The electric shuttle program is back in the downtown area of Oceanside starting this week.
Dubbed the "gO'side" shuttle, the neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) pilot program last summer was so popular with residents and tourists that the city brought it back.
“When we did a survey of the last program, over 60% of the riders were Oceanside residents and then visitors, of course. So it's very popular with all ages," said Michelle Geller, economic development manager for the city of Oceanside. "Older folks seem to be riding the shuttle more, but definitely popular across the board with everyone.”
It was only available during the summer months last year, but the shuttle will be available year-round under a two-year partnership between SANDAG, the city and Visit Oceanside. The program will cost $573,000 per year.
Last year's pilot run was estimated to have saved 1,600 gallons of fuel and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 18 metric tons.
The shuttle can transport five passengers at a time. People can catch the shuttle by downloading the “Ride Circuit” app and choosing “Oceanside” as their location. From there, the interface is similar to ride-sharing services. Riders would input their location and where the address of where they want to go.
The max speed of the NEVs is 25 mph, so service is limited to downtown Oceanside from the harbor south to Vista Way west of Interstate 5, the East Side neighborhood and Country Club Lane.
“Downtown Oceanside has become extremely popular with visitors, so that can lead to congestion, it can lead to some parking challenges," Geller said. "So having the EV shuttles, being able to take people all over downtown Oceanside, they don't have to worry about parking or driving down here. So we definitely wanted to just make it more easy and fun for people to visit downtown Oceanside.”
The gO'side shuttles run from noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. During the winter months, the shuttles will only be available 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, though hours may be adjusted based on demand.
It will cost $3 per rider, with a cap of $6 for groups of more than two riders.
