How Many Neighbors Can Fit on an MTS Bus?

By Leif Gensert, RIDE SD

On July 11, University Heights got a chance to find out. UHCA and RideSD, a local public transit advocacy group, co-hosted a pub crawl starting at Park & Rec in the heart of the neighborhood. The goal was simple: give as many people as possible a safe and comfortable introduction to riding the bus.

And what better way to do that than a tour of some well-loved bars and restaurants across University Heights, North Park, Normal Heights, and Kensington?

Part of the aim was to change who people picture when they imagine a bus rider. Buses still carry a reputation as a last resort rather than a normal way to get around, and an evening out with neighbors is a straightforward way to show otherwise.

Tying it all together is Route 11, a local bus line that connects downtown to SDSU and carries more than 500,000 riders a year. About 60 people turned out, split into two groups of roughly 30 so that each group could ride together.

After a short introduction on how to pay and what to expect on board, plus a raffle hosted by RideSD, the crawl set off.

From Park & Rec, the group made its way to Una Mas and the Ould Sod before finishing at Mission Brewing in Kensington. Roughly an hour at each stop left plenty of time for socializing.

The event was a success and drew a lot of positive feedback, but the schedule of the 11 got in the way. On weekends the route runs every 30 minutes at best, and only hourly on Sunday mornings. That is a shame for a line that connects University Heights to North Park, Kensington, Hillcrest, and Bankers Hill. It is also the best transit connection to Waterfront Park, and buses on the 11 regularly fill to capacity during large events there, such as the No Kings March.

RideSD and UHCA are already discussing how to work around that limitation for a future crawl.