The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS or often simply MTS) is a public transit service provider for Central, South, Northeast, and Southeast San Diego County. The agency directly operates a large transit system that includes the MTS Bus, San Diego Trolley light rail, and Rapid bus rapid transit services. The MTS also controls the San Diego and Arizona Eastern (SD&AE) freight railway and regulates taxicabs, jitneys, and other private for-hire passenger transportation services.
MTS is one of the oldest transit systems in Southern California, with predecessors dating back as early as the 1880s. The current agency started operations in 1976 as the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) and changed to its current name in 2005.
The MTS works closely with the North County Transit District (NCTD), which operates public transit services in Northern San Diego County, and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), which plans, develops, and constructs transit projects for both the MTS and NCTD.
In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
History
Origins
San Diego's public transportation traces its roots back to the San Diego Street Car Company, which opened a single line on July 3, 1886, with cars drawn by two mules or horses. The system would eventually expand to five lines across Downtown San Diego. At the same time as the first horse-drawn line was being inaugurated, there were already plans to start up an electric streetcar service in San Diego, with at least some service starting in November 1887.
The San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy), the direct predecessor of today's MTS, was founded in 1891 by John D. Spreckels (who would later go on to build the San Diego and Arizona Railway). The SDERy would greatly expand electric streetcar service by purchasing several existing transit companies and converted them to electric operation.
In 1910, Spreckels was able to force a ballot initiative that amended his charter with the City of San Diego to give him more than 25 years on his leases to operate streetcar service. Passage of the initiative allowed the SDERy to secure loans that led to service expansion.
The electric streetcar system took a big hit during the "Great Flood" of 1916 that washed out several lines. Rebuilding was a challenge as World War I increased the cost of railway construction materials by 50 to 150 percent. Simultaneously, private automobiles became more common, with many owners picking up work as jitney drivers who would cruise the streetcar routes and pick up fares.
The first motor bus hit the San Diego area streets in 1922, operating between National City and Chula Vista. Over the next two decades, the rail lines would gradually be replaced by motor buses, and on April 24, 1949, the last rail service was discontinued, making San Diego the first major city in California to convert to an all-bus system.
In 1948, the Spreckels family sold the San Diego Electric Railway Company to Jesse L. Haugh, who renamed it the San Diego Transit System and invested in updating and improving the system. Despite the improvements, ridership drops. Facing a financial crisis, the city of San Diego took control of the system in 1967, renaming it the San Diego Transit Corporation, which is to be operated as a non-profit. In 1970, to boost struggling ridership, fares that ranged from 35¢ to $1.15 were lowered to a flat 25¢ fare. By the end of the decade, annual ridership would improve from 18 million to 35 million.
Planning for mass transit
The Comprehensive Planning Organization (now known as SANDAG), an intergovernmental agency of 13 cities and San Diego County, was established in 1966. The group began planning a mass transit system for the area, studying technologies, alignments, and costs, but the plans went nowhere due to disagreements between stakeholders.
In 1975, California established the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) with a clear mission: plan, construct and operate a mass transit system. The agency formally started operations on January 1, 1976. The MTDB also struggled to resolve stakeholders' disagreements over the same issues of technologies, alignments and costs.
On September 10, 1976, nature intervened, setting off a chain of events that would help decide the first mass transit line.