Chula Vista residents can now travel during rush hour to downtown San Diego on buses that run on state highways and are allowed to continue on shoulders to avoid vehicular traffic.
“This is about getting people to work, to their home, to shopping a little bit faster and a little bit easier,” said county Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher, speaking of the Bus on Shoulder Pilot Project.
The bus route avoids traffic by using the shoulder runs along Interstate 805 and 94.
Its schedule includes the hours when traffic is most congested on these highways, from 6 a.m.to 9 a.m and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
These are times when most residents head to work and school or return home, but Fletcher said it's timed travel that also allows for on-time medical appointments and other important commitments for residents in south county.
The project uses high technology to inform trained bus drivers about traffic congestion that they will encounter on their route to downtown San Diego or from that area to the south of Chula Vista.
"The sensors integrated in these buses provide audio and visual alerts to drivers regarding the position of the lane and possible conflicts with other vehicles or obstructions along the corridor and the shoulder,” the county Metropolitan Public Transport System (MTS) reported.
The program works in coordination with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the federal Department of Transportation.
The MTS adapted the route with infrastructure works that were carried out mainly in 2020 with the support of the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).
The cost of the project is $30 million, including $17 million the county gets from a quarter-cent sales tax that was approved in elections to improve vehicle infrastructure.
It's the first route of its kind in San Diego County, and at the end of the three-year testing phase, the county will decide whether to expand the idea to other routes that see higher use during peak hours.
During the testing period, the MTS will closely monitor performance and time data, travel speeds, technology usage, issues, and passenger and driver perceptions of the service. Participating government agencies will use this data to plan future projects involving vehicle-to-infrastructure technology in the county.
Those interested in service can find information on MTS under the name South Bay Rapid, Route 225, or under the San Diego County Bus on Shoulder (BOS).
