San Diego MTS bus system
| Company type | Public transportation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transport |
| Headquarters | San Diego , United States |
Area served | San Diego County, California |
| Products | Bus services (fixed-route, Rapid bus rapid transit, paratransit) |
| Owner | San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) |
The San Diego MTS bus network constitutes a public transport bus service operating throughout San Diego County, California as an integral component of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). This network encompasses 97 distinct bus routes serving San Diego and its southern county neighborhoods.[1] The system includes 85 fixed-route "MTS Bus" lines, 9 "Rapid" bus rapid transit routes, alongside the "MTS Access" paratransit service.
Service operations are divided between private contractors and the San Diego Transit Corporation (SDTC), a subsidiary under MTS. SDTC oversees 27 routes dispatched from the Imperial Avenue Division located in downtown San Diego. Meanwhile, Transdev administers 74 routes operating out of Chula Vista (South Bay Division) and El Cajon (East County Division), in addition to managing the "MTS Access" paratransit fleet of minibuses based at the Kearny Mesa (Copley Park Division).
All buses and related infrastructure, including those utilized by contracted operators, remain owned by MTS. This transit network primarily serves San Diego city proper as well as the adjacent East County and South Bay areas,[2] whereas transit needs in North County fall under the jurisdiction of the North County Transit District (NCTD) via its BREEZE bus system.[3]
Rapid Routes
| Type | Route | Terminals | Via | Annual ridership (FY 2024)[4] | Links | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperLoop Rapid[6] | 201/202 | Template:Center | La Jolla Village Dr, Nobel Dr | 2,482,109 | Schedule |
| |
| 204 | Template:Center | Executive Dr, Judicial Dr, Nobel Dr | 67,905 | Schedule |
| ||
| Rapid | 215 | Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot |
College Area SDSU Transit Center |
El Cajon Bl | 1,411,658 | Schedule | Frequent service |
| 225 | Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot |
Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center |
SR 125, I-805 | 568,724 | Schedule | ||
| 227 | Imperial Beach Imperial Beach Pier |
Otay Mesa Otay Mesa Transit Center |
Coronado Av, SR 905 | 586,598[7] | Schedule | Frequent service | |
| 235 | Downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot |
Escondido Escondido Transit Center |
I-15 | 1,136,605 | Schedule | Frequent service | |
| 237 | Mira Mesa Miramar College Transit Station |
University City UTC Transit Center |
Mira Mesa Bl | 181,097 | Schedule | Weekday peak only | |
| Type | Route | Terminals | Via | Annual ridership (FY 2024)[4] | Links | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
! rowspan="2" |Rapid Express[5]
|-
style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;" |280
|'\'\'\'Downtown San Diego\'\'\'
Pacific Hwy & Grape St
|'\'\'\'Escondido, California\'\'\'
Escondido Transit Center
|'\'\'I-15\', \'\'SR 163\'
|'50,400'
|'Schedule'
|'Weekday peak only'
|-
style='text-align:center; vertical-align:top;' | 290
|'\'\'\'Downtown San Diego\'\'\'
Pacific Hwy & Grape St
|'\'\'\'Rancho Bernardo, San Diego\'\'\'
Rancho Bernardo Transit Station
|'I-15\', \'SR 163\'
|'55,296'
|'Schedule'
|'Weekday peak only'
|}
Local Routes
... [Table continues with similar format for remaining routes]| Route | Terminals | Via | Annual ridership (FY 2024) | Links | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fashion Valley Transit Center Mission Valley |
La Mesa Boulevard station La Mesa |
El Cajon Boulevard | 811,259 | Schedule | Service operates frequently | |
| 2 | Front St & B St Downtown San Diego |
30th St & Adams Av North Park |
Broadway, 30th Street | 565,968 | Schedule | Frequent service available | |
| 3 | Euclid Avenue station Chollas View |
Front St & Arbor Dr Hillcrest |
Ocean View Boulevard | 981,093 | Schedule | Regular frequent service | |
| 4 | 12th & Imperial Transit Center Downtown San Diego |
Paradise Valley Rd & Meadowbrook Dr Skyline Hills |
Imperial Avenue | 585,628 | Schedule | ||
| 5 | 10th Av & Broadway Downtown San Diego |
Euclid Avenue station Chollas View |
Market Street | 444,857 | Schedule | ||
| 6 | Fashion Valley Transit Center Mission Valley |
30th St & University Av North Park |
Camino De La Reina | 228,268 | Schedule | ||
| 7 | Front St & B St Downtown San Diego |
University Av & College Av Redwood Village |
University Avenue | 1,878,990 | Schedule | Frequent service provided | |
| 8 | Old Town Transit Center | Balboa Avenue Transit Center Clairemont |
Grand Avenue, Mission Bay Drive | 585,573 | Schedule | Service runs frequently | |
| 9/9A | Old Town Transit Center | Jewell St & Garnet Av (Mon–Sat) Pacific Beach Mission Bay Park / Sea World (Sun) |
Ingraham Street, Sea World | 244,269 | Schedule | 'Route 9A' excludes entry to Sea World | |
| 10 | Old Town Transit Center | Redwood Village (weekdays) City Heights Transit Center (weekends) |
