Old Town Transit Center

They really need to clean up the parking lot! We chose to ride the trolley to get to petco park. The parking lot totally smelled of urine and there was a used condom on the ground. How disgusting was that!!! It’s embarrassing to out tourists! I was kind of scared to leave my car there but parked further under a well lit area. That was the reason we had to walk through the parking lot. Urine smell the entire time!!! Gross!

A major transit center without a public restroom? Sorry that is unacceptable. However, fast and easy service for getting to wherever you need to go in and around San Diego.

Affordable and easy!

Easy to access, but there’s no one to help you — a little confusing for infrequent users of public transportation.

Every time I visit San Diego and try to take mass transit when in San Diego it is a joke. You cannot add fares to your metro card like you can for LA metro. San Diego only has day/​month passes which means, if you are someone like me who only takes the trolley sporadically when visiting, you have to stop, wait for the machine, and hope the machine is working to buy a paper single ride ticket (the credit card readers barely ever work). 4 of the last 5 times I have missed my trolley fiddling with their poorly designed system and faulty equipment. If I was able to preload my card with fare funds, I could have tapped and gotten on right away. This is the kind of thing that keeps people away from public transit. I will probably just use Über from now on when in San Diego.

This transit has no restrooms and the ones they do have have pad locks on portable restrooms. When walking around the location, you can smell the urine from people who was not able to locate a restroom.

Poor design and like another guy said, no restroom! Walking under ground and then back up to catch your train or bus is inconvenient. We got off the bus and as we were running to the stairs and the train was approaching we thought we were going to make it assuming the train stopped. Well, it didn’t stop probably because he didn’t see us since we were all running through the underground tunnel! There isn’t really anything around other than Old Town, nothing in walking distance like a gas station or pharmacy. It serves its purpose by connecting you to multiple transit routes but provides no conveniences.

I am a fan of public transportation and often take public transportation back at home. So it isn’t a surprise to me that I would take the train while vacationing in San Diego.
The transit center is located in Old Town, which is a great stop to check out historical culture, food, picture taking, etc. There is plenty of parking (free) at this transit center and there are also bike lockers available.
One negative thing I do have to mention about this location is that there are bums that are around (but honestly that is just anywhere), so do be careful and hide your valuables to avoid unwanted attention (or be a potential target).
Anyways, my husband and I decided to take the train to the Qualcomm stadium this past Saturday for a football game. We were staying at Old Town Inn (dog friendly and pretty good rates) and walked over to the station (about a 5 minute walk).
It cost $ 2.50 per one way or you can purchase a day pass for $ 6.
We ended up getting the day pass because the person at the booth who sold us the pass told us that there will be a long line to purchase a one way back from the stadium. So we decided for peace of mind, we would just pay the extra $ 1 (but I do have to say that there was not a long line to purchase a one way pass back, but a long line to wait to catch the train back to the station).
The train seem slow getting to the stadium, but was faster on the way back.
Seems like a lot of people take the train to the stadium (why not when you can avoid paying $ 25 for parking and avoid the fight out of the parking lot after the game), which made me feel safe and not scared (you never know about the type of people that do get onto the train, let’s just be honest).
The train ride to and from was just fine for us. But do know that because a lot of people do take the train for the game, it is crowded. We were lucky to get seats on both ways but there were plenty of people standing the whole way.
Also just want to mention that passes were checked upon exiting the Qualcomm stadium stop and getting back on after the game. So be sure to buy a pass!

Yuck. Weirdos hang out here people so be careful. I don’t think its dangerous but something could take it past the tipping point. Its not convenient to jump between the train/​light rail and buses as you have to go down into that horrible tunnel to get between them. And were are we supposed to buy a ticket for the light rail? The automated machines are only for Amtrak. I bet they lost lots of revenue from people never buying a ticket (and of course there are rarely inspectors).
Still, if you have to get downtown for a game or to the Q, this is a good option to park and ride the light rail (at least on weekends).

