Trolley delays are way down across San Diego. Thank the new Copper Line in East County.

On-time performance across the entire San Diego trolley system has been boosted by a year-old East County service change that inconveniences a relatively small number of riders.

The number of late trips across the trolley system was cut nearly in half during the first six months of 2025 thanks to the new Copper Line, a four-stop shuttle that eliminated notorious track-clogging between El Cajon and Santee.

Instead of the previous setup where the Green and Orange lines extended eastward beyond the El Cajon Transit Center, those lines now end there, and passengers heading farther east take the Copper Line. The new line runs every 15 minutes from El Cajon to Arnele Avenue, Gillespie Field and Santee and back along that same route.

While the new setup requires roughly 2,000 passengers a day to make a transfer they didn’t previously have to make, transit officials say the change has significantly boosted the overall performance of the system.

Officials say fewer late trains and smoother operations are crucial if the Metropolitan Transportation System wants to attract more riders, especially leisure riders who have cars but opt for transit anyway.

Since it began running in late September 2024, on-time performance has improved overall. Performance has also improved individually on each of the trolley’s three prim...