Transit stations operated by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System have been judged the worst of the state’s six major rail transit systems for such qualities as ridership and proximity to job centers, while its Gillespie Field Station was graded the lowest overall in the state.
The analysis of California’s rail transit system was issued by the nonprofit nonpartisan group Next 10 and prepared by the Center for Law, Energy and Environment at the UC Berkeley School of Law.
The Gillespie Field Station platform
The MTS said in response that the analysis was not an assessment of overall MTS performance, but an assessment of the location of its train stations. It said the true measure of its system performance is its growing ridership and high customer satisfaction.
The analysis assigned a grade to each of the 57 stations in the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, finding that the system’s average score for its station areas tied for worst among the state’s six major rail transit systems with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
“Top-performing transit stations tend to be located in the center of downtown-like environments and thriving, rail-oriented neighborhoods. These stations provide access to housing, shopping, places of work and other amenities,” said Next 10 founder F. Noel Perry. “Most low-performing stations are on the outer edges of rail systems, often situated in low-density, industrial or auto-oriented neighborhoods.”
The Gillespie Field Station was not only at the bottom in the MTS but graded the lowest overall in the state. “The area draws almost no transit use among residents and workers and is situated in a heavily ‘car dependent’ area not conducive to transit-oriented development,” the analysis said.
Eight San Diego MTS stations were assessed failing grades, primarily for low ridership and lack of access to attractive amenities.
The analysis said the 12th & Imperial Transit Center performed best overall within the San Diego region. However, its overall B grade is much lower than the best-performing stations in the five other transit systems graded.
The station benefitted from its location in a downtown, walkable environment with access to significant destinations and job centers, but scored lower on ridership, safety and the level of auto dependency in the neighborhood.
“The scorecard prepared by the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at UC Berkeley provided just a narrow scope of measurements related to MTS operations,” the MTS said in a statement. “It is not an assessment of overall MTS performance; rather an assessment of the location of our train stations. The criteria used is largely outside the control of MTS. This scorecard examined the results of years of land-use planning as it used criteria such as walkability, land-use and permitting policies, and affordability.”
The MTS also noted that the system enjoys exceptionally high customer satisfaction — 92 percent. “That fact, combined with our growing ridership, is the true indication of our system’s performance, it said. “The trolley system broke a ridership record of more than 40 million trips last year, which equates to more than 100,000 riders every day. In addition to suburban neighborhoods, the Trolley provides excellent service to all Downtown San Diego businesses in highly walkable, accessible and convenient locations.”