The Metropolitan Transit System‘s board on Thursday unanimously approved a $108 million capital spending program for 2017 that includes new buses and trolleys.
The major projects in the budget include:
- Eight new low-floor Trolleys — $31 million
- 45 Compressed Natural Gas buses — $23 million
- New transit facility (location to be determined) — $7.1 million
- New Courthouse Trolley Station on C Street between State and Union streets — $5.7 million
- 46 near-zero emission paratransit buses — $4.7 million
CEO Paul Jablonski said that having a capital budget of over $100 million “very healthy” for a transit agency of San Diego’s size.
“This includes new trolleys and buses, transit facility upgrades, hundreds of bus benches and bus shelters, technology improvements and more,” he said. “MTS is committed to providing the best rider experience possible.”
MTS operates 95 bus routes and three trolley lines on 53 miles of double-tracked railway. Every weekday more than 300,000 trips are taken on the MTS.
The transit system set a new record in 2015 with 96.7 million riders.