The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) celebrated the grand opening of the East County Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility, furthering the agency’s role in improving regional air quality. The facility, which was built to LEED Silver standards, will be home to 120 clean-burning CNG buses.
“MTS is focused on improving all facets of our business to improve efficiency, reliability, passenger amenities and the air we breathe,” said MTS CEO Paul Jablonski. “The new East County Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility helps us achieve all those goals.”
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A new CNG fueling station on site will allow MTS to replace diesel-fueled buses with CNG-fueled buses, which provide a 50% reduction in NOx emissions, an 85% reduction in particulate matter pollution, and an 89% decrease in CO emissions.
The 34,500-square-foot maintenance building and 10,275-square-foot administrative building sit on 5.5 acres. It was built at a cost of $38 million from MTS funds, a Federal Transit Administration competitive grant secured by MTS, Transit Development Act (state), and State Transit Assistance Program funds. The construction contractor was Clark Construction.
(From L to R): Mark Schumann, Clark Construction; Duane Eskierka, Transdev; Councilman Tony Ambrose, City of El Cajon; MTS Boardmember George Gastil (City of Lemon Grove); Harry Mathis, MTS Board Chair; Leann Files, Office of Assemblyman Brian Jones; Jeff Domenech, Office of State Senator Joel Anderson; Eric Lund, San Diego East Chamber of Commerce; Ron Roberts, SANDAG Chair; Paul Jablonski, MTS Chief Executive Officer; Mike Woiwode, MTS Boardmember (City of Coronado); Gary Gallegos, SANDAG Executive Director.
The new facility serves East County’s urbanized area along the Interstate 8 corridor, as well as rural and unincorporated areas in the county. It employs 115 bus operators and 14 mechanics, who will provide bus service for more than four million riders annually. Its energy-efficient designs and equipment include on-site renewable energy, LED lighting, reflective windows, water use reduction techniques, drought-tolerant landscaping, and temperature control technology. All these features will help the facility secure LEED Silver status by the U.S. Green Building Council.
In addition to the East County facility, MTS has several sites from which it operates fixed-route bus service including Chula Vista, Kearny Mesa and East Village.
The region’s fixed-route system finished out the year with a total of 373.5 million rides. Adding 12.3 million rides over 2024 represents an increase that is equal to the annual transit ridership of Kansas City.
The service is a flexible, reservation-based transit service designed to close the first- and last-mile gaps and connect riders to employment for just $5 per day.
The upgraded system, which went live earlier this month, supports METRO’s METRONow vision to enhance the customer experience, improve service reliability, and strengthen long-term regional mobility.
The agreement provides competitive wages and reflects strong labor-management collaboration, positive working relationships, and a shared commitment to building a world-class transit system for the community, said RTA CEO Lona Edwards Hankins.
The priorities are outlined in the 2026 Board and CEO Initiatives and Action Plan, which serves as a roadmap to guide the agency’s work throughout the year and ensure continued progress and accountability on voter-approved transportation investments and essential mobility services.
