Poway bus riders will see route changes this year

Jan. 15, 2014 2:17 PM PT

By Elizabeth Marie Himchak

By mid-year, bus riders in Poway and along Interstate 15 will see changes to their route schedules due to the arrival of Rapid bus service.

MTSLogoIts start will coincide with alterations by Metropolitan Transit System to routes in Poway that features major changes to Route 844 and to a lesser extent Route 845.

MTS officials told the Poway City Council last month that they are recommending Route 844 be restructured to an east-west orientation across Poway Road to the Sabre Springs Transit Station that is under construction. Its service along north Espola Road would be discontinued and it would provide service every 30 minutes Mondays through Saturdays. In addition, it would take on some of the current Route 845 stops, including the Poway Road loop out to Floral Avenue, Garden Road and Kennebunk Street.

Currently, Route 844 completes a loop among Espola, Midland, Poway and Pomerado roads — including stops near Poway High School — and travels as far west as Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Penasquitos.

The new Route 845 would cover the Espola, Midland, Poway and Pomerado roads loop — but not go farther west than Pomerado — on a limited service schedule. In addition it would not go farther east than Midland Road, but take as its regular service schedule the former Route 844 service along Midland Road to include the Old Poway Park area.

Part of this change is to encourage ridership that connects with the Sabre Springs Transit Station and will be part of the Rapid bus service, previously promoted as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

The new service has three routes that will provide more Express-style bus options throughout the day, officials said. Two of the routes go along portions of Interstate 15. Rapid A has its farthest points at the Escondido Transit Center and downtown San Diego and Rapid B has farthest points at the Rancho Bernardo Transit Station and University of California, San Diego.

A third route — Rapid C — can be accessed by those riding Rapid A at a transit station being built near Interstate 15 and El Cajon Boulevard. Its farthest points are downtown San Diego and San Diego State University.

Route A (Escondido-downtown San Diego) will have all-day service, seven days a week with a weekday frequency of 15 or 30 minutes and a weekend frequency of 30 minutes, officials said. Route B (Rancho Bernardo-UCSD) will have weekday frequency peaks of 15 minutes.

“The primary benefit of Rapid is that it provides all-day service at a high frequency,” said MTS Spokesman Rob Schupp. Though its routes are similar to the Express and Premium buses running now, the latter is primarily available only during rush hour. “Rapid ... gives far more options,” he said.

While faster throughout the day since it will access the HOV lanes along Interstate 15, Schupp said those traveling directly downtown from Rancho Bernardo during rush hour, for example, will still likely prefer taking the Express bus since it will have fewer stops than Rapid. But for those wanting to go to points in between or travel during non-rush hour times, Rapid would be their best option.

According to Schupp there will not be any fare increases due to Rapid becoming available next summer.

“The whole goal ... is to make a more rail-like experience,” Schupp said, adding this will not only be accomplished through more frequent service but better amenities at the transit stations. Last year the Rancho Bernardo station was among those that acquired new arrival time signage and bus shelters for riders. In Sabre Springs, the station tentatively scheduled to be completed by March will feature a multi-story, 630-space parking garage and other amenities. When the new service becomes available, Rapid riders will also be transported in new 60-foot long articulated buses.

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