SAN DIEGO — You can get a free ride on San Diego’s buses, trolleys, Coaster, and Sprinter Wednesday as part of the Metropolitan Transit System’s Free Ride Day.
It’s the second year of the event, which encourages San Diego County residents to find alternatives to solo commutes.
In 2018, more than 53,000 trips were taken on the region's first-ever Free Ride Day. This year, Free Ride Day is being held in conjunction with California Clean Air Day and SANDAG iCommute efforts to promote Rideshare Week, Sept. 30 – Oct. 4, to educate people about the sustainable transportation choices available in the San Diego region.
To celebrate Clean Air Day, County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher is letting San Diegans test drive electric cars for free. You can take the car of your choice for a spin and talk to experts while you wait at the Electric Vehicle Ride & Drive at the County Administration Center Wednesday until 2 p.m. It's free and open to the public.
Free Ride Day will be valid on all MTS and NCTD fixed-routes services including buses, the Trolley, Sprinter and Coaster (Amtrak Rail 2 Rail, MTS Access and NCTD LIFT paratransit are not part of this promotion).
MTS has teamed up with Bird and Lyft to help people get to and from transit centers. MTS and NCTD services will operate on a normal weekday schedule. Passengers will not need a Compass Card for either system
To help celebrate the day, MTS will be at 13 different transit centers throughout the region to thank riders for choosing transit, and riders can get promo items and enter the Free Ride Day giveaway.
- Stop by these locations from 6 to 8 a.m.: Rancho Bernardo, Old Town, Lemon Grove, 24th Street, East Palomar (Rapid Station) and Iris Avenue
- Stop by these locations from 3:30 to 6 p.m.: H Street, Gaslamp Quarter, America Plaza, County Center/Little Italy, Fashion Valley, Euclid and El Cajon
When you participate in Free Ride Day and post to social media using the hashtag #sdfreerideday19, you have the chance to win great prizes, including the grand prize - free transit for a year!
For more information on Free Ride Day, go to www.sdmts.com or GoNCTD.com. To learn more about Ride Share Week, visit iCommuteSD.com.