The North County Transit District (NCTD) announced Monday it has restored and expanded the Coaster Connection Service in Sorrento Valley, making commuting to work by train a little easier.
One of the biggest challenges to commuting to work by the Coaster train to Sorrento Valley is the last leg of the trip — getting from the station to the workplace.
"For life sciences and technology companies, their employees need to be in person," San Diego City Council President Pro-Tem Joe LaCava said.
For many industries surrounding the Sorrento Valley train station, the nature of their work means that employees cannot work from home.
“This is one of the biggest economic hubs in San Diego,” San Diego City Councilmember Kent Lee said. He represents the city of San Diego on NCTD’s board.
The Sorrento Valley train station is in his district. According to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), it was the third most-used Coaster station last year.
“There are many employees that used the Coaster Connection as a way to travel, considering that they get to skip a lot of the traffic on (Interstate) 5," Lee said. "And really get connected to some of their working quarters here.”
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) used to offer the Coaster Connection service, but it was eliminated last year due to budgetary constraints.
The service offers five routes, connecting to Sorrento Valley, Sorrento Mesa, Carroll Canyon, Torrey Pines, as well as University City and UCSD.
According to SANDAG, the area is the largest employment center in San Diego with 129,000 jobs last year. Nearly 60,000 workers travel from North County.
Not only is NCTD restoring the service, it is expanding it.
"NCTD has expanded this service to include extra trips to support to and from Coaster trains," said Jewel Edson, NCTD's board chair. "Extra trips accommodate off-peak commuters, like those with a hybrid work schedule — students and shift workers who've all shared their need for travel options outside of peak commute hours."
NCTD expects the connector routes to serve around 30,000 riders a year.
