ESCONDIDO: New employee shuttle connects Sprinter to downtown

By DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer | Monday, December 1, 2008 7:53 PM PST ∞

Matt McDowell, 22, waits next to the shuttle he uses to drive Palomar Medical Center employees to and from the hospital and the Sprinter station in Escondido. (Photo by John Koster - For The North County Times)

ESCONDIDO ---- Employees in downtown Escondido got a new commuting option Monday when a special shuttle began taking them back and forth from the Sprinter station on Quince Street, which is about three-quarters of a mile west of downtown.

The free shuttle is available to all employees at the 800 businesses represented by the Downtown Business Association, including the 1,600 employees at Palomar Medical Center and the 230 workers at Escondido City Hall. The hospital is covering 90 percent of the $32,860 annual price tag for the shuttle, with the merchants association and the city paying the rest.

While the North County Transit District has set up special public bus routes serving each of the 15 Sprinter stations, this is the third "private" shuttle to begin operating since the Sprinter was launched in March.

About 30 employees of Genentech Inc. ride a shuttle each weekday between the company's Oceanside facilities and the College Boulevard Sprinter station. And about 240 students at Cal State San Marcos ride a shuttle between the heart of campus and the Sprinter station on the northeastern edge of campus.

Fewer than 10 downtown Escondido employees took advantage of the new shuttle on Monday, but officials said they expect ridership to increase significantly as more people become aware of the service.

In a recent survey, more than 40 City Hall employees said shuttle service would make riding the Sprinter appealing enough to try, said Jo Ann Case, the city's economic development manager.

Debra Rosen, chief executive of the Downtown Business Association, said dozens of downtown employees have expressed interest in such a shuttle.

One of those is Angela Battistelli, a teller at the Bank of Escondido on Grand Avenue.

"I'm 24, so I'm always looking for ways to save a buck," Battistelli said Monday. "It will make my commute a little longer, but I can read on the train or listen to my iPod."

Battistelli said the shuttle will make the Sprinter a more convenient option. She lives about two blocks from the Melrose Avenue Sprinter station in Vista, and the shuttle will drop her off less than a block away from the bank.

The new shuttle is essentially an expansion of a shuttle that began running in 2004 between Palomar Medical Center and the parking lot at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Hospital officials recently agreed to extend the hours of that shuttle, include the Sprinter station on the route and add some extra downtown drop-offs and pick-ups.

Hospital spokesman Gustavo Friederichsen said the new shuttle should increase use of mass transit, while also helping to alleviate problems with insufficient downtown parking spots.

"As downtown's largest tenant, we thought we should become partners on a solution," Friederichson said Monday.

Organizers of the shuttle said they hope it can become a precursor to providing shoppers and hospital patients free transportation to downtown.

A shuttle for shoppers has been discussed since well before the Sprinter began running, but Rosen said the struggling economy has put such plans on the back burner.

Case said city officials were pleased to find a way to make the employee shuttle happen so cheaply. The city and the merchants association will pay only $1,643 per year.

Case said a search for grants for a city-sponsored shuttle came up empty, and that such a shuttle would have cost about $150,000 for a vehicle, gas, maintenance, insurance and drivers.

The van used Monday only has space for eight employees, but driver Matt McDowell said a van carrying 17 passengers is available for when ridership increases.

The shuttle will meet arriving trains from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. every Monday through Friday, and make stops at the arts center and the corner of Grand Avenue and Maple Street. In the afternoons from 3 to 6 p.m., the shuttle will pick up passengers behind Filippi's Pizza Grotto and take them back to the Sprinter station.

The shuttle is open to all employees at the roughly 800 businesses represented by the merchants association, which covers the 68 square blocks bordered by Washington Avenue, Centre City Parkway, Fifth Avenue and the hospital. Eligible employees must obtain a special identification card for free from the association, which is located at 120 W. Grand Ave., Suite 202.

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

Sykon wrote on Dec 1, 2008 11:17 PM:I am surprised to read, as your reporter informs in this article:

"While the North County Transit District has set up special public bus routes serving each of the 15 Sprinter stations, this is the third "private" shuttle to begin operating since the Sprinter was launched in March."

