18-04-2025
More San Diegans opting to take MTS over cars, new survey shows
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego Metropolitan Transit System ridership has still yet to fully rebound to pre-pandemic levels, but a recent survey conducted of its customers found they are becoming more satisfied with its services.
The survey, which was conducted by ETC Institute for the transit system last November, also found the transit system is far exceeding the national averages in every performance metric — from timeliness, convivence and reliability to cleanliness and safety.
On top of that, its results suggested the transit system's efforts to attract higher-income people who have a car or access to other options appear to be working, with greater shares of riders making $75,000 yearly or more saying they are choosing to use the system to get to their final destination than in years past.
'It's truly incredible,' Chris Tatham, CEO of the Kansas-based research firm who led the survey, said to the MTS Board of Directors during Thursday's monthly meeting. 'I do these presentations regularly. Very rarely do I see ratings as high as these.'
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Of the roughly 4,000 randomly selected survey respondents, more than 80% expressed overall satisfaction with the transit system, with about five times as many people giving a better rating of the services than they did a year ago, compared to those whose opinion worsened.
The shifts came in tandem with high marks from respondents in areas like on-time performance, ease with finding out whether MTS buses or Trolleys are experiencing delays, level of convivence and efficiency, and presence of security throughout the network.
Each of these areas, which are ones MTS has made a concerted effort in recent years to improve upon, had more than 60% to 90% of surveyed customers respond positively to the transit system's performance, according to Tatham.
The metric where MTS performed the lowest — but was still above the national average — was in cleanliness at transit stops and in buses and trolleys. Only about 65% of bus riders and 53% of Trolley riders said the vehicles were clean, while 54% of respondents said stations were clean.
And it does not appear to be deterring riders. The survey found that far more bus and Trolley riders would recommend using MTS's services to friends or neighbors than those who would not or actively promote against it.
This has spilled into more people from higher-income levels choosing to take public transit compared to the last survey two years ago — something that Tatham noted he has observed nationally over the last few years.
In the study's demographic snapshot, roughly 23% of Trolley riders and 16% of bus riders reported annual income above $75,000.
Similar portions of MTS customers stated they were not dependent on transit to get around, meaning they have alternatives like driving alone or calling a rideshare service. About 28% of Trolley riders and 17% of bus riders reported having other options.
Of the people who said they were not reliant on MTS, many said they viewed the bus and Trolley 'just as convenient as walking or driving' or as a way to save money on car expenses like parking and gas.
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Work and school remained the top reasons why riders across the board were taking their respective trip when surveyed, but Tatham noted there has been an uptick in recent years of people using the system for leisure or to get to special events like sports games or concerts.
The survey is a promising sign for MTS as it sets out on another comprehensive analysis of the system operations and the effectiveness of its services.
The transit system's Board of Directors voted unanimously earlier this year to pursue the study, which would be the first since major capital projects like the Blue Line extension have come online, alongside one exploring a possible fare increase to avert a brewing budget crisis.
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