Strong rider demand, frequent service, and expanded service for major events helped San Diego MTS set a new ridership record in July 2026.

MTS recorded 4.1 million passenger trips on its Trolley system during the month, marking the first time in agency history that monthly Trolley ridership surpassed four million trips.

“Record-breaking ridership reflects the region's growing reliance on fast, frequent, and reliable public transit,” said Stephen Whitburn, MTS board chair. “More people are choosing the Trolley to get to work, school, sporting events and major destinations throughout the region. This milestone demonstrates the vital role public transit plays in keeping San Diego moving.”

Continuing Ridership Growth

Agency officials said July’s ridership indicates MTS’s continued recovery from the pandemic. Since then, MTS has rebuilt ridership through investments in service, safety, and customer experience, helping position the agency among the nation’s strongest-performing systems.

In Fiscal Year 2025, MTS ridership surpassed 80 million annual passenger trips for the first time since before the pandemic, marking more than 95% of its pre-pandemic ridership. Ridership continued to grow in Fiscal Year 2026, reaching 81.2 million passenger trips.

“This achievement reflects years of work to make transit a more attractive option for people across our region,” said MTS CEO Sharon Cooney.

The Trolley system's growth reflects increased service frequency, major regional events, population and employment growth along transit corridors, continued demand for affordable transportation options, and the UC San Diego Blue Line extension to La Jolla and University Town Center.

The UC San Diego Blue Line recorded the most ridership in July with more than 2.36 million passenger trips, followed by the Green Line with 971,266 trips and the Orange Line with 587,174 trips.

The record-setting total also includes 132,315 trips taken on the Special Event Line during Comic-Con. Even without Comic-Con ridership, Trolley ridership totaled 3,973,288 trips, making July the highest ridership month on record for MTS’s Trolley system, the agency reported. The previous Trolley monthly record was 3,938,761 trips in October 2024.

Better than Previous Julys

July 2026 Trolley ridership surpassed the previous two Julys, which recorded approximately 3.87 million and 3.92 million Trolley trips, respectively.

Additionally, MTS buses recorded 3,082,492 passenger trips in July.