The adage “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” now applies to downtown San Diego’s on-demand, electric shuttle service. The once-free service will begin charging fares on July 1, 2024.
The city’s Circuit Transit fleet was dubbed FRED, which stood for Free Rides Everywhere Downtown. (A new nickname appears to be necessary.)
In mid-June, Circuit sent an email to its app subscribers noting that service was about to change: “Rides in our San Diego FRED service area will have a fare of $2.50 per rider, with a cap of $5 per ride.”
Tipping drivers has been, and remains, optional.
The service had been subsidized by the City of San Diego since August 2016. In 2022, the city added a $1.2 million extension (from parking revenue) to keep service free.
In 2019, ridership peaked at 230,000 passengers per month. Those numbers decreased during the pandemic, and have been rising since 2021.
Note: FRED app subscribers can get three free rides by using the promo code: FREDSUMMER2024. That offer is good from July 1 to September 30, 2024.
Starting in July, Circuit’s new downtown hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
FRED has been the downtown San Diego-branded version of Circuit Transit, a company that was started as The Free Ride by co-founders James Mirras and Alex Esposito in 2011. One of the initial goals of the company was to be an eco-friendly transportation solution.
The service is currently available in 30 areas throughout the United States.
Fee structures vary from location to location. Circuit often starts up in an area for free (usually with a subsidy), then converts to a fee-based system.
Since 2022, Circuit rides in Chula Vista have cost $2 per person, according to the company’s website. Carlsbad has had Circuit service since 2023 and charges a maximum fee of $3. National City has had free service since 2023, according to a Port of San Diego news release, which notes that the Port spent $400,000 to underwrite the service.
This month, Circuit was scheduled to start servicing Coronado for free for six months. The Coronado City Council allocated $600,000 for a pilot program. SDSun
