Coronado's free summer shuttle carried about 64,000 passengers in 2026, down 9% from roughly 70,700 the year before, after the city and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) switched to smaller buses with fewer seats.

City staff presented the ridership numbers at the Tuesday, Nov. 3 City Council meeting, The Coronado News reported. The program ran daily from June through September, with buses operating between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The decline was expected. MTS replaced its standard 32- to 40-seat buses, which also allowed standing passengers, with 20-seat mini-buses. The city also cut from four buses to three operating per hour.

The tradeoff showed up at the curb. MTS records found 242 trips reached full capacity, and more than 650 passengers could not board a bus.

Council member Carrie Downey said the larger buses would not have fixed the problem. She said the smaller fleet kept the service more efficient and brought the cost per rider down.

"Getting the larger buses back wouldn't necessarily solve the 653 passenger issue," Downey said at the meeting, according to The Coronado News.

Council member Kelly Purvis said she observed that riders who could not board were willing to wait for the next bus or walk a few blocks to catch one at another stop, according to the same report.

Cost fell with ridership

The full program cost $105,124, according to a city staff report first detailed in Coronado Times coverage published Nov. 2. That was under the $117,094 estimate. The city paid MTS $103,371, down from $114,004 in 2025. The cost per rider fell from $1.62 to $1.58.

The busiest stop was near the Coronado Ferry Landing at 1st Street and B Avenue, with more than 15,000 boardings. The second-busiest stop, at Orange Avenue and Adella Avenue, drew about 8,700.

Electric buses shelved for now

Beverly Neff, MTS manager of planning and reporting, told the council that electric buses remain in the agency's long-term plans but are not a current priority. MTS had begun converting vehicles to electric power but slowed purchases as the agency neared its budget limits, according to The Coronado News.

"We have slowed down on the EV purchases just because those vehicles are so much more expensive and have much more limited range," Neff said at the meeting, according to The Coronado News. "It is not a current priority due to the fiscal issues that we're in."

Downey, who also sits on the MTS board of directors, said at an earlier council meeting that the transit agency faces a fiscal cliff, with federal funding predicted to be cut by almost $500 million. MTS has also projected a budget shortfall of more than $100 million in the next few years, according to The Coronado News.

Cays ridership dropped sharply

The shuttle did not serve the Coronado Cays. The city offered free day passes so Cays residents could ride a separate MTS bus line through their area. Only 81 of those passes were used.

A special Cays shuttle deployed for the Fourth of July carried about 500 passengers, a 50% drop from roughly 1,000 riders in 2025. MTS also added a fourth bus for the Fourth of July and NASCAR weekend. Ridership jumped by almost 3,000 passengers over the holiday but did not increase during NASCAR weekend.

The city has funded the free shuttle in partnership with MTS since 2013. As we reported Oct. 26, the council on Oct. 20 voted unanimously to delay a decision on a separate electric, on-demand Island Express shuttle until it could review the summer ridership data presented Nov. 3.