San Diego MTS

🚋 San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) — San Diego’s transit system: almost 100 bus routes plus the five-line Trolley light rail network.

🇺🇸 San Diego County, California, USA | 🚌 Bus + 🚋 Trolley light rail | 💳 PRONTO card & app

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is the public transit provider for San Diego County, California. From its official About page: MTS provides bus and rail services across about 570 square miles of the county’s urbanised areas, serving approximately 3 million people — the blue Trolley lines and the bus grid that BusUpdate’s San Diego pages document route by route.

📋 MTS Quick Facts

• Official name: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS)
• Service area (official): about 570 sq miles of urbanised San Diego County (3,240 total), ~3 million people
• Trolley (official): five light rail lines — UC San Diego Blue, Orange, Green, Copper and Silver — 62 stations, 65 miles
• Buses (official): almost 100 fixed routes — local, urban, express, premium express and rural — plus MTS Access paratransit
• Payment: PRONTO card and PRONTO app
• Customer service: (619) 557-4555 · Transit Store: (619) 234-1060
• Website: sdmts.com

📖 About MTS

MTS states on its official About page that it provides bus and rail services directly or by contract with private operators. Its light rail service — the San Diego Trolley, operated by SDTI — runs on five lines (UC San Diego Blue, Orange, Green, Copper and Silver) with 62 stations over 65 miles of rail.

On the bus side, the same official page counts almost 100 fixed routes spanning local, urban, express, premium express and rural services, backed by MTS Access ADA paratransit. (Older secondary sources quote slightly different counts; the figures here are MTS’s own current ones.)

🚌 Network & Services

• San Diego Trolley — five light rail lines, 62 stations, 65 miles (MTS)
• Fixed-route buses — almost 100 local, urban, express, premium express and rural routes
• Rapid (BRT) — bus rapid transit services in the MTS network
• MTS Access — ADA paratransit

💳 Payment & Ticketing

San Diego rides on PRONTO: MTS’s fare system is the PRONTO card and PRONTO app (RidePRONTO.com). Load money to your card or app account, then tap or scan every time you ride — the same PRONTO account works on MTS buses and Trolleys. Cards are sold at Trolley station ticket machines, the MTS Transit Store and retail locations listed on the PRONTO site.

🧭 How to Ride

1. Find your route in BusUpdate’s San Diego guides, then check times on sdmts.com.
2. Get a PRONTO card at any Trolley station machine or the Transit Store — or install the PRONTO app.
3. Load money to your PRONTO account before you travel.
4. Tap or scan every time you ride, on buses and Trolleys alike.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What does MTS operate in San Diego?
Bus and light rail: almost 100 fixed bus routes and the five-line Trolley (62 stations, 65 miles), per MTS’s official About page.

What card do I need for San Diego transit?
PRONTO — a card or the PRONTO app. Load money, then tap or scan on every MTS bus and Trolley ride.

Where is the MTS Transit Store?
At 1255 Imperial Avenue (Suite 1000), San Diego — phone (619) 234-1060, per MTS’s official pages.

📞 Official Contact

• Website: sdmts.com
• Customer service: (619) 557-4555 · TTY (619) 234-5005
• PRONTO support: (619) 595-5636
• Transit Store: (619) 234-1060 — 1255 Imperial Ave, Suite 1000, San Diego, CA

Sources: MTS official website (sdmts.com — About MTS and PRONTO fares pages) and Wikipedia (San Diego Metropolitan Transit System) — verified October 2026. Independently compiled by the BusUpdate editorial team; confirm time-sensitive details with the operator before travelling. See also: San Diego bus routes on BusUpdate.