An alternative way for San Diegans to get around continues to proliferate, with the latest “micro-transit” shuttle service launching this week in a handful of southeastern neighborhoods.
The new service, dubbed Southeastern Connect, will give residents on-demand rides to key destinations — supermarkets, health care providers, workplaces and more — throughout the neighborhoods of Chollas View, Emerald Hills and Mount Hope.
People can request rides through an app or over the phone, through a system that works not too differently from Uber or Lyft. The fleet of electric vans and cars, operated by private company Via Transportation, can carry up to four passengers at a time.
Rides are now available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“Southeastern Connect is more than a transportation project,” City Councilmember Henry Foster said in a statement. “It connects our neighborhoods and delivers a clean, zero-emission transit option that improves public health, and further protects our Chollas Creek Watershed — building a safer, healthier southeastern San Diego.”
Southeastern Connect is currently a pilot program, slated to last for the next four years. Rides will be free through November; ridership data will eventually help determine how much fares will cost after that.
Driver David Norman behind the wheel of a Southeastern Connect shuttle at Market Creek Plaza on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025 in San Diego. (Michael Ho / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A joint effort of the Urban Collaborative Project and the San Diego Association of Governments, the $3.8 million pilot program taps a mix of federal, state and local funds.
The federal contribution, $1.5 million, comes from the Federal Highway Administration, while $1.8 million comes from a state grant program for low-emissions transit. The city of San Diego contributed the remaining $500,000.
SANDAG and other local government agencies have launched a series of on-demand, micro-transit services over the last decade. But only this year have those efforts begun to expand to lower-income areas.
Early this year, a similar service called Mid-City GO began connecting City Heights to North Park. Another all-electric shuttle service is set to launch in Barrio Logan next year.
Past free shuttle service enterprises in tourist-heavy areas like Downtown San Diego and Pacific Beach have fizzled out in recent years. Downtown’s FRED shuttle ended this summer, one year after it started charging a fare, and the Beach Bug stopped running last fall.
Other micro-transit services supported by SANDAG in Chula Vista and National City have remained active since launching in recent years. But similar services in communities like Carlsbad and Coronado have been discontinued, according to SANDAG’s website.