San Diego – San Diego is gearing up for an exciting week as the Holiday Bowl returns for its second year at Petco Park, followed by the KGB Sky Show fireworks display. Anticipating a crowd of over 35,000, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is ramping up Trolley service and recommends attendees avoid traffic congestion and street closures by taking transit for easy travel to the festivities. Additionally, MTS will be running a modified service schedule on Monday, December 25, due to lower ridership anticipated on the Christmas holiday.
The Holiday Bowl will feature a matchup between the USC Trojans and Louisville Cardinals. The festivities extend beyond the game, including the annual Holiday Bowl Parade in the morning, a 5K run and more. With numerous free Park & Ride locations along the system, accessing Holiday Bowl events with the MTS Trolley becomes easy and hassle-free.
Holiday Bowl Parade, Wednesday, December 27 at 10 a.m.
- The parade route is on Harbor Drive, between the San Diego Waterfront Park and Seaport Village. All Trolley lines serve stops along the parade route. Trains depart all stations every 15 minutes most of the day. Fans are encouraged to travel early to get a prime viewing spot.
- UC San Diego Blue Line: Take the Trolley to County Center/Little Italy or Santa Fe Depot stations. Trains depart all stations every 15 minutes most of the day (every 7.5 minutes on the Blue Line during the morning and evening commute hours).
- Orange Line: Take the Orange Line to Courthouse station and walk down Broadway to the parade route.
- Green Line: Take the Green Line to Seaport Village, Santa Fe Depot, or County Center/Little Italy stations.
Holiday Bowl Game at Petco, December 27, kick-off at 5 p.m.
All three Trolley lines will drop fans off at the doorstep to Petco Park.
- Green Line: Take the Green Line to the Gaslamp Quarter Station.
- UC San Diego Blue Line: From UC San Diego Blue Line stations north of downtown, take the Blue Line toward San Ysidro. Get off at 12th & Imperial Transit Center.
- From UC San Diego Blue Line stations south of downtown, take the Blue Line toward America Plaza or UTC. Get off at 12th & Imperial Transit Center.
- Orange Line: From east of downtown, take the Orange Line toward Courthouse. Get off at the 12th & Imperial Transit Center.
Post-Game: Service will run every 15 minutes on all lines for approximately 45 minutes post-game. Additional service will be added as needed until crowds diminish.
Free Park & Rides:
- Dozens of transit centers allow free parking when taking transit to the game. See the full list of Park & Ride lots and number of spaces available.
Buying Your Transit Fare:
- Use the PRONTO app to pay your fare. Download the PRONTO app and add enough money ($5) for a round-trip.
- Attendees can also buy a PRONTO card and load $5 for the round-trip at any Trolley station ticket machine.
- Attendees must tap their card or scan their app at a station validator before boarding the Trolley.
- Each rider needs their own PRONTO app or card. You cannot pay for multiple people with one PRONTO app account or card, each person will need their own fare.
- On Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24, MTS will run normal Sunday service.
- On Christmas Day, Monday, December 25, MTS buses will operate on a Sunday service schedule and Trolleys will operate on a half-hour frequency all day long. Christmas is a Friends Ride Free holiday on MTS, so any fare-paying adult passenger can bring one guest for free.
- No service will be added on any route that doesn't have regular Saturday service, including Rapid Express Routes 280 & 290, and the Sorrento Valley COASTER Connection.
- Closed: Transit Store, PRONTO Support Center and Customer Service.
- MTS Information and Trip Planning:
- Christmas Eve – modified hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Christmas Day – closed
About MTS
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) operates 97 bus routes and three Trolley lines in 10 cities and unincorporated areas of San Diego. MTS is a leader in advancing initiatives to create a greener, cleaner and better-connected transit system in San Diego. Each weekday more than 250,000 passenger trips are taken throughout the MTS system taking people to work, school, health appointments and other essential trips. In FY 2023, MTS served more than 68 million riders. For service schedule updates, news, alerts and more information on how you can use public transportation, go to www.sdmts.com.
###
