San Diego Public Transport?

Question

How is the public transport in San Diego?
Is La Jolla connected to other parts of San Diego?

Answer 1

In general it's not the greatest, but it really depends on what part of San Diego you live in and where you work. La Jolla is connected to other parts of SD, although not by the Coaster train or Trolley. It has a transit center in University Town Center mall. There is an express bus that takes you downtown and is really quick. And there is another express bus that will take you into the South Bay. And several other local buses that run down from UTC though La Jolla and Pacific Beach that will take you to Old Town and Downtown. Go to www.sdcommute.com and there is a trip planner, in the top left corner. You can enter in two addresses and it will tell you how to get there using transit.

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.

If you have any questions on public transit feel free to e-mail me b/c I know transit down here very well, I do consulting work for the public transit agency and used to work for the transportation planning agency.


Also San Diego is not a town where they care about what kind of car you drive more than any other city, like that first post claimed. People carpool here just as much as any other place and plenty of people take the trolley and coaster instead of driving.

Answer 2

Honestly? It sucks.
The fastest way from main San Diego to La Jolla takes roughly an hour & a half. Driving it only takes 10-15 minutes. If you want to get to La Jolla from the beach, rollercoasters or surrounding areas that particular bus takes 4 hours to get there. And I'm not even exaggerating in the slightest; you can even look it up on their website: sdcommute.com . You could drive to LA in your car faster than you can get to a nearby area in San Diego on bus.

The trolley system is quite awesome. Unfortunately, San Diego is a gigantic place and the trolley really only gets you around the areas directly surrounding mid-San Diego/Downtown. San Diego is like 20 times the size of the area the trolley takes you to.

And if you're the type to go out late on weekends, you may have to reconsider, get stranded, find someone to pick you up or pay huge taxi fees; much of San Diego's buses stop running at 9pm (some even at 5!) on weekends and Holidays. Some don't even run at all on weekends! The trolleys do a better job, but they've cut the lines in 3 and reduced timing. If you need to go anywhere South of Downtown or to Old Town, that trolley goes until 3am and restarts at 5am. If you need to get to some of the areas (slightly) more East, that trolley only runs until barely after midnight. The trolley that goes across 2 of the main malls and the SDSU college campus comes until 3am.

It should also be noted that they recently changed the bus systems and have now cut many off so you have to take as many 5(!) buses sometimes just to get to one place. Waits for buses is typically half an hour, although some are 15 minutes and others an entire hour. It can take hours to get places and is pretty ridiculous. Also, if you want to get from the middle of San Diego to areas toward the north tip (way past La Jolla; Carlsbad, etc.) their website lists it as taking 6 hours! Driving, you'd be in either Las Vegas or San Francisco by then! Good grief!

However, you can override SOME of these problems; the Amtrak is is quite sufficient, gets everywhere faster than you'd get there driving, is relatively cheap and runs all day long. San Diego's coasters run on Amtrak lines, and hit more specific areas along the way and are roughly the prices of bus fares (cheaper than AmTrak) but stop running before 8pm, so are useless if you need to go out late at night.

I hope this answered your question.

Answer 3

I grew up in San Diego and left it in my early 20's the public transportation is awful. Maybe there has been some improvements over the last 10 years but very very doubtful. It is the kind of city where everyone has a car and everyone takes a car out even if a bunch of people are going to the same place car pools are not really done. Also it is the kind of place where people are identified or judged by the kind of car you drive...
BTW La Jolla is gorgeous.

Answer 4

If you are in Hollywood, at Hollywood Bl and Highland next to the Chinese Theater is the Metro Rail. Take the Metro Rail to Union Station and then the Amtrak to San Diego.

Answer 5

Public transportation is terrible here.

Answer 6

http://www.sdcommute.com/