Old Town Transit Center

Old Town Transit Center
Company type	Transit center
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	1994; 32 years ago
Headquarters	San Diego, California, United States
Area served	San Diego metropolitan area
Products	Rail and bus transit services

Old Town Transit Center, frequently referred to as San Diego–Old Town station, functions as a multimodal transportation facility situated in the Old Town district of San Diego, California. It accommodates services including Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, the COASTER commuter rail, the San Diego Trolley, along with several bus routes operated by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.

Positioned at the intersection of Rosecrans Street/Taylor Street and Pacific Highway, this station lies adjacent to the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and is conveniently close to the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 8. It offers easy access to prominent local attractions such as SeaWorld San Diego and Mission Bay, enhancing connections to northern beaches of San Diego. Additionally, the Transit Center provides complimentary Park & Ride parking facilities for up to 24 hours.

History

Constructed in the early 1990s, Old Town Transit Center became part of the San Diego Trolley network when the North/South Line was extended here on June 16, 1996. By November 1997, this line was renamed the Blue Line and further extended into Mission Valley. With the introduction of the Green Line on July 10, 2005, coinciding with the Mission Valley East expansion, Old Town served as both the Blue Line’s northern terminus and the western endpoint for the Green Line. A system-wide reconfiguration occurred on September 2, 2012, under the Trolley Renewal Project: the Green Line's western terminus was pushed from Old Town to 12th & Imperial Bayside Terminal, while the Blue Line’s northern terminus was shortened to America Plaza. The Special Event Line was discontinued; instead, Green Line frequencies and capacity were increased during major events at venues like the San Diego Convention Center and Petco Park.

Following completion of the Mid Coast Trolley Project, service on the Blue Line resumed at Old Town station on November 21, 2021. This extension provides direct transit connections to key locations such as UC San Diego, Jacobs Medical Center, Westfield UTC, and the San Ysidro border crossing.

Commuter and intercity rail

Old Town Transit Center is served by Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner intercity trains as well as the COASTER commuter rail. Out of 22 Pacific Surfliner weekday trains stopping in San Diego, 18 include stops at Old Town; however, these stops are limited to boarding passengers heading northbound or alighting passengers traveling southbound and do not support checked baggage services.

Between Fiscal Years 2011 and 2013, Amtrak ridership at Old Town experienced significant growth. In FY2011, total boardings and alightings reached 22,867, marking a 5.79% increase compared to FY2010. This figure surged to 61,118 in FY2012—a rise of 167%—and further climbed to 135,749 in FY2013, representing a 122% increase over FY2012. This upward trend corresponded with a decline in passenger numbers at downtown’s Santa Fe Depot, indicating a shift in traveler preference toward Old Town. In FY2013 among California's 74 Amtrak stations, Old Town ranked as the 25th busiest with an average daily ridership close to 372 passengers.

San Diego Trolley

Serving as a light rail stop on the San Diego Trolley's Green Line, Old Town Transit Center originally functioned as the line’s terminus until a realignment in 2012 extended service through Old Town into downtown San Diego.

The completion of the Trolley's Mid-Coast extension in November 2021 expanded service from Old Town toward the University City region.

Bus connections

Old Town serves as a key bus transit hub for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, with routes 8, 9, 10, 28, 30, 35, 44, 83, 88, and 105 stopping here. An underground pedestrian passage links the bus bays to the trolley and train platforms.

The station is also a stop for the San Diego Flyer shuttle from San Diego International Airport, which runs every 20 to 30 minutes between Old Town Transit Center and the airport terminals. Additionally, it supports the UC San Diego Triton Transit Hillcrest Express providing service to the UC San Diego Medical Center, Hillcrest, as well as shuttles for the University of San Diego and intercity coaches operated by FlixBus.

Station configuration

Four tracks run through the station: two are dedicated to San Diego Trolley lines, while the remaining pair handle COASTER commuter trains, Amtrak services, and BNSF freight traffic.

External links