San Diego – The Metropolitan Transit System will run extra service and special promotions for passengers over the Fourth of July weekend. Additionally, the Big Bay Boom happening on July 4 is expected to draw more than 250,000 people so passengers are advised to travel early to beat the crowds for the fireworks show.
Big Bay Boom – San Diego's biggest Fourth of July fireworks show takes over the San Diego Bay with four barges at different points. The Trolley will have enhanced service on all three lines. Parking is free and plentiful at Qualcomm Stadium as well as at other park-and-ride lots throughout the system.
Pre-Fireworks: Enhanced service on the Green Line between Qualcomm Stadium and downtown San Diego will begin at 3:30 p.m. Trains will depart every 7.5 minutes until the start of the show at 9 p.m. On the UC San Diego Blue Line and Orange Line, trains will depart every 15 minutes throughout the day. Recommended viewing locations along the Trolley line are:
- County Center/Little Italy
- Santa Fe Depot
- Seaport Village
- Convention Center
- Gaslamp Quarter
Post-Fireworks: Frequent Trolley service will resume on all three Trolley lines after the show concludes, and MTS recommends attendees adjust their departure time after the show to avoid the immediate rush of people leaving the downtown area. Check the MTS Big Bay Boom webpage for more details.
Compass Cloud: To avoid Trolley ticket lines and speed up the boarding process, attendees can purchase and store Trolley passes on their smart phones at any time prior to arriving at transit stations by using Compass Cloud, MTS’s free mobile ticketing app. Multiple passes can be purchased and stored on one phone, making it easy for family and friends traveling together.
Key MTS Bus Routes for Service Downtown and the Beach - People heading to the beach and downtown have a variety of options using MTS bus routes. The routes with the best access are:
- “Free Summer Shuttle” (Route 904): Coronado Ferry Landing – Hotel Del Coronado – Coronado City Hall
- Runs every 15 minutes all day starting at 9 a.m.
- Trips scheduled to meet all ferry trips from downtown San Diego seven days a week
- Route 8: Old Town – Mission Bay – Mission Beach – Pacific Beach
- Runs every 15 minutes most of the day
- Route 30: Old Town – Pacific Beach – La Jolla – UTC
- Runs every 15 minutes most of the day between Old Town & Pacific Beach
- Runs every 30 minutes most of the day between Pacific Beach, La Jolla & UTC
- Rapid 215: SDSU – City Heights – North Park –Hillcrest – Downtown
- Runs every 15 minutes most of the day
- Rapid 235: Escondido – Rancho Bernardo – Miramar College – City Heights – Downtown
- Runs every 30 minutes all day
- Route 901: Downtown – Coronado – Imperial Beach
- Runs every 30 minutes most of the day on Saturday, 60 minutes all day on Sunday and Tuesday
Fourth of July Service Schedule – Most MTS bus routes and Trolley service will run on a Sunday schedule for the Fourth of July. Visit the MTS Holiday Services webpage for more information about the modified schedule.
Support Services – The MTS Information and Trip Planning call center will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Fourth of July. The MTS Transit Store, Compass Service Center and Customer Service call center will be closed.
Family Weekends! On Saturday and Sunday MTS allows up to two children (age 12 and under) to ride free with a fare-paying adult (age 18 or older) on all MTS routes.
MTS operates 95 bus routes and three Trolley lines on 53 miles of double-tracked railway. Every weekday more than 300,000 passenger trips are taken on MTS bus and Trolley services in 10 cities and unincorporated areas of the county. In FY 2016, MTS served 92.6 million riders. For more information on how you can use public transportation and save money, go to www.sdmts.com.
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