Open-Air Buses to Service Beach

Pacific Beach this summer will have more than sunny days and crowded beaches. It will also have the county’s first beach transportation in open-air buses that look like old-fashioned trolley cars.

San Diego Transit Corp.’s board of directors announced Wednesday that it will purchase three trolley car look-alikes for its Sun Runner service, a summertime shuttle along Garnet Avenue and Mission Boulevard designed to lessen beach traffic and parking problems. The cost of the three buses, which hold 20 passengers each, will be $120,000, according to Deborah Wetter, a San Diego Transit spokeswoman.

The red, white and blue open-air buses will cost a quarter to ride, and will run every 20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Sun Runner service has been in operation for the last two summers using San Diego Transit buses and has been very successful, Wetter said.

“We really feel there needs to be something different than just a regular old bus,” said San Diego Transit General Manager Roger Snoble.

Snoble said that the money generated from advertisements on the trolleys will pay for the vehicles in less than six years. The special buses will also be used for promotional events, special services and charters.

The board of directors also passed a resolution to move the transit information center from the Santa Fe Depot at Kettner Boulevard and Broadway to a more convenient spot for customers, near 5th Avenue and Broadway.

The information center sells bus and trolley tickets, and provides senior citizen discounts, a lost and found service and transit information.

According to Wetter, the move will not start for several months, and customers will be alerted when it occurs.