University Avenue | 946,336 | Schedule | 'Limited stops' east of Albatross Street apply | |
Rural Routes
| Route | Endpoints | Passes Through | Annual ridership (FY 2024) | Schedules | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 888 | El Cajon Parkway Plaza |
Jacumba Hot Springs Campo St & Old Hwy 80 |
Alpine / Guatay / Pine Valley / Campo | 734 | Schedule | Operates Monday and Friday during peak hours only; service includes flag stops and off-route trips available by appointment |
| 891 | El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center |
Borrego Springs Christmas Cir & Palm Canyon Dr |
Shelter Valley / Ramona | 299 | Schedule | Runs only on Fridays during peak times; flag stop service and off-route travel possible by prior arrangement |
| 892 | El Cajon El Cajon Transit Center |
Borrego Springs Christmas Cir & Palm Canyon Dr |
Ranchita / Ramona | 235 | Schedule | Available Thursdays during peak hours exclusively; flag stop and off-route services by appointment only |
| 894 | El Cajon Parkway Plaza |
Tecate Tecate Rd & Thing Rd ---
Campo |
Via Tecate / Campo / Morena Village | 36,865 | Schedule | Weekday operations only; includes flag stop service and off-route trips available upon request |
Current fleet
1801-1826||||2021||NFI||XN60||Cummins Westport L9N||ZF 6AP1720B||Imperial Avenue|| 1901-1929|| (1925-1929)||2023-2024||NFI||XN60||Cummins Westport L9N||ZF 6AP1720B||Kearny Mesa|| 2001-2136||||2015-2018||Gillig||Low Floor CNG 40' (G31D102N4)||Cummins Westport ISL-G variants||||South Bay Maintenance Facility|| 2201-2238||||2023||Gillig||Low Floor CNG 40' (G31D102N4)||Cummins Westport L9N||ZF 6AP1420B||South Bay Maintenance Facility|| 2301-2438||||2013-2015||Gillig||Low Floor CNG 40' (G31D102N4)||Cummins Westport ISL G variants||||South Bay and East County Facilities|| 2601-2632||||2022||Gillig||Low Floor CNG 40' (G31D102N4)||Cummins Westport L9N||||South Bay Maintenance Facility|| 2781-2795||||2018-2021||Gillig||Low Floor CNG 40' (G31D102N4)||Cummins Westport L9N||||South Bay Maintenance Facility|| 2901-2927||||2011||NFI||C40LFR||Cummins Westport ISL G||ZF 6HP594C|||South Bay Maintenance Facility; units renumbered from earlier series.| 3001-3508||||2014-2019||Ford / ElDorado National / StarCraft|||Ford Triton V10 engines|||Copley Park Facility|| 7401-7562||||2017-2023||NFI Group|||XN60 and XE60 models with Cummins and Siemens engines|||South Bay Maintenance Facility|| 8201-8554||||2015-2020|||Gillig and MCI|||Low Floor CNG buses and coaches with Cummins engines|||East County Bus Maintenance Facility||| Fleet Numbers | Image | Year Built | Manufacturer | Model | Engine Type | Transmission | Assigned Divisions | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201-223 | 2015 | Gillig | Low Floor CNG 40' (G27D102N4) | Cummins Westport ISL G | ZF 6AP1400B | Kearny Mesa | ||
| 301-390 | 2025 | NFI | XN40 | Cummins Westport L9N | ZF 6AP1420B | Imperial Avenue | Introduced July 2025 under a five-year agreement with an option for 50 more units. | |
| 601-621 | 2010-2011 | NFI | C40LFR | Cummins Westport ISL G | ZF 6HP594C | Imperial Avenue | Units numbered 622-626 were renumbered to 2923-2927 and reassigned to SBMF. | |
| 701-731 | 2012 | NFI | C40LFR | Cummins Westport ISL G | ZF 6HP594C | Imperial Avenue | ||
| 801-826 | 2012 | Gillig | Low Floor CNG 40' (G27D102N4) | Cummins Westport ISL G | ZF 6HP594C | Imperial Avenue | ||
| 901-912 | 2014 | Gillig | Low Floor CNG 40' (G27D102N4) | Cummins Westport ISL G | ZF 6AP1700B | Kearny Mesa | ||
| 1201-1218 | 2014 | NFI | XN60 | Cummins Westport ISL G | ZF 6AP1700B | Imperial Avenue | ||
| 1301-1313 | 2015 | NFI | XN60 | Cummins Westport ISL G | ZF 6AP1700B | Kearny Mesa | ||
| 1401-1410 | 2017 | Gillig | Low Floor CNG 40' (G27D102N4) | Cummins Westport ISL-G NZ | ZF 6AP1400B | Kearny Mesa | ||
| 1501-1506 | 2019 | NFI | XE40 | Siemens ELFA2 | XALT Energy | East County, South Bay, Kearny Mesa | ||
| 1601-1607 | (1601-1602), (1603-1607) | 2020-2021 | Gillig | Low Floor Plus EV 40' (G28D102N4) | Cummins BES | BAE Systems HDS 200 | Imperial Avenue | |
| 1701-1738 | (1723-1738) | 2020-2021 | Gillig | Low Floor CNG 40' (G31D102N4) | Cummins Westport L9N | ZF 6AP1720B (1701-1722) | Imperial Avenue, Kearny Mesa |
On Order
| Make/Model | Fleet Numbers | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Flyer XN40 | (138) | 2024–2027 | A newly established 5-year agreement with New Flyer to procure CNG and battery electric buses, intended to replace the 600-, 700-, and 2900-series C40LFR models along with the 800- and 2300-series Gillig buses. |
| New Flyer XE40 | (91) | 2024–2027 | Delivered under the same 5-year contract focused on supplying both CNG and battery electric transit vehicles. |
| New Flyer XE60 | (34) | 2024–2027 | Part of the comprehensive 5-year procurement plan for CNG and battery electric buses. |
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRapidBusService - ↑ Routes 201/202 and 204 were previously designated as SuperLoop before the Rapid branding was introduced in 2015. Some MTS documentation continues to refer to these as "SuperLoop Rapid".[5]
- ↑ Includes 70,219 from predecessor route 950