San Diego - The San Diego Padres are one step closer to becoming the next World Series Champions, and will be playing against the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series this week. More capacity crowds are guaranteed, plus thousands of additional fans are expected to head to Downtown San Diego once again. To help people travel to/from downtown, Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) will be ramping up service to offer the best and most efficient way to get to all the festivities and PETCO park.
The Padres will host games 1 and 2 of the National League Championship Series, beginning Tuesday, October 18. Games 6 and 7, if necessary, will also be hosted in San Diego next Monday, October 24 and Tuesday, October 25, respectively.
Getting to PETCO for Padres vs Phillies: All three MTS Trolley lines provide direct access to PETCO Park. Fans can use the 12th & Imperial Transit Center or the Gaslamp Quarter Station for convenient access to the game. People heading downtown for the festivities should expect limited parking and added traffic. Free Park & Ride lots along Trolley stations offer an easy and stress-free game day commute.
Tuesday, October 18 (5:03 p.m. first pitch)
Pre-Event: All three lines will run regular 15-minute service (with 7.5-minute service between San Ysidro and downtown).
Post-Event:
- Regular 15-minute service on UC San Diego Blue Line.
- 30-minute service on Orange Line, with additional trips as needed.
- Extended 15-minute service on the Green Line (for approx. 45 minutes’ post-game), with additional trips as needed.
Wednesday, October 19 (1:35pm first pitch)
Pre-Event: All three lines running regular 15-minute service (with 7.5-minute service between San Ysidro and downtown)
Post-Event:
- Regular 15-minute service on UC San Diego Blue Line to UTC and 7.5-minute service to San Ysidro, with additional trips as needed.
- Regular 15-minute service on Orange Line, with additional trips as needed
- Regular 15-minute service on the Green Line, with additional trips as needed.
Last Trains (both nights):
- UC San Diego Blue Line: 12:07 a.m. to San Ysidro; 11:08 p.m. to UTC
- Orange Line: 11:56 p.m.
- Green Line: 11:36 p.m. to SDSU; 10:06 p.m. to stations between SDSU and Santee (with additional trips as needed if game is extended)
Fans are able to park for free at dozens of MTS transit centers, then catch any Trolley line to Petco Park. Fans should travel early with sellout crowds expected. Prime locations to park:
- Old Town Transit Center (Green Line, UC San Diego Blue Line) 412 free spots
- El Cajon Transit Center (Green Line, Orange Line) 469 free spots
- Hazard Center (Green Line, 1,500 free parking spots. Lower Level only, after 5 p.m. only; no parking for Wednesday’s 1:35 p.m. game)
- Nobel Drive (UC San Diego Blue) 289 free spots
- Tecolote Road (UC San Diego Blue Line) 279 free spots
- Balboa Avenue (UC San Diego Blue Line) 227 free spots
- Palm Avenue (UC San Diego Blue Line) 499 free spots
- Bayfront/E Street Station (UC San Diego Blue Line) 267 free spots
- Palomar Street (UC San Diego Blue Line) 305 spots
- Euclid Avenue (Orange Line) 115 spots
- Spring Street (Orange Line) 324 spots
Buy Your Transit Fare with PRONTO:
- For the fastest service: Use your phone as your Trolley pass with the PRONTO app
- Fans can also load money to a PRONTO Card in advance online at RidePRONTO.com, or at any Trolley ticket machine.
- MTS does not recommend fans buy one-way paper tickets, due to crowding post game at ticket machines for return-trips. Whenever possible, load $5 to a PRONTO Card, which covers a round-trip. PRONTO cards are available at all ticket machines (one-time $2 fee).
For additional information, fans can visit www.sdmts.com/padres.
About MTS
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) operates more than 100 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 200,000 passenger trips are taken throughout the MTS system taking people to work, school, health appointments and other essential trips. In FY 2022, MTS served more than 57 million riders. For service schedule updates, news, alerts and more information on how you can use public transportation, go to www.sdmts.com.
