SAN DIEGO — According to the State of MTS, 70% of its passengers can't afford a car and more than half make less than $20,000 a year. The report highlighted safety, technology and new services among a wide range of initiatives.
“Like with the state of the economy, I can't afford a car right now so you know if I want to get down here that's kind of my only option,” MTS passenger Ava Geasland said.
MTS is in the process of expanding their number of code compliance inspectors by 60%. They expect about 34 people to be hired by the end of the year.
Meantime, technology is becoming more of a tool for MTS. During the summer, they launched their contactless payment system. Next year, MTS said they will launch digital signs on trolleys with real time arrival information, transfer points and service alerts.
MTS also announced they are enhancing service for people who ride the bus during off-peak hours.
“Honestly compared to like any other like larger like metro city area I've lived in San Diego’s public transit is like not as widely available and not as accessible I think because a lot of it the hours are so limited,” Geasland said.
For people traveling early morning hours or late at night, a new express bus service will run between San Ysidro and Downtown San Diego seven days a week.
“We have a lot of our customers in the south bay and MTS is not forgetting about them,” MTS Board Member and City of San Diego Councilmember Vivian Moreno said.