The NCTD seems to have no problem dispatching buses to shuttle fans each game day to Qualcomm Stadium in the City of San Diego. Why the disconnect on shuttle service to the commerce sectors of the cities whose sales tax contribution is actually a more significant portion of the NCTD's revenue?

Shouldn't the business known as Qualcomm Stadium be funding a shuttle service for their customers and employees from Escondido and Oceanside to the stadium? Not the other way around.

I'm equally surprised spokespersons for the DBA, City of Escondido and Palomar Medical Center are smilingly applauding the increase in their business expense caused by what seems to be a mismanaged transit agency that doesn't pass through, but actually hubs in the cities of Escondido and Oceanside.

Herb wrote on Dec 2, 2008 5:57 AM:So, I can't ride the Sprinter from San Marcos to Escondido and then catch the shuttle to Palomar Hospital to keep an appointment? Hummm! I am not an employee of the hospital or downtown.

Hmmmm wrote on Dec 2, 2008 7:04 AM:I thought the huge fee increases on the businesses in the Business Improvement District was supposed to pay for the shuttle. At least that is what Rosen told the city council at the hearing in which they raised the fees. Now PPH and the city are paying.
Why are we paying for people who don't even live in our city to commute to work?

Surprised wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:48 AM:40 City Hall employees? Assuming that is just a portion of the workforce within City Hall, no wonder we have a budget problem!

papasutra wrote on Dec 2, 2008 10:13 AM:You fail to see the larger picture. The Spinter is a new mode of transportation for many in North County. Why was the Sprinter line built? To foster and promote mass transit in North County. How do you make it desirable? Keep costs low, be efficient, and keep a accurate and reliable timetable. If most of you thought of mass transit a viable form of transportation, albeit sponsored by a third party for some or otherwise...thoughts of mass transit wouldn't be so negative.

Oh wrote on Dec 2, 2008 10:13 AM:This is a ridiculous waste of money! Let them walk! I can't believe the city of funding this.

papasutra wrote on Dec 2, 2008 10:45 AM:Try to visualize and understand the bigger picture.
Do Escondidans want more automobile traffic caused by out-of-city employees? Do you want people see people using the Sprinter and/or Shuttle reducing traffic in the Esc-Oceanside corridor? Would you like to see people helping the planet by saving gas?
Awareness some begin somewhere but if people riding a Shuttle are seen as something other than people going to work and earning a living than something is definitely wrong.

Maybe Dick Daniels wrote on Dec 2, 2008 11:30 AM:needs to look at where the city's money is spent. Obviously no study was done to see who would actually ride the sprinter. Why fund at taxpayer expense people who don't even live in our city? Why not pay partial expense for ALL city employees - especially those who live in the city limits!

Lyn wrote on Dec 2, 2008 11:49 AM:Iam glad that since Palomar is providing pick ups for their employees that they are offering a shuttle to downtown employees, can we be happy about something? Maybe sometime soon they can help get patients to appts. too, let's hope if it's possible it can happen. Let's stay positive.

Carollynn wrote on Dec 2, 2008 3:19 PM:What a great idea - one that should of been thought of long ago as fuel prices were making their way up and will go up again. And if we can take care of the congestion and parking issues - what a plus! We have to be smarter and take advantage of a workable, low cost to the city, program. For a city the size of Escondido, and with a large percentage of retired, we have been sorely missing any form of mass transit. Hopefully this will be the first smart step for the city of Escondido.

Tom wrote on Dec 2, 2008 7:32 PM:We all have to realize that for once, the city is doing something to help out those who are in need of help. Alot of people take the sprinter for ease, money issues, car issues, etc. Why make them walk, especially during the winter.
oh- I know you said let them walk, but have you thought about those less fortunate than you, who may not be able to walk the distance they need to for work?
Palomar is building a new hospital, and part of the green standards is to have a mass transit option, and this would do it. Be happy that something positive is going on, and stop with the negativity.

Lyn wrote on Dec 3, 2008 5:51 AM:Thank you Palomar shuttle for making the most of the shuttle, instead of shuttling half full you are providing a meeded service for both the Sprinter and Downtown employees. I hope the employees Downtown will take advantage of the shuttle and we will have more spaces avail. for others to park downtown and keeps the streets less congested. I see a win/win solution here!

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