,232	Schedule
874/875			Washington Av, Parkway Plaza, Broadway	230,852	Schedule
901	Downtown San Diego 3rd Av & B St	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	Silver Strand Bl	512,372	Schedule
904	Coronado Glorietta Bl & 2nd Av	Coronado Silver Strand Bl & Av de las Arenas	Orange Av	67,772	Schedule	During summer: frequent service, fare-free
905	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center	SR 905, Otay Mesa Rd	398,812	Schedule
906/907	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	San Ysidro San Ysidro Transit Center	Beyer Bl, San Ysidro Bl, Calle Primera	824,801	Schedule
909	Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center	Otay Mesa Southwestern College Otay Mesa	Otay Mesa Rd, Britannia Bl	40,149	Schedule	Weekdays only
916/917			Streamview Dr, Massachusetts Av	107,619	Schedule
921	San Diego UTC Transit Center	Mira Mesa Miramar College Transit Station	Mira Mesa Bl, Barnes Canyon Rd	186,603	Schedule	Weekdays only
<	-- anchored above -->921A		Torrey Pines Gilman Transit Center (UCSD)			Mira Mesa Bl, Mesa Verde Park	Weekends only
923	Ocean Beach Point Loma Av & Sunset Cliffs Bl	Downtown San Diego 9th Av & C St	Voltaire St, Harbor Dr	113,318	Schedule	Weekdays only
928	Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa Transit Center	Mission Valley Fashion Valley Transit Center	Ruffin Rd	125,303	Schedule
929	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	Downtown San Diego 1st Av & Broadway	Highland Av, 3rd Av	1,180,640	Schedule	Frequent service
932	National City 8th Street station	Otay Mesa West Iris Avenue Transit Center	National City Bl, Broadway	623,475	Schedule	Frequent service
933/934			Imperial Beach Bl / Palm Av	1,095,907	Schedule
936	College Area SDSU Transit Center	Spring Valley Orville St & Brucker Av	College Grove / Skyline Drive	299,196	Schedule	Frequent service
944	Sabre Springs Sabre Springs Transit Station	Poway Hilleary Pl / Hilleary Park Dr	Poway Rd	37,693	Schedule	Monday–Saturday only
945/945A	Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo Transit Station	Poway Temple St / Midland Rd	Pomerado Rd, Poway Rd	83,693	Schedule
955	National City 8th Street station	College Area SDSU Transit Center	43rd St / Euclid Avenue station / 54th St	805,316	Schedule
961	National City 24th Street station	Encanto Encanto/62nd Street station	30th St / Plaza Bonita / Woodman St	407,638	Schedule	Frequent service
962	National City 8th Street station	Spring Valley Orville St & Brucker Av	Plaza Bl / Paradise Valley Rd	356,058	Schedule	Frequent service
963	National City 8th Street station	Paradise Hills Saipan Dr & Potomac St	Plaza Bl / Reo Drive	109,486	Schedule	Frequent service
964	Mira Mesa Camino Ruiz & Capricorn Way	Scripps Ranch Alliant International University	Miramar College Transit Station	78,325	Schedule	Weekdays only
965			University Av / Azalea Park / Home Av	37,981	Schedule
967	National City 8th Street station	Alta Vista Division St & Ava St	D Av / Division St	27,497	Schedule	Weekdays only
968	National City 8th Street station	National City Westfield Plaza Bonita	4th St / Euclid Av	44,426	Schedule	Weekdays only
985	University City UC San Diego Central Campus station	Torrey Pines Torreyana Rd & Science Park Rd	N Torrey Pines Rd	22,896	Schedule	Weekday peak only
992	East Village City College station	San Diego San Diego International Airport	Broadway / Harbor Dr	288,060	Schedule	Frequent service

Rural Routes

Route	Terminals		Via	Annual ridership (FY 2023)	Links	Notes
888	El Cajon Parkway Plaza	Jacumba Hot Springs Campo St & Old Hwy 80	Alpine / Guatay / Pine Valley / Campo	788	Schedule
891	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Borrego Springs Christmas Cir & Palm Canyon Dr	Shelter Valley / Ramona	246	Schedule
892	El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center	Borrego Springs Christmas Cir & Palm Canyon Dr	Ranchita / Ramona	232	Schedule
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	Schedule

Bus fleet

Active fleet

Make/Model	Fleet Numbers	Thumbnail	Year	Divisions	Notes
ElDorado National AeroElite	3001–3006		2014	Copley Park	Cutaway buses
	3101–3131		2016	Copley Park
Gillig Low Floor CNG 40	201–223		2015	Kearny Mesa
	801–826		2013	Imperial Avenue
	901–912		2014	Kearny Mesa
	1401–1410		2017	Kearny Mesa	Painted in the Rapid livery
	1701–1738		2020–2021
	2001–2014		2015	South Bay
	2101–2136		2017	South Bay
	2201–2238		2022	South Bay
	2301–2306		2013	East County
	2307–2324		2013	South Bay
	2401–2418		2014	South Bay
	2419–2438		2015	South Bay
	2601–2632		2021	South Bay
	2781–2787		2018	South Bay	Used exclusively on route 992, equipped with luggage racks
	2791–2795		2021	South Bay
	8201–8213		2015	East County
	8301–8338		2016	East County
	8351–8356		2019	East County
Gillig Low Floor Plus EV 40'	1601–1602		2020	Imperial Avenue
	1603–1607		2021	Imperial Avenue	These buses are painted red instead of green.
MCI D4500CT CNG	8531–8554		2020	East County	Painted in Rapid Express livery, used on routes 280 & 290
New Flyer C40LFR	601–621		2011	Imperial Avenue
	701–731		2012	Imperial Avenue
	2901–2922		2012	South Bay
	2923–2927		2011	South Bay	Originally numbered 622–626.
New Flyer XE40	1501–1506		2019
New Flyer XE60	7551–7562		2023	South Bay	Exclusively used for Rapid route 227
New Flyer XN60	1101–1129		2013	Kearny Mesa	Painted in Rapid livery, used for Rapid route 235. Being retired. Ten buses sold to Santa Cruz METRO.
	1201–1218		2013		Painted in Rapid livery, used for Rapid route 215
	1301–1313		2015	Kearny Mesa	Painted in the standard livery, but regularly assigned to Rapid routes
	1801–1826		2021	Imperial Avenue	Painted in the standard livery, used on routes 7, 10 & 13
	1901–1924		2023	Kearny Mesa	Painted in Rapid livery, used for Rapid routes 201, 202 & 235
	7401–7410		2017	South Bay	Painted in the standard livery, used on route 929
	7501–7517		2017–2018	South Bay	Painted in Rapid livery, used for Rapid route 225

On Order

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-, 700-, and 2900-series C40LFR buses and the 800- and 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.

External links

• MTS bus routes and schedules
• NCTD bus routes and schedules

Notes and References

1. Web site: About MTS . 14 May 2015 . . April 13, 2020.
2. Web site: Bus Routes . 24 August 2015 . . April 13, 2020.
3. Web site: San Diego Regional Transit Map . . September 2019 . April 13, 2020.
4. Web site: North County Transit District System Map . . October 8, 2017 . April 13, 2020.
5. Web site: Annual Service Performance Report . San Diego Metropolitan Transit System . November 2, 2023. November 15, 2023.