Lyft is offering MTS passengers with a one-time discount of $5 for trips that arrive or depart from MTS transit centers between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m.
San Diego – It will be an extra-busy New Year’s holiday in San Diego. Along with the regular Monday commute, the Holiday Bowl and Parade are happening on Monday, followed by NYE parties on Monday night, and New Year’s Day celebrations on Tuesday.
To accommodate the large crowds and downtown party-goers the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is running extra-late night Trolley service on NYE (past 2 a.m.) and partnering with rideshare company Lyft for ride discounts to help people get home safely. Additionally, MTS will be operating on a modified service schedule on New Year’s Day.
New Year’s Eve (Monday, Dec. 31):
All Trolley lines and most MTS bus routes will operate normal weekday service schedules.
Holiday Bowl Parade: America’s largest balloon parade is expected to draw 100,000 people and the parade steps off at 10 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. MTS will operate extra Green Line Trolley service between Mission Valley and downtown before the parade, beginning at 9 a.m. After the parade, additional service will continue to operate as needed. Use the Compass Cloud mobile ticketing app to purchase and store a $5 Day Pass that will be good all day long with unlimited trips on the bus and Trolley. The best Trolley stations to access the parade route are:
- Sycuan Green Line: County Center/Little Italy, Santa Fe Depot or Seaport Village stations
- UC San Diego Blue Line: America Plaza
Holiday Bowl: This year's game features the Utah Utes of the Pac-12 Conference vs. the Northwestern Wildcats of The Big Ten Conference. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Fans are encouraged to skip the traffic and ride the Sycuan Green Line to the game. Service will run every 15 minutes from all Sycuan Green Line stations throughout the morning. Beginning at 11:30am until kickoff, Sycuan Green Line trains will depart every 7.5 minutes between downtown and the stadium! Fans who use the MTS mobile ticketing app Compass Cloud, can skip the post-game Trolley line by getting on the Cloud Express Line for their ride back after the game.
NYE Extra Late-Night Trolley Service: No need to cut the celebration short as you ring in 2019! MTS will be offering late-night Trolley service on New Year’s Eve, thanks to our friends at Coca-Cola who will be sponsoring the extra service. All three Trolley lines will have a train depart downtown San Diego after 2 a.m. View the extra service schedule. Late-night train departures include:
- Sycuan Green Line (from 12th & Imperial Transit Center to SDSU): 12:21 a.m., 12:51 a.m., 1:21 a.m., 1:51 a.m., and 2:21 a.m.
- UC San Diego Blue Line (from America Plaza to San Ysidro): 12:18 a.m., 1:03 a.m., and 2:03 a.m.
- Orange Line (from Santa Fe Depot to El Cajon): 12:15 a.m., 1:15 a.m., and 2:15 a.m.
Catch a Lyft, Get a Discount: To help those NYE revelers get to and from MTS transit centers, Lyft is offering MTS passengers with a one-time discount of $5 for trips that arrive or depart from MTS transit centers between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. The promotion is designed to allow people to leave their cars at home on NYE, get a ride to transit and then reverse the trip to get back home safely. Passengers should enter the code MTSLYFT and the discount is applied if they are picked up or dropped off at a transit center.
New Year’s Day (Tuesday, Jan. 1): All Trolley lines and most MTS bus routes will operate on Sunday service schedules.
- All Trolley lines (except Silver Line) will operate every 15-30 minutes throughout the day
- There will be Sunday service on Rapid 201/202, 215 and 235, urban local bus routes and Express Routes 20 and 950.
- No service will be provided on Rapid Express 280 and 290, nor on Rapid 204, 225 and 237, Sorrento Valley COASTER Connection, rural and other Express bus routes or the Vintage Trolley (Silver Line).
Support Services: MTS Information & Trip Planning will be open from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31 and closed on Tuesday, Jan. 1. The Transit Store, Compass Service Center, and Customer Service offices will close at 5p.m on Dec. 31 and be closed Jan 1. Customers who need MTS information on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, can visit the MTS website or download the mobile app OneBusAway for real-time information. The automated InfoExpress phone line will also remain available by calling 619-685-4900. All offices will reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 2 with regular business hours.
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 in the 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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