(Unofficial) How To Use the Trolley Guide

There is a trolley station behind the OOPSLA . It can take you to Old Town, where the best Mexican restaurants are, to downtown, and essentially to Tijuana (Mexico). It is easy to use, but there are some tricky things to it. Here is the San Diego transportation page.

Where is the Trolley Station?

It is behind the OOPSLA site.

(You can see it on this map too.)

1. Exit the Main Conference area
2. If your room is in the highrise & you want to drop stuff off, go around to the right; otherwise, go left, to the left of (to the West of) the highrise, into the parking lot
3. You should see a footbridge on the far side of the parking lot; head for that
4. Cross the bridge and head for the road. You will see an elevated trolley line in front of you
5. Go up the stairs. At the top of the stairs will be two fare machines. You should buy your tickets here. Both take cash and one or both take credit cards. There is a manned ticket booth near the tracks, but sometimes no one is there

Where Can I Go?

Here is a map of the trolley system:

Here's what it means:

• We are at the Fashion Valley Transit Center—this is in the section where the Red, Blue, and Green Lines intersect near the top (and near the big curve at the upper left
• The dashed Red Line runs only when there are special events, like baseball and football games
• The striped part of the Blue Line means that there are trolleys here only during peak hours
• You can't get to the San Diego Zoo using the trolley

Fares

The trolley runs on the honor system, which means no one will, in general, check your tickets. You cannot buy tickets on the trolley. Fares are by the number of stops you go. To get to and from Old Town, for example, takes 2 stops, which is $1.75 each way or $3.50 for a round trip.

You can buy day passes, but only either by purchasing them online and then they are mailed to you, or at the downtown Transit Store. Neither is convenient. Here is the page with fare information.

Hints

• OOPSLA is at Fashion Valley, not the Convention Center
• To get to Old Town or downtown, you will take a train that is going right to left on the above maps. (If you face the OOPSLA site while standing on the platform, it is to the right.)
• To get to Old town or downtown:
  • take the Green Line which is labeled "Green Line" and "Old Town" (this is most likely)
  • take the Blue Line which is labeled "Blue Line" and "San Ysidro" (not likely)
• To go beyond Old Town (like to downtown), you will need to transfer to the Blue Line at the Old Town Transit Center (Old Town) (unless you got on a Blue Line trolley).
• To get back from Old Town:
  • take the Green Line which is labeled "Green Line" and "Santee"; get off at Fashion Valley (Morena/Linda Vista is in between)
  • take the Blue Line which is labeled "Blue Line" and "Qualcomm"; get off at Fashion Valley (Morena/Linda Vista is in between)
• San Ysidro is near Tijuana
• To open the doors, you need to press a button which is lit up when it is possible to push it. The side which has a loit button is the side you exit
• OOPSLA is not at the Convention Center (yes, I am repeating this information)