San Diego Transit Bus

MTS 1900s

 

1900

 

In the first part of the new century there is impressive growth in the streetcar system. Two new operating divisions on Imperial Avenue in Downtown (1911) and Adams Avenue in Normal Heights (1915) open to accommodate this growth.

 

1905

 

Spreckels builds a new power generating plant to operating the expanding streetcar network.

 

1906

 

Third Avenue Streetcar Line begins operation from Market Street up Third to Fir Street to the luxurious Hotel Florence.

SDER operates 798,152 car miles in this year.

 

1907

 

Third Avenue Streetcar Line extended to Washington Street and future Mission Hills community, and is briefly renamed Mission Hills Line. The streetcar line was the genesis of the new Mission Hills suburb.

 

Mission Hills Route 3: Building a Community Around a Street Car Line (page 1,2) provides a brief history of how transit contributed to one of San Diego's most vital neighborhoods.

 

One-way fare between San Diego and National City is $0.10 on the National City and Otay Railway (NC&O) Route.

 

1910

 

Spreckels forces a ballot initiative to amend his charter with the City of San Diego to give him more than 25 years on his leases to operate streetcar service. With this greater security he is able to acquire major loans for service expansion and infrastructure.

 

1911

 

Spreckels builds second power generating plant at Kettner and E Street when the plant built in 1905 no longer can handle the capacity.

 

1915

 

Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park spurs next phase of transportation growth. A new electric car service is constructed up 12th Street to the Park's entrance with 101 new cars from St. Louis Car Company.

 

SDER operates 3,521,571 car miles in this year.

 

San Diego's original Victorian-style train depot is demolished and replaced with a new Mission-style Santa Fe Depot building. The new Santa Fe Depot continues to be used through the 20th century and into the 21st century, serving as a station for Amtrak, Coaster, and San Diego Trolley trains.

 

1916–1918

 

The "Great Flood" of 1916 washes out several rail lines.

 

Despite the rapid growth of the rail system it faces many challenges. Private auto ownership starts to increase and with it, auto drivers become jitney drivers, cruising streetcar lines for passengers.

 

WWI increases the cost of railway construction materials by 50 to 150 percent.

 

1920

 

Spreckels announces plans to discontinue service on several rail lines to offset expenses, leading to approval of zone fares.

 

Nickel Zone fares introduced. There are two zones: "inner" and "outer."

 

Spreckels purchases new streetcars that requires only one driver/conductor instead of two. Older cars were retrofitted to reduce labor costs.

 

Spreckels sells his power generating plants to Consolidated Gas and Electric Company. From this point, power for streetcars will be purchased from the utility company.

 

1922

 

The first motor bus goes into service, operating between National City and Chula Vista. "Number One" has hard rubber tires, two-wheel mechanical brakes, a four-cylinder engine and a plywood body. There are three buses, one manufactured by Flagel and two by the Reo company.

 

1923

 

Bus drivers make between 27¢ and 33¢ per hour.

 

Spreckels begins the last major rail line expansion to Mission Beach (Belmont Park), Pacific Beach, and La Jolla. $2,500,000 is spent on rails, Spanish Mission terminals and substations, and Egyptian Revival stations. $800,000 is spent to purchase 50 new cars. Construction is completed in 1925.

 

1930

 

Buses begin to replace street cars from Ocean Beach to La Jolla.

 

222 new buses are added to the fleet.

 

Bus drivers make approximately $4.83 per day.

 

The Great Depression of the 1930s negatively impacts ridership; revenue goes down but the SDER is able to weather the economic downturn.

 

1935

 

California Pacific International Exposition opens in Balboa Park without the need for expanded transit service, as had been necessary with the Panama Pacific Exposition two decades earlier.

 

1940

 

WWII turns San Diego into a "boom town" again. Defense related industries revitalize the city, as do an influx of military personnel.

 

Ridership on public transit increases 600 percent during the war years. Any piece of equipment that rolls on rails or runs on tires is pressed into service to handle the enormous demand.

Used transit vehicles are purchased from around the nation. More electrical power is needed and substations are built, one in the basement of the Spreckels Theater Building on Broadway.

Some bus routes are operated haphazardly, frequently with no set schedule – just run as fast and as frequently as they can.

 

For the first time, women are hired to drive transit vehicles. This practice is discontinued when the war ends.

 

The 2.5 million dollar rail line built in the 1920s to the beaches is ripped out along with the elaborate stations and terminals and replaced with a bus line.

 

1942

 

Streetcar and bus lines carry 94 million people, ridership increases lead to more than 146 million trips in 1944.

1946

 

San Diego and Electric Railway begins to phase out streetcar lines and replace them with bus routes.

 

1947

 

Only three streetcar lines remain in operation.

 

1948

 

Vintage San Diego Transit Logo, used prior to the adoption of the system's unified MTS logo. The Logo was used both on bus stops and buses themselves.

 

Jesse L. Haugh purchases the San Diego Electric Railway Company from the Spreckels interests. San Diego Electric Railway Company's name is changed to San Diego Transit System. A new emblem and motto, "Safety, Courtesy, Service" are introduced by the San Diego Transit System.

