Can I survive on public transportation in San Diego?

Question

I would like to move to San Diego within the next year, but find it very difficult to have a car there (I live in NYC- bringing car there, insurance, etc.). Would I be able to survive on relying on public transportation throughout San Diego? I'm not just talking about Downtown either, but more around the Northern Central Area- Pac Beach, Mission Beach, La Jolla, Poway, etc. I also realize that public transportation isn't like it is here in NYC- I know that. I heard biking is bigger in SD too, but I don't exactly think I'll be biking to work each day (maybe leisurely though). Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

In general no, but depending on where you live it's doable and not that bad at all. I live in Pacific Beach and you don't really need a car there for going to the grocery store, restaurants, or bars. Many people walk and/or ride bikes, more specifically beach cruisers. If you live in PB try to live west of Lamont St, it's closer to everything. PB is a pretty small, walkable community and you can easily get by w/o a car for everyday things like food, dry cleaners, liquor, ect.. I didn't have a car for six months while living in PB and it really wasn't too bad. I worked downtown and there is an express bus to downtown so it was easy getting to work. But then I got a new job up in Carlsbad and needed a car to get to it. If you work downtown or mission valley public transit is a decent option.

Mission Beach is even more dense and walkable, you don't need a car in Mission Beach, it's really narrow and long and there are a lot of small markets, cafes, and stores there that are easy to walk to. There is only one bus route through Mission Beach but it takes you to the trolley and through PB too.

Public transit in La Jolla is good around UCSD, but not so much in downtown La Jolla or Bird Rock/Windandsea area. The area around University Town Center and UCSD has a lot of apts, condos, shopping centers, and has good public transit. Everythin is pretty close by and you should be able to walk or bike to what you need. But it's also more boring up there and not like PB or MB. I lived there for two years w/o a car in college and it wasn't too bad. But I also lived with roomates that had cars.

North County, including Poway does not have good public transit. Except for Escondido and areas near Coaster stations it's not very good. You will need a car for travel in North County, which is from La Jolla north. Poway has really poor transit and it's pretty far out there so I would not suggest working or living in North County unless you have a car. I work in North County in Carlsbad and drive 30 miles up here everyday.

Not having a car can be done in certain areas. Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, La Jolla/UTC area, Mission Valley, North Park, Hillcrest, University Heights, and Downtown are all areas where it's possible to live w/o a car. Areas south of the 8 freeway in National City, Chula Vista, and South San Diego have more public transit but it's also more ghetto and closer to Mexico, literally and culturally.

Getting aorund in those communties is fairly easy w/o a car. The only problem is when you need to leave those communities, the trolley and coaster don't go everywhere so if you need to go a longer distance it will be harder. In general you want a car in SoCal, but if you live in the right place it's not too hard to live w/o one.

I'm not sure where you are going to work, but try a place that has good transit like Downtown or Mission Valley. If you go to www.SDCommute.com you can find all the information on SD's public transit. There is a trip planner in there that allows you to enter two addresses and will tell you how to get there using transit. If you have any more questions feel free to ask me b/c I know public transit in San Diego very well. My company does consulting work for the transit agency down here and it's actually what I am working on right now and I used to work directly for SANDAG, the region's transportation planning agency.

Answer 2

Transportation in San Diego by public trans is better than it was several years ago, but still not great. The problem is that everything tends to go downtown first, then you have to transfer from there to go in different directions. So to go from El Cajon to Pacific Beach means you have to take the trolley (much bettter than by bus!) and then transfer to the bus to get to PB. When I used to do this it took about 2.5 hours to travel what used to take less than an hour by car. If you;re trying to get to/from work - that's the pits!

Bikes on the other hand are a much better choice. The weather is generally great, there are a lot of bike trails and bike lanes, and you can take the bike on a bus (some of them).

And getting to Poway from PB - I wouldn't do it without a car unless you have a lot of time to spend in transit! It would take 3 hours and three bus transfers. One way.

Here's the link to the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Trip planner - that will tell you exactly how long things take.
http://www.sdcommute.com/Rider_Information/Trip_Planning/index.asp

Answer 3

It all depends on

1. Where you live

and

2. Where you work

Make sure you get a job along transportation routes. On the trolley line is best.

Then, make sure you live near the trolley line (you can live far away and still do this.

The trolley will take you most everywhere you need to go, and the buses connect from there, especially to all of the beach places.

But the bus routes can be slow, and service limited on weekends (when you want it most for playing)

I did it.

I was born there.

You can do it too, if you plan ahead.

Good luck and don't miss Ocean Beach!!!

Answer 4

San diego is extreme priced, yet there are a tremendous variety of little places that you an pass to diminish prices. charges might want to be everywhere from $2 hundred to $three hundred reckoning on what your landlord will cover. Public transportations is about $60 a month for a bus and trolley pass. (My dad works for the bus organization) nutrition, in case you good purchase keep it really is going to no longer be too undesirable for 2 human beings. leisure in an area like San Diego is a cinch. there are the variety of tremendous variety of area of do that are low or no value like taking a bus holiday to the coastline. i for my area like Imperial, besides the actual shown reality that this is extra south. Goodluck and income from the stay. tremendous area and tremendous college.

Answer 5

You definately need a car in So Cal for sure! Some jobs even require that you have reliable transportation so you can get to work on time. I would not recommend planning to live here without one. You could always just buy a car when you get here if you don't want to bring the car you have.

Answer 6

totally.there's all kinds of trolleys and busses, you'll do just fine btw, its not hard at all to have a car there!

Answer 7

Not a chance! You need a car!!! Don't believe anyone who tells you differently.