CORONADO, CA (April 21, 2016) – The City of Coronado will fund another year of the popular Free Summer Shuttle program to get residents and visitors out of their cars during Coronado’s busiest season. This year, the City is adding new shuttle service to the Silver Strand and the Coronado Cays.
The service will operate from May 27 through September 26, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and one hour later on Friday and Saturday. The program is jointly funded by the City, the Coronado Tourism Improvement District, which is once again providing the shuttle “wraps” that add a bit of whimsy and fun and exemplifies Coronado’s carefree beach vibe, and Loews Coronado Bay Resort.
The City Council agreed this week to contract with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System to provide for the fourth year in a row the Free Summer Shuttle in downtown Coronado, from the Ferry Landing to City Hall. The City also contracted with Loews to operate the Free Silver Strand Summer Bus that will connect Cays riders with the downtown shuttle buses.
The Free Summer Shuttle will run even more frequently than last year at 15-minute intervals, meaning no riders will wait at an MTS bus stop longer than 15 minutes for the next bus. The new Free Silver Strand Summer Bus will run at 30-minute intervals from the Cays with stops at Loews, Navy Housing and the Naval Amphibious Base along the Strand.
The Cays shuttle service will provide greater connectivity to riders from the Silver Strand to the Village and from the Village to Coronado’s “other beach,” Silver Strand State Park. The Loews-operated shuttle will use two smaller 12-passenger buses.
The City of Coronado is contributing $221,000 in support of the shuttle service and the Coronado Tourism Improvement District is providing nearly $70,000 for the “wraps.” As the operator of the Free Silver Strand Summer Bus, Loews also is contributing $32,000 in in-kind services. The resort plans to use the funds to expand its existing service shuttling guests to the downtown.
The Free Summer Shuttle in Coronado is MTS’s highest performing route in terms of passengers carried per hour of operation. Bus stop signs will be installed and promotional material, including a bus schedule, will be made available to local hotels, businesses and in each bus to promote the free shuttles.
The Free Summer Shuttle Program began in 2013 and expands MTS’s Route 904 service. The pilot program was successful, resulting in an increase in ridership of one-way passenger trips of 506 percent. Ridership continued to increase, with passenger counts for the summer 2015 increasing 48 percent over the summer 2014, and 110 percent over the summer 2013. Last year, more than 116,000 people took a ride on the Free Summer Shuttle.
