Coronado’s free summer shuttle wrapped up its 2025 season with a strong rebound in ridership, according to Coronado’s senior planner Tricia Olsen, and the city is already looking at improving the program for the next year.
This year’s program mirrored last year’s, but with a shorter operating time and daily schedule, running from July 1 through Labor Day instead of its previous Memorial Day start.
Despite the shorter season, the program recorded just under 71,000 total riders — a 31% increase from 2024 and the third-highest ridership since the program began in 2013, according Olsen.
On average, the shuttle carried about 1,123 riders per day. The last time numbers were that high was in 2022, when the summer shuttle ran almost twice as long at 102 days versus this year’s 63 days. In 2022, the bus had a total of around 79,000 riders.
This year, there were also extended hours during the Fourth of July where the shuttle ran routes to the Coronado Cays and saw increased ridership.
The costs
The city funds the program at around $115,000 but it is operated through the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), averaging $1.62 per rider – the lowest cost per rider since 2016, according to the staff report.
In a survey, 91% of riders said they were highly satisfied with the service. Most respondents were age 65 and older, and about two-thirds were Coronado residents.
There was also a pleasant surprise for the city as it spent around $14,000 less on the program than originally predicted. One avenue where the summer shuttle was able to save money was on marketing. About $2,900 was spent on marketing, compared to a $9,000 budget, but that expense was made up for by $3,000 in revenue from in-bus advertising.
Mayor John Duncan said he wants to explore sponsorship opportunities to help offset the cost of bus wraps and make the program more efficient. The buses currently used are the traditional big MTS buses seen on San Diego streets, but wrapped in brighter colors and signage.
The future of the summer shuttle
Council members Carrie Anne Downey and Amy Steward both supported the idea of a hybrid approach – using a smaller shuttle for most of the summer, but bringing back larger buses for Fourth of July service, when ridership is shown to peak.
We want to look at how we can best serve the citizens with a smaller vehicle.
Coronado Mayor John Duncan
“We want to look at how we can best serve the citizens with a smaller vehicle,” Duncan agreed.
Council directed staff to return in the spring with two proposed models, one of which includes using smaller buses citywide.
MTS also announced that starting in January 2026, the agency will be replacing the current full-size buses with smaller mini buses, which is expected to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, according to Olsen.
“A bit smaller of a bus footprint, but a bit better in terms of emissions and miles per gallon,” said Olsen.