You would think a major transit center with thousands of people passing through would have a public restroom. But no, there isn’t any. The smell of urine and sight of poop is not hard too miss. So glad I work next nearby and have access to a restroom.
Also the San Diego County mental health hospital is a block away. So you see a lot of homeless and mentally ill people. Best to avoid them. Don’t sit next to them in the bus. I’ve witness assaults by them against innocent kid. The bus had to stop and wait for the police to arrive.
On the possible side, it is a major transit station that has transportation links to every part of San Diego. One stop shopping.

It’s not exactly «Trains, Planes & Automobiles», but it is certainly trains, buses, trolleys and taxis.
The Green Line San Diego Trolley stops here, and you can hop on and travel anywhere the trolley goes via transfers to the other lines. Buy a ticket from the automated machine first, though.
Amtrak stops here, although some trains blast through heading for the Santa Fe Depot downtown. You can also board the Coaster and the Pacific Surfliner here. Tickets may be purchased (with a credit/​debit card) at the automated machines, or in advance.
City transit buses stop here, and there are several schedules posted. Taxis usually park at the curb on the east side.
Finding the right track for your scheduled train can be confusing. For example, Tracks 1,2,&3 are on the east side of the tracks. Track 4 is on the west side. They are connected by a tunnel under the tracks. The tunnel itself is sort of artsy, being decorated with examples of all the building materials used to establish Old Town, like tile, adobe, brick, wood, etc. There are lots of steps to negotiate to ingress/​egress the tunnel.
All in all, it’s a very busy place. The single most important aspect for me is the availability of parking at the Park & Ride lot. All the spaces are reasonably close to the track and bus action, and don’t fill up until late in the morning on weekdays. Weekend parking can be iffy if there is a Charger or Padre game. There is an overflow lot directly across Pacific Highway.
A mini-​mart on the east side can handle your snack or personal necessities needs.
Unfortunately, often there are one or two examples of societal detritus lurking around this station. So, best not to talk to strangers, and never talk to weirdos.

Nasty restrooms that cost a quarter to use and have bums in the single male stall doing who knows what for long periods of time. If you can wait until you get home do yourself a favor. Also products are over priced and you’d better be off loading up on snacks and waters before you ride the trolley.

I love that a lot of the buses and trolleys come here frequently. Down side is that the parking lot is filthy and I once even saw a bunch of poop in one of the planters (and you can totally tell it’s not from a pet).

Been here several times, not all times were great experiences (due to other people) but never a big deal. Great location, cool mini liquor store, and thank you lord for the green line traveling all the way down to Santee.

Oh hey there Mr Train Conductor, this is my location for catching the Coaster or Amtrak. Super convenient and I can usually score a parking spot.
I do kind of freak out when I’m not sure what train I’m suppose to get on but I kind of freak out all the time when I’m traveling. But usually there is someone there to guide me.
Nothing to do with the Transit Center itself by I did come across an a$$hole taxi driver that refused to give me a ride since it wasn’t far enough for him. It was 11pm at night and being stuck there was horrible. Thank you that we now have Über and Lyft and don’t have to deal with some of these rude taxi drivers.

