SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System and the North County Transit District are offering free rides on all public transportation, including buses, trolleys, Coaster and Sprinter on Wednesday, October 5.
This is the fourth year San Diego County has hosted a Free Ride Day and local leaders would like everyone to take advantage of this offer.
They also say Free Ride Day will be a good option for those who plan to attend the Padres' final regular season home game.
“We had a record 26 sellouts this season at Petco Park,” says Chris Connolly with the franchise.
“We broke the record of 24 sellouts back in 2004 when Petco (Park) first opened. Given our marketing partnership with MTS, and with the Coaster team, we also had a record number of fans riding the trolley to Petco Park this season.”
Connolly says for some of their biggest games MTS counted upwards of 5,000 to 7,000 fans using the bus or trolley. They hope fans utilize public transportation for Wednesday’s game at 1:10p.
Wednesday is also California Clean Air Day. The goal is to educate people about sustainable transportation choices throughout the county.
“Transportation emissions are not only our number one source of greenhouse gas emission in the state of California, but they’re also a major source of air pollution for port side communities,” says Brian Sheridan with the Coalition for Clean Air.
“It is one day, it is one choice and it’s is one opportunity to go out and experience our system,” says Nathan Fletcher, Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
“We hope San Diegans will take advantage of it.”
Local leaders say with higher gas prices and an effort to fight greenhouse gas emissions, they hope to have more programs in the future to help make access to transportation easier for San Diegans.
Leaders want to also note, the Youth Opportunity Pass Program is still available. It allows youth under the age of 18 to ride the bus, train, or trolley for free.
