MTS buses and Trolleys provided 81,236,896 trips from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. That's about 222,000 trips every day, or roughly 155 trips every minute. This year's trips put us at about 95% of its pre-pandemic ridership, when the system recorded more than 85 million trips in fiscal year 2019.
Those trips connected people to work, school, events, appointments, shopping and more throughout San Diego.
And there's plenty to discover in those 81 million trips:
- 38,868,697 were on MTS buses
- 42,368,199 were on the Trolley
- The Blue Line was the busiest Trolley line, with 25,940,687 trips
- Route 7 was the busiest bus route, with 1,928,335 trips
- October was the busiest month, with about 7.5 million trips
- Largest monthly increase was March 2026. Ridership jumped 7% over March 2025 (What caused this jump? We're looking at you gas prices.)
- October was the busiest month, with about 7.5 million trips (Thank you Free Ride Day!)
Moving San Diego During Big Events
Transit has carved out its own place during San Diego's biggest events. It's not always about getting riders to the celebration. Sometimes, the celebration starts the moment they board.
During a Padres game, a Trolley car can turn into a rolling pregame party, with fans in jerseys talking baseball, reveling in the hype of the first pitch. During Comic-Con, cosplayers exchange compliments on costumes and make new friends before they even step off the Trolley. And for the Big Bay Boom on Fourth of July, tens of thousands of riders can share in the nation's excitement as they make their way toward the waterfront.
During Comic-Con, MTS logged an extra 300,000 trips. On Padres game days, MTS carried approximately 6,000–8,000 fans per game, while thousands more trips were taken for Big Bay Boom.
Since 2020, ridership has steadily increased, reflecting the trust people place in MTS to provide reliable, safe, and convenient transportation. Special events help introduce new customers to the system, but sustained growth comes from the thousands of people who choose transit every day for work, school, healthcare, and daily activities.
Test Your Transit Knowledge
You've made it this far, so you might as well put your MTS knowledge to the test! From the busiest Trolley line to the month with the most trips, see how many of this year's ridership facts you can remember.
