More and more people have begun taking transit to San Diego International Airport, a trend that’s expected to accelerate this fall with bus service becoming more frequent and expanding into late-night hours.
Ridership on the Metropolitan Transit System’s 992 airport bus is up nearly 60% in just four years, from fewer than 700 passengers per day during fiscal 2022 to nearly 1,100 passengers per day in fiscal 2026.
And ridership on the San Diego Flyer, a free public shuttle between the Old Town Transit Center and the airport, has more than tripled during that time — from 207 passengers per day in 2022 to 660 per day this year.
Those numbers show growing local demand for a more direct airport-transit connection that regional planners have studied for years — most likely a new airport trolley stop or a people mover.
But the increased ridership could also be characterized as evidence that people are managing to use transit to get to the airport without a direct rail connection — and the estimated $1.5 billion to $3 billion that one would cost.
MTS is embracing the upward ridership trend by expanding service on the 992, which runs along Broadway and Harbor Drive from downtown to the airport.
Starting early last month, the 992 began hitting each stop every 15 minutes all day long and seven days a week. Before the change, stops were less frequent during early mornings, evenings and late at night.
New fare rates are posted at a bus stop by the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
MTS also added routes earlier in the morning — the first bus is now at 4:30 a.m. — and into the late-night hours: Riders can now catch the last 992 from Terminal 2 to downtown at 12:56 a.m.
“Route 992 is proving that transit can be a reliable and convenient way to reach the airport,” said San Diego Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who serves as MTS board chair. “The route’s remarkable growth shows the demand for better airport transit.”
The 992 makes a relatively short loop through downtown, but connects with a large chunk of the MTS network of buses and trolleys.
The 992’s route includes Santa Fe Depot, where the trolley’s Green and Blue lines stop, and America Plaza, where the trolley’s Orange line stops.
America Plaza is also a stop for three MTS rapid bus lines: the 215 to San Diego State University, the 225 serving South Bay communities and the 235 serving Escondido.
Any parts of the system not served by the 992 are likely served by the free airport shuttle from Old Town Transit Center, which is a stop on the Blue and Green trolley lines, more than a dozen bus routes, the Coaster and the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner.
The shuttle began running nearly five years ago, in November 2021, the same time the new Blue line trolley extension started running from Old Town to La Jolla and University City.
The two airport transit options have gained significant ridership despite relatively modest promotion of the 992 by MTS and of the Old Town shuttle by the county’s Regional Airport Authority.
Travelers take a free shuttle to the airport from Old Town Transit Center on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Most passengers interviewed recently on the 992 and Old Town shuttle said they had discovered they could take transit to the airport through word of mouth, tourist guidebooks or even artificial intelligence.
“I found out about it from ChatGPT,” said Burcu Temizoz, a vaccine science professor from the University of Tokyo who was visiting San Diego in late September.
As Temizoz was boarding the shuttle from Old Town to the airport, she said the first leg of her transit experience — from the airport to Old Town a few days earlier — had been smooth.
“It was convenient,” she said. “It was great.”
Another out-of-towner, Sydney Ortiz, was taking the Old Town shuttle for the fourth time. Ortiz, who lives in Chicago but travels frequently to San Diego for business, said her brother discovered the shuttle and told her.
She said the shuttle is convenient enough, but her main motivation is cost.
“I needed to cross over the border, and this is the most economical way to do it,” she said.
The shuttle itself is free. A one-way transit fare on MTS trolleys and buses, including the 992, rose from $2.50 to $3 on Oct. 1 and is slated to rise to $3.25 next fall.
Enrique Bernal, who lives in the College Area but works just steps away from the Old Town station at the Caltrans local headquarters, said he had never heard of the shuttle until a co-worker mentioned it recently.
“This is our first time,” he said. “We saw the schedule there and said, ‘This is good.’ We are hopeful.”
Over on the 992, Tijuana resident Loyda Zepeda was taking the bus to the airport for the first time. She took the trolley up to Santa Fe Depot and was heading to the airport to rent a car.
“It’s excellent,” she said.
Neil Mendoza, who also lives in Tijuana, said San Diegans should be proud of the 992.
“It’s pretty easy,” he said. “This is really good transportation here.”
Manuel Lauderos works at the airport and lives in San Ysidro. He said it takes him 45 minutes to take the Blue line trolley and the 992 to work — usually a bit longer than driving would take, but much cheaper.
“I’m saving on gas and insurance, and I’m not sitting in traffic,” he said.
Riders get on and off the trolley at the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Other passengers compared the $3 they paid with what a cab or an Uber would cost and said they were saving as much as $25 one way and $50 round-trip.
While neither MTS nor the airport authority tracks where riders live, few of the passengers interviewed by the Union-Tribune on the 992 and the shuttle live in San Diego.
Both the shuttle and the 992 have large luggage racks, and the doors on the 992 are wider than those on a typical MTS bus to make it easier to board with luggage.
The free shuttle from Old Town operates daily from 4:45 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. It comes every 20 to 30 minutes, and the trip to either the airport or Old Town typically takes 12 to 15 minutes.
The airport authority says the shuttle is timed to fit the schedules of the first and last trolleys of the day, the Coaster, Amtrak and some MTS buses.
The 992 and the Flyer pick up at the airport’s transportation plaza near baggage claim.
The 992 began running in 1999. The shuttle, which is an electric zero-emission vehicle, costs the Airport Authority about $1.2 million per year to operate.
The possibility of a more direct transit connection to the airport, such as a trolley stop or people mover, continues to be studied by regional planners at the San Diego Association of Governments.
Last month, they announced that they had narrowed the number of options they are considering from 21 to five. They also conceded that the project might be a decade or more away from completion.
“Creating better connections between the airport and our regional transit system is a priority for SANDAG, MTS and the San Diego International Airport,” said Solana Beach Mayor Lisa Heebner, who chairs the SANDAG board. “The enhancement of the 992 is a great example of a solution we can deliver now, while also continuing our work on what a long-term connection could look like in the future.”