 

1949

 

April 23: New General Motors buses parade down Broadway to mark the retirement of streetcars, making San Diego the first major California city to convert to an all-bus transit system.

 

April 24: At 5:35 am the most senior operator at San Diego Transit, N.A. Holmquist, drives car No. 446 into the Adams Avenue car barn, ending rail transit in San Diego. Operator Holmquist and car No. 446 retire at the same time. It will be just over three decades, until July 1981, before rail transit will roll through San Diego again.

 

1950

 

During the 1950s Jesse Haugh makes a concerted effort to update the transit system and improve service.

 

April: Haugh replaced 58 percent of the bus fleet with the most modern motor coaches available at the time. Accidents are reduced by 33 percent.

 

1953

 

Haugh invests $1.5 million to improve the San Diego-Coronado Ferry and bus service.

 

1955

 

Ridership is the same as it was in 1940s (before the boom of World War II) even though the population has doubled. Nationwide, transit has lost an average of 47 percent of its ridership.

Drivers make $2.10 per hour.

 

Haugh establishes a charter department to increase revenues and purchases over-the-road charter coaches with washrooms, tables, and refreshment centers.

 

1957

 

In a joint transit/business partnership, Haugh begins the Marston Fashion Bus. Marston's is the city's premier department store from the late 19th century through the 1960s. The Fashion Bus has dressing rooms and its own foldout runway ramp.

 

Haugh is named president of the American Transit Association.

 

1959

 

San Diego Transit celebrates its ten-year anniversary under Haugh ownership. During the past ten years it has operated 107,504,296 revenue miles, carried 155,100,249 passengers, consumed 8,271,943 gallons of diesel fuel, and won six national safety awards.

 

1966

 

A specially formed Transit Task Force recommend that the City of San Diego acquire the transit system.

 

June: Voters approve the City's purchase of San Diego Transit System along with a property tax assessment of $0.10 per $100 assessed evaluation to fund its future operations.

 

1967

 

San Diego Transit becomes a non-profit corporation with the City of San Diego. It carries 18.4 million passengers on 23 routes with 150 buses. The base fare is $0.30 plus $0.10 per zone.

 

1969

 

Ridership dips to 18.9 million from 21.5 million in 1968.

 

1970

 

New Federal subsidies allow San Diego Transit to reduce the $0.35 base fare (plus an additional $0.10 per zone up to 8 zones) to a flat $0.25 fare.

 

1976

 

SB 101 becomes law; MTDB formed.

 

1977

 

San Diego Transit carries over 30 million passengers on 44 routes with a fleet of 350 buses and a flat-rate fare of $0.35.

 

1979

 

MTDB Board Member Maureen O'Connor negotiates purchase of SD&AE Railway for $18.1 million.

 

Annual ridership in this decade increases from 18 million to 35 million.

 

1980

 

San Diego Trolley, Inc. (SDTI) formed.

 

1981

 

July 19: San Diego Trolley's inaugural run takes place on the 15.9-mile "South Line" (now "Blue Line") between Centre City San Diego (downtown) and the San Ysidro International Border on a primarily single-track alignment with four passing tracks.

 

July 26: San Diego Trolley begins revenue service. The operating day begins at 5:02 am and ends at 9:01 pm; service operates every 20 minutes; the fleet consists of 14 light-rail vehicles (LRVs); the service carries approximately 10,000 passengers per day.

 

Regional Monthly Ready Pass introduced.

 

MTDB negotiates its first sale/leaseback transaction worth $1.7 million.

 

1982

 

Ten LRVs are added to fleet.

 

1983

 

San Diego Trolley begins 15-minute service on the South Line; average daily ridership is over 14,000.

 

1984

 

June 1: MTDB breaks ground on a 4-mile Trolley extension east from 12th & Imperial to Euclid Avenue. The extension will be the first leg of the "East Line" (now "Orange Line").

July: San Diego Trolley begins new distance-based zone fare structure with fares ranging from 50¢ to $1.

 

RailTex named operator of San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad freight railroad service.

 

Express bus service begins operating on the new I-15 High-Occupancy-Vehicle (HOV) lanes. (The service is provided by County Transit System.)

 

1985

 

The City of San Diego transfers its ownership of San Diego Transit Corporation to MTDB.

 

The MTDB Board expands from seven to 15 members.

 

MTDB negotiates a $1.3 million sale/leaseback transaction.

 

1986

 

 

MTS logo used from 1986 to 2005.

 

Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) logo adopted.

 

One-, Two-, and Three-Day Tripper passes are introduced.

 

San Diego Trolley takes delivery of five new LRVs.

 

March 23: San Diego Trolley begins 30-minute service on the 4.5-mile "East Line" (now "Orange Line") to Euclid Avenue.

 

May: The Transit Store opens at Broadway & Fifth Avenue in downtown San Diego. The new sales and customer service center is a joint operation of San Diego Transit and MTDB.

 

July: Over 5,000 San Diegans attend the "Century of Service" Pops concert in the Gaslamp Quarter, celebrating San Diego Transit's 100 years of public transit service.

 

October: A new station opens at Bayfront/E Street in Chula Vista on San Diego Trolley's South Line.

