The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is exploring options to accelerate public transit between San Ysidro and downtown San Diego, including the proposal of an express trolley service on the Blue Line.
This express service aims to bypass less frequented stops to expedite travel time for riders.
However, the experiences of Los Angeles and San Jose, which have canceled similar light rail express services due to insufficient ridership, hint at potential challenges for the proposed Blue Line Express.
Critics argue that the best solution lies in enhancing trolley frequencies and improving travel speeds within downtown, rather than creating an express option that may underperform.
Presently, trolleys on the Blue Line route between San Ysidro and downtown make 11 stops and take 34 minutes to complete the journey.
The introduction of express trolleys would skip some stops, intending to provide a quicker service.
However, research by the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) identifies that both proposed express concepts would result in minimal time savings.
The first plan involves building passing tracks at locations where both express and standard trolleys stop, which would allow express trains to overtake non-express trains at a reduced speed of 10 miles per hour.
Such a setup would only yield a four-minute reduction in travel times.
The second concept proposes a separated track that would allow express trolleys to bypass most stations at full speed, yet the overall time savings would just be five to seven minutes for the 15% of passengers who travel the full route.
For other riders, the wait times for express trolleys could negate any time saved en route, as express service would likely occur every 15 minutes compared to the 7.5-minute frequency of non-express trains.
Furthermore, despite the intention to reduce travel times, the express service would fail to address the slow speeds downtown, where trolleys currently crawl at a mere 8.7 miles per hour.
This aspect of the proposal discourages transit use among those traveling between northern and southern San Diego areas.
Unfortunately, limited space in downtown San Diego prevents the addition of express tracks.
SANDAG’s proposal for an express bus, Rapid 640, parallels the Blue Line Express concept and is similarly viewed as an unproductive endeavor.
Even with a significant investment of $180 million into dedicated freeway lanes, Rapid 640 may not provide faster service than existing trolleys.
Despite operating during off-peak hours and avoiding congestion, existing Bus 910 takes 38 minutes for the route, which is still longer than the Blue Line’s 34-minute journey.
Although Bus 910 plays a vital role when the Blue Line closes for freight traffic, experts believe Rapid 640 is excessive given that Blue Line trains can carry up to 450 passengers every 7.5 minutes, while Rapid 640’s articulated buses will accommodate only 100 passengers and run every 15 to 30 minutes.
The case for increasing Blue Line trolley frequencies is compelling.
Rather than diverting resources to implementing express service, MTS should focus on enhancing existing service by reducing wait times.
By increasing the frequency of Blue Line trolleys from 7.5 to just five minutes, all stations between San Ysidro and downtown stand to benefit.
This adjustment could result in an average reduction of 1.25 minutes of wait time for passengers, equating to a perceived in-vehicle time reduction of about 3.13 minutes.
Studies indicate that riders often perceive each minute spent waiting as equivalent to 2.5 minutes of travel time.
The implementation of five-minute frequencies would not only be quicker but also more cost-effective than the proposed express trolley service.
While both options require investment in infrastructure and vehicle acquisitions, express trolley concepts necessitate between $500 million and $3 billion to create new tracks.
In contrast, improving trolley frequencies could largely be accomplished using existing infrastructure, incurring much lower costs.
Currently, Blue Line trains face delays at red lights in downtown.
Implementing trolley signal priority could potentially reduce this downtown travel time from 15 minutes to 10, benefitting both Blue Line and Orange Line passengers.
Additionally, removing the America Plaza Station could further enhance speeds since trolleys already stop at Santa Fe Depot located nearby.
MTS plans to enhance and grade-separate tracks near San Ysidro Station, contributing to faster overall travel times.
Pre-pandemic ridership was steady throughout the day, and increased teleworking along with MTS’s extended midday and late-night Blue Line frequencies have further encouraged off-peak ridership in the post-COVID landscape.
SANDAG should reconsider its focus on express service options and instead prioritize making Blue Line trips faster and more efficient throughout the day.
image source from：voiceofsandiego
