For our 2004 day after Thanksgiving trip we decided to explore suburban service in the San Diego area. Director Armando Avalos volunteered to act as trip planner. Thus it was on Nov. 26, 2004 a number of members boarded Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train #564 departing Los Angeles Union Station at 7:20 a.m. riding car 6451. This initial band included Russ Jones, Ken Ruben, Woody Rosner and Dana Gabbard. Around 7:52 a.m. the first stop was made at Fullerton station where they were joined by Charles Powell, Guillermo Merino, Andy Novak and Chet Herring. Among the train crew was Steven McNamara who had been on the 1st run of the recently added additional Surfliner trip to San Luis Obispo.

We arrived in San Diego at 10:17 a.m. and made our way across the street to American Plaza Trolley station where we met up with Lionel Jones, Ed Buckley, Chaffee Yiu and Yiu's younger brother. At this point Powell and a few friends went off to do a separate morning trip to see Point Loma via rt.26. The rest of us at 10:39 a.m. caught the trolley's Orange Line, vehicle #2045 going east thru downtown. As always downtown San Diego was dotted with construction sites (it is in the midst of a development boom). Past downtown we spotted auto shops, salvage yards and warehouses in a distinctly working class neighborhood with churches, cemeteries and trailer parks.

At 11:04 a.m. we arrived at Euclid station, where Mark Strickert and Armando Avalos were waiting for us. Strickert has taken an earlier Amtrak train from Los Angeles, getting off at Solana Beach station to take an assortment of different buses to Euclid station. Among the amenities at the adjacent transit center were a hot dog stand, benches, shelters and a portapot-style bathroom. There were trees and a flood control channel one crossed going from the trolley platform to the transit center. At 11:23 a.m. we caught our first bus, MTS rt.916 a New Flyer C40 #2153 with 9 passengers (all ride counts exclude trip participants) and cushioned seats. All 800 and 900 series bus routes are operated by a contractor, in this case ATC Vancom. We made our way up a hill, then along a residential street. At one bus stop the sign had attached a notice "bus turn" to warn operators of an upcoming turn on the route. The landscape turned rural as we went thru the East County/El Cajon area. A driver from Laidlaw who boarded the bus told us this route gets busy as it serves a local Wal-Mart and other shopping venues.

We arrived at Massachusetts Trolley Station at 11:43 a.m. The transit center had benches, phones and a refreshment center (aka soda machine). At 11:52 we boarded MTS rt.875, the Lemon Grove Shuttle, an El Dorado National RE #8057 with molded plastic seats and zero passengers. This is one of the County Transit System lines operated by Laidlaw. We made our way along residential streets and looped thru the parking lot of a senior center, then passed a middle school. Eventually we did get one passenger. At one point the route descends a very steep hill. Continuing along Washington Street we had 2 passengers while passing thru a commercial district, then 4 passengers. The bus was late and while scheduled to arrive at Lemon Grove depot trolley station at 12:06 p.m. we actually got there at 12:14 p.m. and had to dash to catch our connecting Orange Line train back downtown, boarding vehicle #2048. By 12:45 p.m. we were in downtown San Diego, deboarded at Civic Center and walked over to the Wendy's on Broadway/1st Ave. where we reunited with the folks who had gone on the Pt. Loma side trip.

After an enjoyable repast (and after several dashed across the street to get schedules at the Transit Store and plastic buses at the Greyhound station) we walked up 1st Ave. to C Street and at 1:55 p.m. caught the first northbound MTS rt.980 bus of the day This is also known as the Inland Breeze, operating with an El Dorado National RE #2081 painted red with special logo and padded seats; boarding with us was 1 initial passenger. At 5th/B we had 4 additional passengers board. Some of the regular riders shared with us their experiences on this route, complaining that the equipment often breaks down. In freeway running one distinctly senses the bus rocking back and forth. Also at the start of the month the route often is assigned new drivers who have a propensity to not turn up causing missed runs. One rider asked we pass along to the powers that be that employer subsidies for bus passes would do a lot to encourage ridership. The bus initially runs on historic freeway 163, a two lane parkway that resembles the Pasadena Freeway. We whizzed along past a wooded median. Soon the highway expanded to freeway size (5 lanes) and went thru suburbs.

Now we entered a HOT lane on I-15 - 2 lanes in the peak direction. Besides carpools and buses solo drivers can use this facility, paying the toll with an electronic Fastrak device. The tolls help pay for the Breeze bus. Soon we were passing thru a residential area of Poway, then a commercial one, and lastly passed a Hospital. At 2:40 we deboarded at Rancho Bernardo and Promerado. And then to our surprise as the bus made a left turn the passenger side mirror hit a speed limit sign next to the bus stop sign.

At 2:50 p.m. we caught MTS rt.845, a Bluebird Transhuttle #578 painted for "Poway Transit" (with a logo on the side) and carrying 2 passengers and driven by Carol the operator who we soon learned used to drive for San Jose's DASH shuttle. Oddly the farebox was actually behind the driver. This line winds its way around Poway. We got a real tour of the city, including churches, a golf course and residential areas. Then we passed the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve, followed by a high school and the performing arts center. Now things became more rural, following by a return to a residential setting. A park we passed had a train locomotive on display. Also a western theme seemed to dominate the look of local businesses (antique shops, etc.). After a layover we continued thru pastureland and looped by a senior center which we were informed in the past had been flooded by a nearby creek when rainstorms turned it into a roaring stream.

We deboarded at Kirkham & Stowie at 3:53 p.m. and had time for snack and bathroom breaks in a nearby Jack in the Box. At 4:20 p.m. we caught our last bus - (to pg. 8)
(from pg. 7) MTS rt.830 which did not honor our day passes and cost $2.50 ($1 for senior/disabled). This is a fairly new express operated under contract operated by Coach USA/Goodalls charter division and the one we rode had only one passenger for the entire route. But the coach was plush with cushioned seats and even a TV for entertainment, an MCI commuter style vehicle. It runs express along the 15 freeway and MLK freeway straight into downtown San Diego and by 5:20 p.m. we were at Broadway/Kettner and dispersed our separate ways (Mark Strickert stayed overnight in San Diego and spent Saturday further exploring transit there on his own).

Thanks to Ed Buckley, Mark Strickert, Russ Jones and Lionel Jones for submitting corrections/additions to a draft of this article. And to Andrew Novak for allowing me to borrow some details from the trip write-up he did for his News & Views newsletter.