Free Summer Shuttle Will Ride Again as City Seeks to Reinstate Island Express

Last summer, Coronado conducted two public transit experiments. First, it piloted a free, door-to-door electric shuttle service. Second, it decided to give its floundering, free summer shuttle program one more try.

Now, the city has some data and it’s ready to make some decisions on both programs’ future.

The free summer shuttle will run again this summer, after the service saw a rebound in ridership in 2023. The service began in 2013, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership declined. (Public transit use in San Diego as a whole has declined since then, according to The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, which operates the shuttle.)

Its 2024 run was more successful, and it will return, at least for one more year. This shuttle program uses buses on fixed routes and will run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. starting July 1 and concluding Sept. 1.

It will operate with extended hours and service to the Coronado Cays on the Fourth of July.

The future of the door-to-door shuttle known as the Island Express is a bit more hazy. The service, which used six mini shuttles and two electric transit vans, was popular and expensive for the city, and the Coronado City Council at its March 18 meeting asked staff to explore more financially feasible options to maintain the shuttle system.

Those options could be issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to see if another operator could shave costs. Circuit, which operates electric shuttles around the nation, including in San Diego County, ran the Island Express pilot.

Coronado could also explore grant opportunities, offer advertising on the shuttle, or implement a small fee for the shuttle, which, during its pilot months, was free.

Council Member Amy Steward said that the community seemed to prefer the door-to-door shuttle, and favored it over the buses. In a 4-1 vote to continue the shuttle buses this year, she voted in dissent.

However, the rest of the council acceded that if Coronado establishes a permanent door-to-door shuttle, the routed bus shuttles may become obsolete.

“I think they’re two different beasts, and it’s hard to compare them,” Council Member Mark Fleming said. “That doesn’t mean that in the long run, I’m in favor, necessarily, of keeping the big buses, but I see it a least for this summer. If we’re going to reinstate an Island Express program, we’re going to need some time to get that right, and I don’t see that in place by this summer.”

Mayor John Duncan said that last summer, as he had morning coffee meetings around town, he never once saw more than four people on the bus shuttles. However, he noted that it was a useful transit option for Coronado’s Fourth of July celebration. He hoped the city could find a way to implement a “financially feasible” shuttle program by the fall.

Council Member Kelly Purvis said she has been a long supporter of the summer shuttle, but also a long skeptic of its vehicles. Not only are the buses larger than they need to be, she argued, but also, they look like city buses, which could confuse potential riders.

Unsurprisingly, service to the Coronado Cays was the most expensive part of the door-to-door shuttle pilot program. The mini shuttles cannot legally drive on State Road 75 to the Cays, so Circuit used vans. Rides to the Cays constituted 11% of the total rides, and costs an average of $29 per passenger, compared to the $7 per passenger in the Coronado Village.

One potential way to cut costs for service to the Cays would be to use a routed system for the Cays, rather than allowing on-demand, door-to-door service. Council Member Downey suggested that the RFP ask for pricing for routes off the island as well – such as to the airport or the Naval Medical Center (informally known as the “Balboa Hospital”) in effort to help residents with mobility issues.

By the numbers

The electric, on-demand shuttle known as the Island Express provided door-to-door service from June 4 to Dec. 4 of last year. It ran from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

It was free to ride, and cost the city $561,509, including $13,000 for vehicle wrapping and about $14,000 for a call center (for those who did not use the service’s app to request rides).

During the pilot period, Circuit completed an average of 163 rides per day for 58,596 passengers. Most rides – 89% of them – were in the Village.

Top drop-off locations were the Coronado Ferry Landing, the Hotel del Coronado, the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa, the Coronado Shores, and the Bayside at Coronado. The city estimates that the electric shuttles offset 7.8 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. (A 10-kilowatt residential, rooftop solar system would reduce about 4 metric tons in the same time period.)

The average wait time after requesting a ride was about nine minutes. There were no significant changes to traffic or parking availability in the city. Most riders said they were satisfied with the service and that they would pay a small fee to use it. There were 695 unique respondents to the survey that provided this information.

Meanwhile, the free summer shuttle rebounded last summer after years of stagnation. It ran on an abbreviated schedule last year – from July 1 to Labor Day weekend – with reduced daily hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. On the Fourth of July, the shuttle offered extended hours and provided service to the Cays.

There was a 58% increase in ridership in 2024 compared to 2023, with 847 average rides per day. Pre-pandemic, daily rides hit just over 1,500, so it has not fully rebounded, but it is a marked improvement from the 398 daily rides seen in 2023.

The program cost the city $114,000 through a contract with MTS, which equates to $2.10 per passenger.

The 2025 free summer shuttle will cost $121,000. It will again offer extended hours and service to the Cays on the Fourth of July.