Getting from San Diego International Airport to the city

One bus route does the work

• MTS Route 992 stops at both terminals, runs every day from 04:15 to midnight, and comes every 15 minutes.
• It is wheelchair accessible, and it connects with the Trolley, the COASTER and Amtrak as well as a long list of bus lines.
• Payment is contactless. Tap a debit or credit card or a mobile wallet at the reader. There is no ticket to buy and no cash to find.

The Trolley, and where it is not

• San Diego's Trolley does not serve the airport. This surprises people who have seen the network map.
• Route 992 bridges the gap and reaches the Trolley at the Broadway & Kettner Blvd stop.
• From there: the UC San Diego Blue Line at Santa Fe Depot or America Plaza; the Green Line at Santa Fe Depot, one block east.
• Rapid 215 to SDSU, Rapid 225 to South Bay and Rapid 235 to Escondido all connect in the same area.

The free shuttle

• The San Diego Flyer runs free between Terminal 1, Terminal 2 and Old Town Transit Center.
• It picks up at the terminal transportation islands, and stops at Admiral Boland Way and Palm Street on request - tell the driver when you board.
• From Admiral Boland Way it is one block to Middletown Station on the Blue or Green Line: walk uphill, north-east, along West Palm Street.
• Six electric Endera E-450 shuttles run it, with air conditioning and luggage racks, branded "Flyer" with the SAN logo.

Overnight, and from further away

• Route 910 runs 00:30 to 05:00, every 30 minutes, between the US-Mexico border and downtown with limited stops. While the 992 is running you can transfer at City College Transit Center or Santa Fe Depot / America Plaza.
• Amtrak and the COASTER reach Santa Fe Depot from Los Angeles, Orange County, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Sorrento Valley and Old Town. The COASTER runs daily including holidays, and tickets come from the machines on the platform.
• From Santa Fe Depot, Route 992 finishes the journey to the airport.

The thing everyone notices

• The approach to San Diego is famously low over the city. The airport is a single runway hemmed in by Balboa Park, the bay and downtown, about 5 km from the centre.
• That closeness is why the bus works. Downtown is minutes away, not half an hour.
• The Mexican border is 30 km south, and Tijuana airport is reachable on foot from the US side by the Cross Border Xpress bridge - a genuinely useful alternative for flights into Mexico.