Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
Efficiency
College students grapple with the efficiency of public transportation
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Corinne Davidson transferred to Boston University from SDSU. She said she never felt anything positive about San Diego’s public transit system when comparing the two places.
Her first experience with the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) trolley was her last.
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Davidson and her friend wanted Chick-fil-A. Avoiding food on SDSU’s campus, they headed for the trolley to take them to dinner. After 30 minutes of waiting, a worker walked up to them and said, “The trolley was stuck somewhere. It won’t be coming tonight.” Davidson didn’t see any updates on the Pronto app, even as they were told this news.
They disappointedly walked away, surrendering themselves to campus food.
Davidson said this isn’t a problem in Boston, Massachusetts. As a student at Boston University, she can rely on the bus or trolley to arrive.
MTS ridership has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, but SDSU students said they still can’t help but compare it to other systems around the country.
Transit frequency, reliability, safety, cleanliness and cost are some of the main problems cited by a Social Equity Listening Tour funded by MTS in 2023. This extensive survey tour dispersed pop-up tents all over San Diego County to hear the needs of each city.
The left map shows the only three trolley routes in all of San Diego County. The right map shows the BART routes in San Fransisco. Maps Created by Brittany Cruz-Fejeran.
These issues also reflect SDSU’s student population.
Justyn Frutiz, a third-year SDSU journalism major, utilizes MTS, but he said the service is directing security on fares more than safety.
“You’ll be on the trolley, and they’ll be like, ‘Where’s your ticket? Where’s your ticket?’” Frutiz said. “They already asked me at a different station. Do we really need to do this?”
MTS announced a security initiative at the end of January that will double the presence of security officers on trains and on-site. According to Steve Goble, MTS Board Vice Chair and El Cajon City Councilmember in a press release by MTS, the forces will prioritize more than fare enforcement
When it comes to Frutiz’s safety, he takes it in his own hands. He takes the trolley to school but will take the bus home because he doesn’t feel safe on the trolley at night.
SDSU alumni Nicole Hoener said they would’ve used the bus if it saved them money. The cost of a semester parking ticket is $174 and a semester bus pass is $164. They were unconvinced by the mere $10 difference.
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MTS launched the Youth Opportunities Pass pilot program that grants children 18 years old and younger free rides.
Although temporary, the County of San Diego and MTS are working on making the program permanent and extending the age range to 24 years old and younger.
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San Diego State University alumni Catlan Nguyen said she used public transportation while she lived on campus until she got mugged in 2019. With a serrated knife pointed at her stomach, she was threatened by a man and woman with her life if she didn't give them her purse.
After that, she avoided San Diego’s public transportation system and got a car.
Four years later, she lives in Seattle, Washington and her public transportation experience is completely different.
“I adore the light rail,” she said.
Nguyen said she will always be an advocate for public transportation. Nguyen said despite her traumatic experience of getting mugged while waiting for a bus, she still believes in the importance of public transit in every city.
“I still love it,” she said. “I think (of) the convenience and the way that it gets me to avoid traffic and just the fact that it's better for the environment and it saves me so much time if there is traffic. I just…I'm always gonna come back to liking it.”