Old Town Transit Center

Old Town Transit Center
Amtrak, COASTER and San Diego Trolley station
A Green Line trolley approaching the Old Town Transit Center from the north across Taylor Street
Location	4005 Taylor Street San Diego, CA 92110
Coordinates	32°45′19″N 117°11′58″W / 32.7552°N 117.1995°WCoordinates: 32°45′19″N 117°11′58″W / 32.7552°N 117.1995°W
Owned by	NCTD
Line(s)	Amtrak   Pacific Surfliner North County Transit District   COASTER San Diego Trolley   Green Line
Platforms	2 side platforms (Amtrak/COASTER) 2 side platforms, 1 island platform (Trolley)
Tracks	2 (Amtrak/COASTER) 2 (Trolley)
Connections	Routes 8, 9, 10, 28, 30, 35, 44, 88, 105, 150
Construction
Parking	437 "Park and Ride" lot spaces, with 350+ overflow spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	OLT (Amtrak)
Fare zone	3 (COASTER)
History
Opened	1994
Rebuilt	2005
Traffic
Passengers (FY2015)	238,288[1]  21.1% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Solana Beach toward Goleta, Los Angeles, or San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner San Diego (Union Station) Terminus San Diego-Sorrento Valley toward Goleta, Los Angeles, or San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner (limited service) North County Transit District Sorrento Valley toward Oceanside Transit Center COASTER San Diego Terminus San Diego Trolley Washington Street toward 12th & Imperial Transit Center Green Line Morena/Linda Vista toward Santee Town Center   Future services   Washington Street toward San Ysidro Transit Center Blue Line Mid-Coast Extension (future) Tecolote Road toward University Towne Center
Location
Location within California

The Old Town Transit Center is an intermodal transportation station located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is served by the San Diego Trolley, Coaster commuter rail, and Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, as well as numerous San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus lines.

History

The Old Town Transit Center was built in the early 1990s, and San Diego Trolley's North/South Line was extended here on June 16, 1996.^[2] In November 1997, the line, renamed the Blue Line,^[3] was extended into Mission Valley.^[2] When the Green Line service was introduced with the opening of the Mission Valley East extension on July 10, 2005,^[2] the Blue Line's northern terminus was pushed back to this station, which also served as the Green Line's western terminus. During a system redesign on September 2, 2012, as part of the Trolley Renewal Project, MTS extended the western terminus of the Green Line from this station to 12th & Imperial Bayside Terminal and shortened the Blue Line's northern terminus to America Plaza.^[4] The Special Event Line was eliminated; instead, the Green Line will add cars and offer more frequent service to Petco Park, San Diego Convention Center, Qualcomm Stadium and Viejas Arena at San Diego State University when necessary.^[4]

Service

Commuter and intercity rail

The Old Town Transit Center hosts passenger trains operating on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner intercity rail route and on the San Diego Coaster commuter rail line. Of the 22 weekday Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains operating in San Diego, 18 of them stop at the Old Town Transit Center,^[5] though the Surfliner trains operating at Old Town do not offer checked luggage service, and stop at Old Town to board passengers (northbound trains) or detrain passengers (southbound trains) only, respectively.

Amtrak ridership at Old Town Transit Center has exploded over the last two years. In Fiscal Year 2011, there were just 22,867 boardings and detrainings at Old Town^[6] (which was a 5.79% increase over Fiscal Year 2010). In Fiscal Year 2012, boardings and detrainings at Old Town rose to 61,118, a 167% increase over FY2011.^[7] As of Fiscal Year 2013, the Amtrak ridership figure has continued to rise, to 135,749 boardings and detrainings, a further 122% increase over FY2012.^[8] (There has been a corresponding decrease in Amtrak boardings at the Santa Fe Depot in Downtown San Diego over this same period, possibly indicating that some Amtrak boardings have been relocating from Santa Fe Depot to Old Town over the past two years.) Of the 74 California stations served by Amtrak, the Old Town Transit Center was the 25th-busiest in Fiscal Year 2013, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 372 passengers daily.^[8]

San Diego Trolley

Old Town Transit Center is also a light rail station on the San Diego Trolley's Green Line. This station originally served as that line's terminus, until a system realignment on September 2012 extended the Green Line though Old Town to Downtown San Diego.^[4]

Once the Trolley's Mid-Coast extension is completed, the Blue Line will be re-extended through this station to serve the University City area,^[9] and so the Blue Line will once again serve Old Town by approximately 2018. In July 2015, a 30-year naming rights agreement between MTS and UC San Diego Health was announced; as a result of this agreement, the Blue Line will be renamed "UC San Diego Blue Line" and the Old Town Transit Center will become "Old Town UC San Diego Health South".^[10]

Bus service

Old Town also operates as a bus transit center for San Diego Metropolitan Transit System's routes 8, 9, 10, 28, 30, 35, 44, 88, 105, and 150. There is an underground pedestrian tunnel linking bus terminals on both sides of the station with the trolley/train areas. Old Town is also served by university shuttles for University of California, San Diego and University of San Diego.^[11][12]

Platforms and tracks

1	■ Green Line	toward Santee Town Center (Morena / Linda Vista)
2	■ Green Line	toward 12th & Imperial Transit Center (Washington Street)
3-4	■ Coaster	toward Oceanside Transit Center (Sorrento Valley)
	■ Coaster	toward San Diego-Union Station (Terminus)
	■ Pacific Surfliner	toward San Luis Obispo (San Diego-Sorrento Valley or Solana Beach)
	■ Pacific Surfliner	toward San Diego-Union Station (Terminus)

Location

The station is located at the intersection of Rosecrans Street/Taylor Street and Pacific Highway, adjacent to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Free parking (Park & Ride) for up to 24-hours is available in the Transit Center lots.

See also

• List of San Diego Trolley stations

References

1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2015 - State of California" (pdf). Amtrak. November 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
2. Ristine, Jeff (July 23, 2006). "After 25 years, the trolley keeps on moving". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
3. "MTS Historical Timeline". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
4. "September 2, 2012 Service Changes. Major Bus and Trolley Service Changes". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
5. "Pacific Surfliner Schedule, effective January 14, 2014" (PDF) (PDF). Amtrak California. November 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
6. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2011 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. December 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
7. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2012 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
8. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2013 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
9. "Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project". San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Retrieved 2013-04-16.
10. Schupp, Rob (16 July 2015). "The New Blue: Metropolitan Transit System Trolley Line to be Renamed UC San Diego Blue Line". MTS Media Center. Metropolitan Transit System. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
11. University of California, San Diego
12. University of San Diego

External links

• Amtrak – Stations – San Diego - Old Town, CA
• COASTER Stations (including Old Town)
• Old Town Transit Center (SDMTS)
• Old Town San Diego Amtrak Station(USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)
• Old Town San Diego State Historic Park (California State Parks)
• San Diego-Old Town (OLT)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)