The number of riders on the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System increased by 7.1% over the past year and is now near pre-pandemic totals, the agency announced Wednesday.
MTS reported that annual ridership passed 80 million trips in the last fiscal year, up by 5.5 million over fiscal year 2024.
“Surpassing 80 million trips shows that more San Diegans are choosing transit than ever before,” said Stephen Whitburn, MTS Board Chair and San Diego City Council member, in a release.
“It’s a testament to the investments we’ve made in reliability, safety, and service quality — and to the dedicated MTS team that works every day to keep our region moving.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, public transit dropped precipitously as many people stayed home or limited travel. Since then, ridership on MTS vehicles has continued to grow and is now at 95.1% of pre-pandemic peak of 85,357,495 trips in fiscal year 2019.
“We’ve recovered more than 95% of our pre-pandemic ridership, which speaks volumes about the trust our riders place in MTS and the value of public transit in San Diego,” said Sharon Cooney, MTS chief executive officer.
“This milestone shows just how far we’ve come since the pandemic’s lowest point, and we’ll continue building on that momentum to reach even more riders in the years ahead.”
According to the agency, the rebound has been assisted by MTS’ efforts to add more bus routes, increasing service frequency and strengthening security.
In October 2024, MTS tallied 7,720,681 passenger trips, the most in a single month in the last fiscal year. During a week in the same month, the agency reported an average of 281,972 passengers per day, the highest week on record since the onset of the pandemic.
