The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System remains financially stable despite ridership having plummeted during the pandemic, according to county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.
The agency plans to continue pursuing an expansion of its rail and bus network while overhauling its approach to public safety. It’s also on track to start service this fall on the roughly $2 billion Blue Line trolley extension.
Fletcher, chair of the MTS board, gave an online speech Thursday outlining the state of the transit agency.
“We are facing obvious challenges from COVID-19, but we are meeting these challenges and stand in a strong position to continue to fulfill our mission for essential workers and are ready to build back better when we move from response to COVID recovery,” he said during the public address, billed as the first annual “State of MTS.”
Transit officials have, in recent months, restored bus and trolley service to near pre-pandemic levels, saying that federal funding should help keep the agency solvent at least through the middle of next year.
Ridership is still down by roughly 60 percent, significantly cutting into fare revenue. But MTS is slated to pull in at least $220 million through 2022 from the federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, officials have said.
San Diego’s not alone in this respect. Federal relief funding has, at least temporarily, stabilized transit systems throughout the country. The notable exception is the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which continues to plead for help from Congress in patching a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall.
“Most transit agencies have not had to cut service,” said Yonah Freemark, senior researcher at the Washington D.C.-based Urban Institute. “The combination of the CARES Act and the second COVID relief bill solved the operations-cost crisis of virtually every transit agency in the county.”
The question for transit agencies is whether ridership will bounce back once pandemic restrictions ease, Freemark added.
“It’s not a given that transit ridership will return quickly, even if people are vaccinated relatively soon,” he said. “Agencies are going to potentially need additional financial support from the federal government.”
At Thursday’s event, Fletcher highlighted ongoing efforts to electrify the agency’s bus fleet, build new housing on MTS property near transit, and a take more nuanced approach to security.
“We are all aware of what is happening around the country when it comes to law enforcement reform,” he said. “Change is absolutely necessary, and we need to take a critical look at our public security within our agency.”
The agency recently made changes to its use-of-force policy, banning the use of carotid restraints around the head and neck. It’s also reduced fines for fare evaders, setting up an appeals system that allows riders to resolve tickets without having to go through the local court system.
“Another change is a new look for our security teams,” Fletcher said. “With our philosophical shift from enforcement to service, MTS security officers will be wearing new uniforms that visually connect with the communities we serve.”
Fletcher also highlighted ongoing efforts to beef up the region’s rail network.
This fall, MTS plans to open a 11-mile Blue Line trolley extension between downtown and University City, featuring nine new transit stations.
Fletcher also threw his weight behind an effort at the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, to build a new high-speed-rail network from Oceanside to the international border.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues on the SANDAG board of directors on this bold new vision,” Fletcher said.
SANDAG’s transit vision would likely require a sizable sale tax increase. That’s money, Fletcher said, that could also help expand bus and trolley service more immediately. He pointed out that MTS currently receives just an eighth of a cent on the consumer dollar in local sales tax revenue, compared to 2 cents for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
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January 22, 2021 at 08:44AM
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Fletcher: San Diego MTS stable despite pandemic, looking to expand transit service - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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