I went to Diner En Blanc last night: Which is a super fancy and fun event– a pop up dinner (Think flash mob style fine dining) where you bring all your supplies, table, etc, wear white and toast the town with a couple thousand other folks.
You don’t know the location till you get there, so they organize meeting spots and bus transportation all over town. I picked the «old Town» location as my supposed «Bus pick up.» Word to the wise: Choosing this location did not yield the promised bus, no indeed, but rather hundreds of white clad attendees (and loads of supplies) had to jump on the trolley per the organizers. Not a word was said about having to use possible public transportation for this event which was a disappointment to us charter bus expectant people.
Sigh.
My experience for the evening (only for transpo, the rest was wonderful) was a pain in the ass. The station is across from the parking lot, down and up flights of stairs or ramps and over railroad tracks. I was a sight to see in my fancy white dress, pearls and heels lugging all the shiz needed for the event around with one of my gal pals. I had a cart but it was still ridiculous-​THEN getting on the actually crowded trolley with all the required supplies? Oh hell no. It made me practically a sitting duck for a mugging with my hands full and fancy jewelry on.
This story leads up to my assessment of the Transit center-​Beyond my En Blanc reason for being there.
PROS:
A decent amount of parking (full though, so you might after to trek a bit)
Tons of stops, it goes all the way to Santee!
Clean rail cars for the most part
Handicap ramps on most trolleys
CONS:
Crowded
Smelled like urine
Parking is far from the trolly/​train/​buses themselves, so carry your mace ladies.
A scary angry lady who had the following conversation with us while we were waiting at the Little Italy station for our return trip.
Scary lady yells: What are you gonna do when your not young and beautiful anymore?
Me: (With a 34 X 34 card table, two chairs, a picnic basic and a food bag on a pop up cart) Well, I’m already carrying all this shit, no man doing it for me so I’ll be probably be doing the same.
Scary lady (Yelling): No one is going to love you when you’re old!
Me (to my friend) I’ll still love you, will you love me?
My Friend: Yes, we’ll be together forever (To the scary lady) We’ll love each other if no one else loves us.
Scary Lady: No one is going to love you! You’re both going to die.
Us: Oh my god.
Scary lady: You’re going to die from assault and battery!
Us: Oh my god
Scary lady: You’re gonna die
*Trolley doors close.
Sigh.
From now on it’s Prius power or an Über for me. Sorry public transportation, I don’t want to die.

Old Town Transit Center is the stopping point to one of San Diego’s best attractions, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. But it is also a major transit transfer point in San Diego.
The Green Line of the San Diego Trolley stops here. So does the COASTER commuter train and Amtrak. Both of those trains can bring you north. The Amtrak takes you up to the OC and LA. COASTER stops in Oceanside, but you can take a Metrolink train further north from there.
Also numerous buses stop at Old Town. I took a bus from Hillcrest to Old Town. From there, I got onto a bus that took me to Mission Beach. There are several routes at Old Town that take you to the water from here.
I did not encounter taking a bus outbound from the station. But found it very difficult catching a bus inbound back to the station. The half hourly Sunday bus to Old Town that I was waiting for never showed up so I waited an hour before I caught the next one. Also if you happen to be taking a bus at Mission Beach back to Old Town, expect that stop to be packed with people if you happen to go on a very busy day. You might want to wait at one of the earlier stops instead.
Despite the transit issues that I had, I like this station because of all of the modes of transportation available here. Specifically, the COASTER and Amtrak trains which came in handy when I was leaving SD to head north to the OC as it saved me a trip back to the train station downtown.

So it’s a transit center… But it has a mini mart!
So when we were there, some guy was seriously blazing… Not a deal breaker, but I guess his mom’s basement was otherwise being used, so he had to smoke here.
The usual eclectic mix of nerds, druggies, homeless, smellies, socialites, and a perpetually 90s grunge guy with a guitar slung over his shoulder joined the nondescript masses of people and tourists.
The Trolley was on time and clean. We had our tickets checked by a rent-​a-​cop with a real gun… Awesome.
Overall, it’s public transit, not a delicious thanksgiving dinner. But it’ll get you where you need to go. In our case, it was several bars for Happy hour, and the green line delivered without passion, pretense, or prejudice.
All are welcome at the trough of transportation. Just make sure you pay your fare, and hold on tight. I’m not catching
You when you fall.

Not a bad stop; it’s way nicer than downtown’s. I came down here a couple months ago because my friend wanted me to meet her there and grab some Mexican food. We both live in opposite sides of the city so we used public transportation to meet. And using the trolley is way nicer than using the bus, albeit slower.
The only nitpick that I have is that not everyone pays fare to get on here. Security seems to be more diligent in downtown than other stops (although I understand why), but eh, I probably should just be grateful I have the luxury of being able to pay for transportation around here.

This is probably my favorite trolley station in San Diego. Not only can you grab the trolley but you can also grab the surfliner from this location. There’s a little convenience store to grab a snack and on game days they’ll have attendants at the machines to help you buy your ticket.
Take the green to go see the bolts at Qualcomm.
Take the blue to go eat tacos in TJ.
$ 5.00 for a one day pass and don’t forget your manners, fellas. Give your seat to the lady who has been busting her butt at work all day when the train fills up.