Our Readers Write: La Jolla bus Route 140

Letter to the editor:

The unfulfilled potential of La Jolla’s bus Route 140

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria wants to create “Sexy Streets,” but the icing on the cake is sexy infrastructure — yes, please!

Does anyone else know about the MTS Route 140 bus from [La Jolla’s] Village (Silverado Street and Herschel Avenue) to the trolley station at Balboa [Avenue]? The bus link is a great way to get in and out of The Village. A $2.50 one-way and $6 all-day pass will get you to downtown [San Diego], the airport, UTC and Little Italy. It’s environmentally friendly and eliminates parking hassles.

Two MTS Route 140 buses sit on Silverado Street in La Jolla.

(Ashley Mackin-Solomon)

So why haven’t more people been using it? (“La Jolla’s new bus route for Blue Line trolley sees low ridership early on,” Feb. 3, La Jolla Light).

The 140 bus is utilitarian, boxy and quite frankly a bit ugly. On top of that, it stops running at 6:30 p.m. If you wanted to stay at the beach until sunset or have dinner out in La Jolla, it’s a complete fail.

Here’s what’s needed:

• Get an attractive and unique bus — maybe something that looks like a “beach trolley” or is fully zero-emissions electric.

• Operate the bus until 10 or 11 p.m.

• Add a stop at [La Jolla] Shores.

• Market day trips to La Jolla Village through hotels and STVRs [short-term vacation rentals] downtown and close to the [trolley] Blue Line.

A day trip to La Jolla could be a joy if the bus had a good vibe and ran evenings and weekends. We’re so close. The city has laid the groundwork, but they should really test-market an attractive transit solution for leisure travelers, especially now that remote work has expanded extensively.

Liz Eller

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