BetterTrolley
Trolley Lines
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Station Information
BetterTrolley is the easier, faster way to get going on the Trolley system in San Diego, California. With simpler maps and smarter tips, BetterTrolley provides directions and alerts whether you're planning a journey or on board. The truth about tickets is this: you might not need one. Transit police randomly check for tickets every day, so it's impossible to say for sure: but the fact is that every rider is not checked for a ticket on every journey. (It's a $25 citation if you get caught without one.) I ride the trolley to and from work almost every day (say four-and-a-half days a week) and I get my ticket checked maybe thrice monthly. But we, of course, would recommend you buy a ticket just in case. Sometimes, depending on how worn down the fitting is, you can open locked windows with a 3/8" nut driver. This is especially handy during the summer months, if the air conditioning isn't working. You might notice (on older U2-series trains) metal boxes under the seats with labels on them: Sand is used as an emergency brake. The driver can pour sand in front of the wheels and stop the train with uncomfortable speed. Radios are hand-held radios that can be distributed in an emergency. Simatic is the trolley's on-board computer. Watch to see where the platform is. The doors will not open unless there is a platform there. Don't jump or climb over the couplers between train cars. You won't make it. And for crying out loud, give up your seat for older folks, or for people that look like they could use a seat more than you. Be considerate, be patient, and be kind. I was waiting for a train one day at Old Town, just as the new Green Line opened. There were about three or four people, clearly tourists, crowded around the system map that is posted at every station. They were using their finger to follow the lines to different places, but when it came to some stops in Mission Valley, they were suddenly unclear about whether the train actually stopped there. I'm a graphic designer by trade. I see problems like this every day, and come up with visual ways to solve them. In this case, there was a visual problem (the system map) that needed a visual solution. In a typical snobbish attitude, I thought to myself "I could do it better." And then another voice in my head (there are several, I'm sure you can imagine) said "oh yeah? Prove it." So I did. I built this site. This goes for tourists and for locals. For people like me who ride every day, I wanted to build a resource that kept them up-to-date with the Rider Alerts system. There are times when I'd like to know in the morning if I should drive or take the train, for instance. If the power is out to the Green Line, then I know I should drive. But MTS doesn't have a rider alert system that they maintain on a minute-by-minute basis. This website tries to fill that gap. Why use BetterTrolley instead of the MTS's own website? Don't they have the best information? Truthfully, they do. They are the agency that creates the schedules and runs the trains every day. The way they choose to present this information, however, is unnecessarily complex (and, in some cases, incomplete or poorly designed). Here's an example. At my Trolley station, Rio Vista, there's a timetable posted. That timetable, though, doesn't actually have Rio Vista listed anywhere on it. They have Qualcomm Stadium, which is two or three minutes east, and Mission Valley Center, which is two or three minutes west. But Rio Vista (and Fenton Parkway, for that matter) are nowhere to be found. The MTS has all the information in the world. They just display it poorly. That's what BetterTrolley aims to do: Present you with the same information, but in a more understandable way. Printable maps are designed to fit on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper, and use a minimum of ink (or toner). They look best in color, of course. They'd be a bit hard to decipher if you printed them in black-and-white, but — hey — it's a free country.