transportprof

I'm looking at using the Trolley from SAN, in the direction away from downtown.

The airport appears to run a shuttle bus to the Middletown Station, as described here:

http://www.san.org/Parking-Transport...rolley-service

Has anybody used this shuttle? Does it run frequently and reliably? Or is it not to be depended upon?

Is there a fare for this shuttle bus?

Thanks!

calwatch

This must be the implementation of what is described in this OMAAT article: http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...h-a-crosswalk/

There's no fare as it is basically the regular remote parking shuttle making a stop at Middlefield. The Middlefield stop is supposed to be the future rental car center. Note that you could also take the MTS 992 and get downtown as well.

transportprof

Thanks for confirming the details of this service. I'm actually staying in a home that's half way between Middletown and Washington St. stations, so it makes perfect sense for me to take the free shuttle and then walk to my destination.

If I was staying in Gaslamp or by the Convention Ctr., the 992 bus would come in handy. But I'll be trying out this free shuttle and report back after my trip - toward the end of March.

BuildingMyBento

You're just a couple of stops away from Sante Fe Depot; if you cross the street from that station towards the Starbucks at America Plaza, the 992 bus stop is right there. That may run more frequently than this shuttle of which you speak.

Hawaiian717

The new rental car center is open.

EmailKid

Indeed.

But it's several blocks to walk to trolley station. I timed it, and it's just a little under 10 minutes.

transportprof

I wound up taking the rental car shuttle after waiting half an hour for the other shuttle which no one on the ground knew anything about, and which never came in a 20 minute time period from 5:50 to 6:10 pm tonight.

I walked to the Washington Street Trolley station from the rental center, on brand new sidewalks that were quite easy to navigate. Given the frequency and the relatively straightforward walk from the rental car center, I'd recommend this over the phantom "Trolley shuttle" or the 992 if you're heading to points north and east of SAN on the trolley.

MSPeconomist

Taxi fare from SAN to downtown and vv is cheap too.

EmailKid

As I read it, it's the one and same shuttle. I did not know about the stop, so took it all the way to car rental.

It's not far, so should be pretty cheap.

I'm guessing not as cheap as SuperShuttle, that keeps advertising $8 to downtown.

transportprof

Nobody (including drivers and information desk staff at SAN) seems to know about the stop for the Middletown trolley station. Where I'm staying is actually closer to Washington St., so going to the Rental Center worked.

But the whole set up is half-arsed.

Hey San Diego Airport - Don't advertise something on your web site that none of your staff know anything about. @:-)

EmailKid

Wonder if the drivers know about it

I can see someone standing at the stop only to have the bus go right by

hmy1

I am transit rider in San Diego and didn't even know about the shuttle option from the new consolidated rental car facility (ConRAC). The really long-term plan is to build a multi-modal transit facility in this area to serve bus, trolley, Coaster, Amtrak, and CAHSR passengers. The current rental car shuttle with its circuitous route around the airport perimeter will eventually be replaced with a people mover under the runway to the terminals.

Locals have long complained about the lack of direct trolley service to the airport. I guess this is the first step, but it could be better. I'm not sure how many people would be willing to walk the two long blocks from the Middletown trolley station to the shuttle pickup/dropoff shelter, versus the original method of taking the 992 bus from the Santa Fe Depot.

I am not a daily trolley rider, but I don't recall seeing airport workers or anybody with luggage boarding or disembarking at Middletown station.

EmailKid

That is what they said in Dallas at Love Field, not to be confused with DFW. Now we have a city bus, though the service is quite frequent, for Dallas anyway, and FREE from the airport ^

922 is still there, or was a month or so ago I was there last. And calling it TWO blocks is generous. I timed it, and I walk fairly briskly, and it was almost 10 minutes. Miss the old days when Alamo shuttle would take me pretty much right there.

Some of us have See this long thread in Budget Travel forum about walking to airports

On that note, I have walked to SAN from Little Italy, Middletown, Plaza America, Griffin Park and Gaslamp district. But then, I like walking, especially in San Diego weather

Oh, and one time from Old Town as well.

hockeyguy

I got tired of all the incomplete, vague information about this shuttle so I did some field research last Sunday when I flew back into SAN.

There is a bus stop with a shelter right near the intersection of Palm Ave. and Admiral Boland way. In fact, I believe you can see the concrete pad for it in Google Street view image that was taken during construction -- go to the end of Palm Ave. and spin around to face the airfield. This stop is a short (<5 minute) walk from the Middletown Station. You can actually see the southern end of the Middletown Station in the Google Street view I mentioned.

The stop is served by the Economy Lot shuttles; I know this for a fact, as one of the shuttles stopped to pick me up as I was checking out the shelter. There does not appear to be a stop in the outbound direction, though, so if you want to go to Middletown Station from the airport, you probably have to take the rental car shuttle and walk from there. That walk is somewhat longer, probably around 10 minutes I'd guess.

Another alternative (to or from the airport) is Washington Street Station, one stop north of Middletown on the MTS green line. That station is close to the Economy Lot; it would be a very easy walk if they hadn't annoyingly fenced off most of the lot from the surrounding streets. Your best bet is to aim for the east corner of the lot (next to the rental car center, along the frontage road), as you can walk around the end of the fence at that point. It should be about a 5 minute walk to Washington Street Station from that corner of the lot.

As to cost and frequency: the shuttles are free, and they seem to run fairly frequently since they're mainly for the Economy Lot. I don't know that there is a specific schedule, but I wouldn't have any concerns aside from very late/early hours when the trolley isn't running anyways. And in a worst case, you can always hoof it a few minutes north to the rental car center where there are always shuttles running.

bklynkenny

I took an Uber from the 16th St & Imperial Transit Center to one of the airport hotels for under $9.