The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has introduced a pilot program for its SuperLoop Route 201 and 202 buses with service to existing stops at Gilman Drive and Eucalyptus Grove Lane and the Gilman Drive footbridge beginning March 28. Two accompanying SuperLoop bus shelters will be built on campus.

The purpose of the pilot program is to “help students, faculty, staff, and visitors and test the potential of creating permanent SuperLoop stops” at the Gilman footbridge, according to a statement released by MTS and the San Diego Association of Governments. MTS Director of Marketing and Communications Rob Schupp reported that “SuperLoop riders have requested the location” as a stop on the route.

“We believe [the new stops] will be very popular,” Schupp said. “We expect that as many as half of the SuperLoop riders not getting on and off at Gilman and Myers will use the footbridge pair of stations — this will help spread out demand on campus.” MTS reports that the SuperLoop buses alone carry over 1.5 million passengers each year.

The SuperLoop 201 and 202 buses have existing stops on UCSD’s campus at the Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and at Gilman Drive and Myers Drive. Their routes serve the northern University City area and are based out of the UTC Transit Center at the Westfield Shoppingtown UTC.

Routes that already serve the Gilman footbridge stops include the MTS routes 30 and 150 to downtown San Diego, the North County Transit District’s BREEZE Route 101 serving Oceanside, and UCSD’s Campus Loop, Mesa Housing and Coaster shuttles.