MBS invites our fellow ERA members to join our Fall 2023 Motor Bus Society Convention in San Diego. The convention will be held from Friday, October 13th to Sunday, October 15th in San Diego / Orange County / I-10 Corridor (California).
The host hotel for the convention will be the Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Old Town. Located at 2435 Jefferson Street, the hotel is within a 10-minute walk of the Old Town Trolley Station (serviced by Metropolitan Transit Services Blue and Green light rail lines). The hotel has free high-speed WiFi internet access and a business center.
The special MBS room rate is $189 (plus taxes, currently 12.79%) per room per night with two Queen beds. “Run of House” Rooms are also available at the MBS rate (the “Run of House” room is a standard room, featuring basic amenities; the actual room is determined by the hotel, according to availability, at the time of check-in). A block of rooms has been put aside for MBS members from Wednesday, October 11th to Monday, October 16th. For dates before/after the convention, MBS members will have to book via the online website, at the current room rate at the time of booking. The Bistro on site at the hotel offers breakfast choices while many other restaurants are within a short walk. Parking is $27 (plus taxes) per day.
Please note that hotel reservations must be made by Friday, September 15th, 2023. The hotel room space and rate cannot be guaranteed after that date.
All hotel reservations must be made by either calling the hotel directly or by visiting the Courtyard by Marriott website. Please refer to the hotel registration page (#3) for further instructions for reserving online.
The phone number for the hotel is 619-260-8500 and the FAX number is 619-298-2427. Please see the attached “Hotel Reservation Information” form for more information and remember to mention the group name “Motor Bus Society” when booking by telephone.
The Motor Bus Society is currently in the planning and discussion stages for the Fall convention. As these are not normal times, the proposed stop locations shown on page 2 of the PDF, is a menu of several area transit operator’s facilities and public bus and rail terminals and pulse points. At this stage, there are no guarantees that we will be admitted to all the operational and maintenance facilities proposed due to either health and security protocols or shortages of personnel to accommodate our visits.
The new MBS convention registration fee is $70 per person per day or $200 for all three days for MBS members. For non-MBS members, the registration fee is $85 per day or $250 for all three days. To assure that space will be available for the garage and facility tours, advance registration is strongly recommended. In case of any shortage of seat space on the tour buses, persons with reservations will be given priority. Please note that the fees are slightly more when paying by PayPal. Please refer to the convention registration page (#4) for more details. The deadline for MBS convention registration is Saturday, September 30th.
Transportation Information: San Diego International Airport (SAN) is well serviced by transit. The Airport Flyer, a free shuttle operated by San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, runs between the Airport and the Old Town Trolley station. Endera E-450 Electric Vehicle (EV) Cutaways are used on the shuttle. San Diego MTS bus route 992 also services SAN. The route operates seven days a week and provides connections to/from Coaster, Amtrak and the San Diego Trolley (connections at Broadway and Kettner Blvd. bus stop in downtown San Diego to Red, Blue and Green light lines).
Convention Activities: Registration and sign-in will take place in the Courtyard by Marriott lobby starting at 7:30 AM on all three days, with buses departing promptly at 8:00 AM each day.
Garage and Facility Tours: The itinerary has not been finalized and is highly dependent on whether properties are receptive to having visitors. Possible site visits are shown below. The final lists of stops will be posted on the MBS website and MBS Facebook page one week prior to the convention.
PLEASE bring a face covering/mask in case masking is required by certain venues or transportation providers.
The following visits have been requested; there may be transit center substitutions required.
PLEASE bring a valid photo ID and face mask which may be required by certain venues or transportation providers.
Click here for order form. Online ticket sales are not available for this event.