SDMTS approves permanent Overnight Express service to San Ysidro
Route 910, a late-night service which connects downtown San Diego to San Ysidro and the Mexican border, will continue after a successful 12-month pilot program
Route 910, the first overnight transit service in San Diego, will continue operating after the MTS board approved the service at a public hearing Thursday morning. Route 910 was introduced as a pilot program nearly one year ago, as a pilot express route connecting all Blue Line stations between the Santa Fe Depot and Harborside, then making limited stops at 24th Street, Palomar Street, Iris Avenue, and San Ysidro-International.
The route runs approximately every 30 minutes during the hours when the Trolley does not operate (midnight to 4am), has the same fare as the Trolley or local bus, and a comparable travel time. The Trolley does not operate 24/7 due to freight rail service and vital track maintenance projects.
In a presentation to the MTS Board, staff highlighted the importance of the Blue Line corridor and of night and early morning service along the corridor. About 2/3rds of Trolley ridership is along the Blue Line, and if it were a standalone light rail network, it’d have the 5th-highest light rail ridership in the nation, ahead of Dallas, Portland, and Salt Lake City’s entire rail networks. The presentation also noted that ridership at San Ysidro-International Station spikes in the early morning, as commuters crossing the border enter the United States. The first service northbound towards San Diego, at 4:19 AM, is the busiest of the entire service day.
Since launch, route 910 service has shown signs of success, carrying an average of over 220 passengers per day, according to the MTS presentation. This puts the average passenger subsidy (the amount it costs MTS to provide a single ride on a service, after all operational costs are accounted for) well below comparable limited-hour express routes.
Public comment was broadly supportive of the route, emphasizing its importance to commuters.
I am a regular 6 days a week rider, I usually take the bus at Iris trolley station but I have to take bus 907 at 3:57 am to Iris trolley station then I take the last 910 to downtown San Diego to take the green line trolley at 4:51am . I have to be at work at 5:00 am and this is the only way I can make it to work on time… - B. Perez
The future of Route 910, though, is far from guaranteed. While route 910 funding was programmed through FY 2026 as a result of the agency’s proposed SB 125 allocations, future years of funding are in jeopardy as a result of MTS’s unprecedented “fiscal cliff,” which could lead to major cuts across the network if not addressed.
This makes today’s vote even more of a vote of confidence in one of the network’s most vital corridors, preserving transit access at all hours between some of the busiest Trolley stations and laying the foundation for an even more useful and resilient Blue Line…if we can keep it.
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This makes so much sense for the Blue Line corridor. Night shift workers and early morning border crossers need reliable transit options, and 220 riders per day for an overnight route is actualy pretty solid numbers. The fiscal cliff threat is unfortunate timing, but this vote shows the board understands how critical this service is for people who literaly have no other way to get to work that early.