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National Dump the Pump Day
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1,000 Pledge to Try Transit in North County on National Dump the Pump Day. NCTD and the American Public Transportation Association celebrated the third annual National Dump the Pump day on Thursday, June 19, 2008.
The day was designed to encourage people to get out of their cars and ride public transportation to raise awareness of the financial and environmental benefits of public transportation. Public transportation has the ability to save people money, conserve gasoline, and reduce the harmful greenhouse gases emitted into our environment.
Just $2 buys a single trip on the new SPRINTER trains or BREEZE buses, while a one-way COASTER train ticket costs about as much as a gallon of gas. And our buses and trains can get you to hundreds of destinations all over North County San Diego. So leave your car at home, catch public transit, then watch the savings add up - instead of your gas bill.
More than 1,000 North County residents visited us on National Dump the Pump Day, and pledged to try transit.
 Click here to download the flyer about Dump the Pump.
 Click here to view the press release about NCTD's June 19 events.
The Green Benefits of Public Transit
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You can turn to public transit as a way to help our environment. At NCTD, we move more than 13 million annual passengers on our transit services. You can also tame congestion on our roadways and help keep air quality at safe levels. At NCTD, we take pride in our innovations that have allowed us to leave less of a footprint on our environment.
The BREEZE
We chose to take an alternative fuel based path for our BREEZE buses, reducing particulate emissions in the bus fleet by 69%. Currently, more than half our buses run on environmentally-friendly compressed natural gas (CNG).
The COASTER
The COASTER has been using ultra-low sulfur content diesel fuel for years. This fuel contains 15 parts per million (ppm) sulfur and is therefore better for our environment (also more expensive than regular diesel fuel). The COASTER acquired two new locomotives in 2002 which are the lowest emission diesel passenger locomotives available in the marketplace. The locomotives burn low sulfur content fuel to a high efficiency level, which has greatly reduced particulate emissions. All five locomotives that have been in operations since the COASTER began service in 1995 have been overhauled with new advanced emission-control technologies including turbochargers combined with software that allow the engines to burn fuel to the highest efficiency. These overhauls have been done well in advance of any regulatory efforts targeting locomotives.
The SPRINTER
The new SPRINTER Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) are more efficient and quieter than their heavy commuter rail counterparts. The vehicles sport an environmentally friendly drive system with clean turbo-diesel engines that comply with the stringent limits stipulated by the Euro III and EPA TIER 2 emissions standards. Although widely used in Europe, the SPRINTER DMUs are the first of its kind in California. The diesel technology in our DMUs is recognized as a viable, growing technology worldwide that contributes to a reduction in emissions and does so at a very reasonable cost. Additionally, fuel consumption is significantly less when compared to a heavier locomotive engine.
It's hard to determine exactly how many cars are kept off the road each day as a result of our services, but we do know our BREEZE bus system moves nearly 35,000 passengers each weekday, while the COASTER averages 6,000+ passengers on a weekday. When fully loaded, each COASTER train removes up to 700 vehicles from Interstate-5.
Benefits of Public Transit
NCTD's public transportation options provide greater freedom, access, opportunity and choice for North County residents. Even if you don't use public transit, you benefit from it. Consider these facts:
- Public transportation improves air quality by reducing pollution. Compared with private vehicles, public transportation produces, on average, per passenger mile, 95 percent less carbon monoxide, 92 percent fewer volatile organic compounds, 45 percent less carbon dioxide and 48 percent less nitrogen oxide.
- Public transportation reduces gasoline consumption. Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil, or a supertanker leaving the Middle East every 11 days.
- Public transportation eases traffic congestion. In 2003, public transportation in America's most congested cities saved travelers 1.1 billion hours in travel time.
- Public transportation saves money. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) found that public transportation use saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year, and can reduce household expenses by $6,200 — more than the average household pays for food in a year.
- Public transportation provides economic opportunity. Every $1 invested in public transportation projects generates from $4 to $9 in local economic activity.
- Public transportation offers increased mobility options for our seniors and people with disablities. 83 percent of older Americans agree that public transit provides easy access to the things that they need in everyday life. Public transportation systems provide a vital link for the more than 51 million Americans with disabilities.
- Approximately 12 percent of public transportation users are en route to schools. Educators and concerned parents in several North County school districts that no longer offer bus services now rely on NCTD's public transportation system. We believe nearly one of every five SPRINTER riders is using the new rail line to get to school.
- Public transportation creates community benefits by fostering transit oriented development, revitalizing neighborhoods, and increasing social interaction and pedestrian activity. In North County our stations and transit centers have helped to create a sense of "place" that makes our communities unique and special.
- Public transportation fosters a healthy and active lifestyle, encouraging more people to walk, bike and jog to transit stops. An analysis of 2001 National Household Travel Survey data for transit users finds that walking to and from transit helps inactive persons attain a significant portion of the recommended minimum daily exercise they need.
Take the challenge: try transit just one day a week and you too can help ease congestion, save gas money and even help the environment. Click here to see what your transit benefits calculation is.
To learn more about the benefits of public transit, visit the www.publictransportation.org web site hosted by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
District Information
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NCTD moves more than 12 million passengers annually by providing public transportation for North San Diego County. The family of transit services includes the BREEZE bus system, the COASTER commuter rail service, LIFT paratransit and the new SPRINTER light rail line.
The North San Diego County Transit Development Board (NSDCTDB) was created by California Senate Bill 802 on September 20, 1975. The Board was created to plan, construct and operate, directly, or through a contractor, public transit systems in its area of jurisdiction. On January 1, 2003, a new state law was enacted (SB 1703) that essentially transferred future transit planning, programming, development and construction to SANDAG, San Diego's Regional Planning Agency. The NSDCTDB, referred to as the North County Transit District (NCTD), continued to operate the BREEZE, COASTER and SPRINTER. In this new role, NCTD continues to provide integrated public transit service within the North San Diego County region. On August 30, 2005, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 1238, which amended the North County Transit District Act to rename the District to North County Transit District (NCTD), thus eliminating the full name North San Diego County Transit Development Board. Although the transit district had commonly been referred to as North County Transit District, this formal name change was effective January 1, 2006.
NCTD's geographical service area encompasses 1,020 square miles of north San Diego County extending from Del Mar in the South, northeasterly to Escondido, north to the Riverside County line and west to the Orange Count line. The area includes the unincorporated communities of Fallbrook and Ramona as well as the Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Base. Other cities in the service area include Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista and San Marcos. The total population of the NCTD service area is more than 800,000.
NCTD Mission, Vision & Goals
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North County Transit District's mission is to deliver safe, convenient, reliable and user-friendly public transportation services. Our vision is to build an integrated transit system that enables our customers to travel easily and efficiently throughout our growing region.
We will achieve this by:
placing service to our customers first,
ensuring the safety and security of our employees and customers,
delivering high quality transit services,
developing and maintaining facilities that sustain and promote current and future transportation services,
securing adequate revenue, protecting our assets and getting the maximum return on the public investment,
working in partnership with our communities and other stakeholders,
encouraging innovation, creativity and leadership.
Report to the Community
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In an ongoing effort to keep the community connected to the achievements of NCTD, we present our 2007 Report to the Community. Learn about the year's highlights, the accomplishments we're proud of and join us as we look ahead toward what is certain to be an exciting year.
Click here to download the report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Review our list of FAQ
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