Coronado’s experiment with a free shuttle service has attracted about 322 passengers a day since it was launched as a pilot program in June, but city leaders have yet to determine whether the program will be sustainable.
The city paid Circuit a total of around $347,000 to operate the Electric Mini Shuttle Service, also named the Island Express, during its first four months of service, or approximately $87,000 per month on average. The contract between the city and Circuit puts a cap of $630,000 of spending on the program for the total six months.
A staff report to the City Council on Nov. 5 said 38,366 passengers were recorded during the shuttle service’s first four months. The initial vision for the program was to allow free door-to-door transportation for residents and visitors and test the service’s impact on residents, traffic and car use reduction.
It does not run on routes like a bus system and instead works as a dial-a-ride service.
Coronado Village vs Coronado Cays
The staff report showed that ridership in the Coronado Cays was significantly lower than rides in the Village, and therefore cost significantly more per passenger to operate. Approximately 5% of the total rides occurred within Coronado Cays, according to the staff report.
There were 998 total rides from the Cays, averaging around 16 passengers per day. When factoring the amount the city paid for this program, that comes out to around $49 per passenger in the Cays, while costs in the Village averaged out to around $7 per passenger due to receiving more passengers and rides.
The Village, which saw 95% of rides, consists of anywhere north of the Naval Amphibious Base; from First Street to Coronado Avenue to Ocean Boulevard and to Glorietta Boulevard, said Councilmembers Casey Tanaka and Mike Donovan to The Coronado News.
According to the staff report, 86% of users who responded said they were very satisfied with the service, while less than 5% reported an unsatisfactory experience.
Three-quarters of respondents said they would pay a small fee to use the service.
The goal
The Island Express was launched, in part, in hopes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Circuit, the mini shuttle program has resulted in 17.36 metric tons of greenhouse gas savings through the first four months of service. However, Circuit’s formula assumed that 100% of all rides displaced a trip by a gas-powered vehicle.
“Their assumptions, I’m not sure are correct,” said Richard Grunow, director of community development, redevelopment services and housing. “I think that [number] is probably inflated.”
Councilmember Mike Donovan said his goals for the electric shuttle are to reduce traffic on the island, improve parking availability and benefit the environment.
“We’ve gotten mixed signals on some of those, but it’s clear … that the costs, I think at this point, are not sustainable,” Donovan said. “It’s not something that we would want to pay for.”
Donovan also noted that the shuttle program is now in competition with Coronado Livery, a taxi service.
“It’s hard to compete with something that’s free,” said Carelyn Reynolds, the livery company president. “And it’s hard to compete when someone is given $600,000 of city funds.”
Donovan suggested spending more time working with the cab company to figure out costs, greenhouse gas emissions and whether electric or hybrid vehicles can be used as taxis.
Staff will return to the City Council at the end of the year to assess the program’s data after the six-month pilot period is completed, and to ask for direction on how to move forward.