 

November 17: MTDB breaks ground on the next 11.7-mile extension of the East Line.

 

1987

 

The bus-only San Diego State University (SDSU) Transit Center opens.

Construction begins on the 10-story James R. Mills Building, which is built above the 12th & Imperial Station in downtown San Diego.

 

November: San Diego voters approve a 20-year local sales tax increase called TransNet. The bill authorized a 1/2-percent addition to the local sales tax that is split with 1/3 for highways, 1/3 for local roads, and 1/3 for public transit projects.

 

1988

 

San Diego Trolley takes delivery of 20 new LRVs.

 

The parking lot at National City's 8th Street Trolley Station is expanded.

 

1989

 

January: MTDB, San Diego Trolley, and several County of San Diego departments move to the James R. Mills Building at 12th & Imperial Station.

 

MTDB assumes regulatory responsibility for taxis in the City of San Diego.

San Diego Transit's Kearny Mesa Bus Division opens.

 

May 12: San Diego Trolley begins service on the "East Line" (now "Orange Line") extension from Euclid Avenue to Spring Street in La Mesa.

 

June 23: San Diego Trolley begins service on the East Line extension from Spring Street to El Cajon Transit Center.

 

Average daily Trolley ridership increases to more than 48,000.

Bus and Trolley ridership in this decade grows from 35 million in 1980 to 54 million in 1989.

 

1990

 

San Diego Trolley begins service on the "East Line" (now "Orange Line") extension from Columbia Street (later replaced by America Plaza) to 12th & Imperial via the Bayside Corridor.

MTDB negotiates a $1.6 million sale/leaseback transaction.

 

The Classroom Day Tripper, offering deep discounts for youth and school group field trips, is introduced.

 

San Diego Trolley sets a new, single-day ridership record of 71,790.

 

1991

 

Governor Pete Wilson (formerly San Diego Mayor) inaugurates the start of San Diego Trolley's 7.5-minute peak-period service on the South Line.

 

America Plaza Transfer Station and the 32-story One America Plaza Building open at Broadway & Kettner Blvd., replacing the Columbia Street Station.

 

APTA announces San Diego Trolley will receive the 1991 Public Transportation System Outstanding Achievement Award for systems utilizing 50 peak-hour vehicles or less.

San Diego Trolley carries its 90 millionth rider.

 

1992

 

The Adopt-A-Bus Stop Program begins.

 

MTDB and NCTD jointly purchase Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railway right-of-way in San Diego County.

 

San Diego Trolley begins service on the "South Line" (now "Blue Line") extension from America Plaza to County Center/Little Italy Station with an intermediate stop at Santa Fe Depot.

 

1993

 

South Bay Bus Maintenance Facility in Chula Vista is acquired.

 

1995

 

Compressed natural gas (CNG) buses are placed into service on San Diego Transit and MTDB-contracted bus routes. 97 new CNG buses are added to the fleet.

 

The Transit Store relocates to 102 Broadway (at First Avenue) in downtown.

 

San Diego Trolley takes delivery of 52 new LRVs. These LRVs are a new model (SD-100) with higher performance than the existing fleet of U2s.

 

MTDB complete a bus sale/leaseback transaction for $540,000 and an LRV sale/leaseback transaction for $10.7 million.

 

August 26: San Diego Trolley begins service on the "East Line" (now "Orange Line") extension from El Cajon Transit Center to Santee Town Center. Revenue service begins August 28.

 

1996

 

San Diego Transit celebrates its 110th Anniversary; San Diego Trolley celebrates its 15th Anniversary.

 

June 15: San Diego Trolley begins service on the "North Line" (now "Blue Line") extension from County Center/Little Italy Station to Old Town Transit Center. Revenue service begins June 16. The North Line is through routed with the South Line.

 

The Adult Education Center joint development project breaks ground at National City's 24th Street Trolley station.

 

1997

 

Full "MTS Access" ADA complementary paratransit service is implemented.

 

The MTDB-contracted "Inland Breeze" bus service, funded through FasTrak revenue, begins service on the I-15 HOV lanes.

 

San Diego Trolley renames the South/North Line as the Blue Line and the East Line as the Orange Line. Trolley station identification numbers are reclassified from a letter and one or two numbers to two numbers and either a wave (Blue Line) or sun (Orange Line).

 

November 22: San Diego Trolley begins service on the "Blue Line" extension from Old Town Transit Center to Mission San Diego. Revenue service begins November 23.

 

1998

 

San Diego Trolley has record ridership of 219,000 to National Football League's Super Bowl XXXII and 140,000 to Major League Baseball's World Series.

 

1999

 

San Diego Trolley's Mission Valley East (MVE) extension from Mission San Diego to Grossmont Center breaks ground.

 

Congress authorizes $325 million for MVE and Mid-Coast Trolley extensions. (The Mid-Coast extension would run from Old Town Transit Center north to Balboa Avenue and UCSD.)

Commute service begins on the San Diego-Coronado Ferry.

 

MTS bus and trolley annual ridership grows from 60 million in 1990 to 84 million in 1999.

 

Wikipedia Quotes

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