San Diego Trolley The MTS Rail Operations division oversees the
San Diego Trolley (colloquially known as "The Trolley") a system of
light rail routes: the
Blue Line,
Orange Line,
Green Line, and the
Copper Line, as well as the
Silver Line, which operates using
heritage streetcars on select days. The system is operated by San Diego Trolley, Inc. (SDTI), a
subsidiary of MTS. The trolley began service on July 26, 1981, making it the oldest of the
second-generation light rail systems in the United States. The entire trolley network is with 53 stations. In 2023, the trolley had the
highest ridership of any light rail system in the United States, with 38,047,300 annual rides, or about 121,600 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024. • The
Blue Line, which opened in 1981, operates between the
UTC Transit Center,
UC San Diego, Old Town Transit Center,
downtown San Diego, and the international border at
San Ysidro. • The
Orange Line, which opened in 1986, operates between downtown San Diego and eastern suburban areas such as El Cajon and La Mesa. • The
Green Line, which opened in 2005, operates between downtown San Diego, Old Town, Mission Valley,
San Diego State University, La Mesa, and El Cajon. • The
Copper Line, which opened in 2024, operates as a
shuttle between
El Cajon Transit Center and
Santee station. • The
Silver Line, which opened in 2011, operates around downtown San Diego on select days using
heritage streetcars.
MTS Bus Operations The MTS Bus Operations division oversees 85 "MTS Bus" fixed-route services, nine "Rapid"
bus rapid transit routes, and the "MTS Access"
paratransit service. Routes are operated by private contractors and by the San Diego Transit Corporation (SDTC), a subsidiary of MTS. The SDTC operates 27 routes based out of downtown San Diego (Imperial Avenue Division) and
Kearny Mesa (Kearny Mesa Division),
Transdev operates 73 routes based out of
Chula Vista (South Bay Division),
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 MTS. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday, as of .
"MTS Bus" fixed-route services Urban bus routes link the densely populated neighborhoods and adjacent cities together with direct and frequent bus services. These services constitute the bulk of fixed-route bus services operated in terms of vehicle requirements and patronage. Typically, headways are 12–15 minutes between scheduled bus arrival/departure times during commute periods and during midday times on the busiest lines. Generally, no worse than 30-minute headways occur during non-commute periods or 60-minute headways weekends. Local routes generally have stops placed at every block or every other block. Limited-stop lines have stops placed every approximately quarter to half-mile. Three express fixed-route bus lines (Routes 20, 60, and 910) are operated along major roadways and highways and link intermediate distant suburban areas to the San Diego urban area. One of the five express lines (Routes 60) only operates during the morning and evening weekday commute periods. The 910 is the only express that runs during the night, going to and from San Ysidro and Downtown between midnight and 5:00 AM. Rural transit services (Routes 888, 891, 892 and 894) link the sparsely populated central and eastern portions of San Diego County to the San Diego Trolley and other fixed-route transit services at the
El Cajon Transit Center. These lines offer much less frequent service – Route 888 only operates on Mondays and Fridays, Route 891 on Fridays, and Route 892 on Thursdays. Only Route 894 operates Mondays through Fridays. MTS currently operates 25
electric buses, and will only purchase zero-emissions vehicles beginning in 2029. By July 2024 the vehicles had driven a cumulative million miles. In 2025 the fleet consisted of 25 electric buses.
"Rapid" bus rapid transit service Rapid is a network of ten
bus rapid transit (BRT) routes in the San Diego area. The lines operate on exclusive roadways,
dedicated lanes,
high-occupancy vehicle lanes, and in mixed-traffic with other vehicles. • Routes 201, 202, and 204 offer frequent service in the
University City and
La Jolla Village areas near the
University of California, San Diego. Initial service began in June 2009, with an extension in March 2013. • Route 215 offers frequent service between
San Diego State University and downtown San Diego, using dedicated lanes on Park and
El Cajon Boulevards to speed up travel times. It opened for service in October 2014. • Route 225 offers frequent service between the
Otay Mesa Port of Entry,
Chula Vista, and downtown San Diego, using the high-occupancy vehicle lanes of
Interstate 805 and an exclusive roadway along East Palomar Street and in the
Otay Ranch neighborhood to speed travel times. Initial service began in September 2018, with an extension in January 2019. • Route 227 offers frequent service between the
Otay Mesa Port of Entry and
Imperial Beach. It opened for service in October 2023. This was the first rapid route to use electric buses. • Route 235 offers frequent service between
Escondido and downtown San Diego, using the high-occupancy vehicle lanes of
Interstate 15, with dedicated ramps to transit centers, to speed travel times. It opened for service in June 2014. == Governance ==