The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
In today’s “What’s the Deal?” I tried to explain why the trolley does not link to the airport. I wasn’t trying to say that there was no public transportation option to get to the airport.
I know there is — because I’ve taken it. But I should have been more clear, as readers have flooded my inbox with the same point: You can take the trolley or bus to the Santa Fe Depot downtown and take a convenient bus to the airport.
Metropolitan Transit System spokesman Rob Schupp even went so far as to say that SANDAG’s vision of connecting passengers with a simple link or bridge from the trolley station at Washington Street to the new car rental facility being planned on the north side of the airport is inferior to what exists now:
What all articles on this subject fail to mention is that there is excellent public transit service to the airport already. At Kettner and Broadway – where all transit connects, including Amtrak, Coaster, all three light rail lines and many bus routes – MTS operates the Route 992, which provides almost non-stop service to all three airport terminals (we pick up few passengers between downtown and the airport). In nine minutes you are at the commuter terminal, in 12 minutes to Terminal 1 and in 15 minutes to Terminal 2…. This is MUCH better service than transferring to the Green Line to get to Washington, walking over a bridge with all your luggage and then catching a shuttle.
I didn’t realize such a divergence of views existed between SANDAG and MTS.
But if the people in charge of public transit in San Diego don’t think a link from the trolley to the airport is needed or would be better than what exists, that seems like a pretty substantial hurdle in front of the mayor and SANDAG executive director pushing it.
I’m Scott Lewis, the CEO of Voice of San Diego. Please contact me if you’d like at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.325.0527 and follow me on Twitter (it’s a blast!):
Like VOSD on Facebook.
Disclosure: Voice of San Diego members and supporters may be mentioned or have a stake in the stories we cover. For a complete list of our contributors, click here.