MTS implements direct bus service between Ramona and East County
by Joe Naiman

Joe Naiman, left, rode the MTS bus 867 to Ramona, then back to East County. The MTS bus driver, Homer Mudd, is a Ramona resident.

Metropolitan Transit System now offers direct bus service between Ramona and East County.

The new 867 line began service Feb. 2 with driver Homer Mudd departing at 6 a.m. from the Ramona station on Day Street, just west of Main Street. Mudd and the 18-seat Laidlaw Transit Service bus arrived at the Grossmont transit center at 7:11 a.m., four minutes after the scheduled arrival time.

The first 867 from Grossmont to Ramona departed at 7:20 a.m. and arrived in Ramona at 8:30 a.m., 10 minutes past the scheduled arrival time.

"We’ll know in a couple of weeks if we have to adjust the times," said Bill Murtha, project manager for Laidlaw Transit Services.

The 867 has time checks at state Route 67 and Poway Road, Route 67 and Scripps Poway Parkway, Westfield Parkway Plaza, the El Cajon transit center, and Grossmont Center before its final stop at the Grossmont transit center. In addition to those stops, the express bus also has two stops in Lakeside: one at Navy housing in Eucalyptus Hills and one by the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds at Mapleview Street and Maine Avenue.

The 867 provides six round trips on weekdays. In addition to leaving Ramona at 6 a.m., the 867 also departs from Ramona at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. before the final trip from Ramona at 5 p.m. The 867 leaves the Grossmont transit center at 7:20 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 12:20 p.m., 1:20 p.m. and 3:20 p.m. before its final departure at 6:20 p.m.

The implementation of the 867 line, along with the Orange Line trolley from East County to downtown San Diego, also allows Ramona residents to commute to downtown and arrive by 8 a.m. or shortly after.

The 867, which leaves Ramona at 6 a.m., has a time check at the El Cajon Transit Center at 6:59 a.m., three minutes before the Orange Line trolley from Santee to downtown San Diego is scheduled to arrive. The trolley line, which leaves El Cajon at 7:02 a.m., is scheduled to arrive at the American Plaza station downtown at 7:46 a.m., while the line leaving El Cajon at 7:17 a.m. is scheduled to arrive at the western downtown station at 8:01 a.m.

The 867, which does not currently run on Sundays or holidays, has three round trips on Saturday. The 867 leaves Ramona at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. on Saturdays and leaves the Grossmont station at 10:20 a.m., 1:20 p.m. and 4:20 p.m.

"Once the word gets out, I think it will be a benefit for the folks in Ramona," said Murtha, who lives in Lakeside. "It will be a benefit for the folks down in El Cajon."

Mudd lives in Ramona, where the bus is stored overnight. "They finally got a route where I can appreciate it," he said.

The revision of Northeast Rural Transit replaced the 878 and 879 lines, which had provided service from Ramona to East County in the morning and service from East County to Ramona in the evening, with the 867 and a system that provides routes between Ramona and Borrego Springs.

Although service on the 891, 891A, 892, 892A, and 893 is not as frequent as that on the 867, the new routes allow for a round trip by transit to East County from Julian or Lake Henshaw on certain days, as well as from Borrego Springs.

In addition to allowing East County residents the opportunity to travel to Ramona without transfers in San Diego and Escondido, the 867 also allows Ramona students at Grossmont College the opportunity to commute with a single transfer. The 858 line runs from the El Cajon transit center to both Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College, while the 854 line runs to Grossmont College from both the Mapleview stop in Lakeside and the Grossmont transit center.

"In time, word of mouth will get out," Murtha said.

Although East County residents no longer need to travel through Escondido to commute to Ramona by transit, the trip to Escondido is reduced with the 867 and the North County Transit District’s 386 line, which also departs from the transit station by Ramona’s Kmart. The 386 line has 10 weekday trips from Ramona to Escondido, reaching the Escondido transit center approximately 49 minutes after departing from Ramona and stopping at the San Diego Wild Animal Park approximately 22 minutes after leaving Ramona.

The 18-seat buses include four seats that can be converted into wheelchair seating for two. The buses also include parcel racks.

Fare between Ramona and East County is $2, and a trip transfer, day pass, or monthly bus pass can be used for a $1 credit. The routes between Ramona and Borrego Springs are $3, and the transfer from the 867 may be credited toward that amount.