MTS is experiencing a resurgence as ridership climbs closer and closer to pre-pandemic levels. After an understandable (but devastating 😣) drop of nearly 75% four years ago, we've bounced back with impressive force. The latest figures for fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 - June 2024) show a 10.4% increase, getting us back over the 75 million trip mark (75,663,343 passenger trips, to be exact). We’re thrilled to have so many familiar and new faces on board with us and look forward to continuing to improve service in the weeks, months and years ahead as we build a better system for all.
Trolley Ridership Surge
Trolley ridership alone soared to 39.6 million passenger trips (to compare, this is a little higher than the population of all of California). This is up from 36 million trips in FY 2023.
The UC San Diego Blue Line’s ridership continues to be the most popular line on our system with about 24.4 million trips. Both the Green Line and Orange Line also saw growth, with 8.6 million trips on the Green Line (7.9 million the year before) and 6.6 million trips on the Orange Line (6.2 million the year before).
Youth Ridership on the Rise
Youth ridership also saw a significant uptick once again, as the Youth Opportunity Pass program completed its second year. Youth ridership grew 22.7%. Over 113,000 different Youth PRONTO cards were used to enjoy free rides on the system with the Youth Opportunity Pass Program, allowing youth and their families to save money and get them to school, jobs, and more.
The highest ridership month was in October 2023, with 6,929,191 passenger trips, thanks in part to our annual Free Ride Day.
As we look back on a year of significant growth and renewed rider confidence, we see that San Diegans are embracing public transit as they head back into the office or run daily errands, as students travel to and from school, and fans (wisely) use MTS to avoid sky high parking fees and traffic at events.
Want to test your transit knowledge? Take our 2024 Ridership Quiz to see a few more fun stats from the last year!
These numbers are more than just statistics—they’re a testament to our community’s commitment to sustainable and convenient travel. Using public transit has so many benefits not only to riders themselves (hello, cost savings) – but also to the entire community, like the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.
We are incredibly grateful for every single one of those 75 million+ trips. Your commitment to public transit is making a real difference!
