SPRINTER/BREEZE College Passes
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If you're a college student, you know that every penny counts! Now you can avoid having to pay expensive parking permit fees by taking the BREEZE bus and the SPRINTER to college. Students from Cal State San Marcos, Palomar College and MiraCosta College now have easy access to campus from a nearby SPRINTER station!

Fares and monthly passes (listed below) are the same for the BREEZE bus system and the SPRINTER trains, making it easy to transfer between the two modes. Discounted monthly passes are subject to college requirements, check with your campus.

College Monthly passes offer a great discount and are currently available through the following colleges (fares effective July 1, 2009):

MiraCosta College BREEZE/SPRINTER Monthly Pass: $44
This pass is sold in association with MiraCosta College and the Associated Student Governments -- available the 25th through the 15th of the month, or until passes are sold out, at the Student Account's Office on the main campus. Call (760) 757-2121 x 6835 for specific sales locations. A college student I.D. is required and this campus may require a minimum number of units. Click here for the MiraCosta Public Transportation web site.

BREEZE bus route 302 serves the main MiraCosta College campus and passengers using the SPRINTER have an easy 5 minute BREEZE connection from the Rancho Del Oro station on BREEZE route 319.

Palomar College BREEZE/SPRINTER Monthly Pass: $47
More than six BREEZE routes serve the transit center at Palomar College and now the SPRINTER! Palomar College monthly passes are sold at the Student Affairs Office on the main campus in San Marcos the 25th through the 10th of the month, or until passes are sold out. A college student I.D. is required and this campus may require a minimum number of units. For more information from the Palomar College web site, click here.

Many BREEZE bus routes serve Palomar College in both San Marcos and Escondido. The main campus in San Marcos conveniently has a SPRINTER station located just south of Mission Road.

Cal State San Marcos BREEZE/SPRINTER Monthly Pass: $49
A BREEZE/SPRINTER monthly pass is now available for CSUSM students with valid ID and enrollment verification through the Parking and Commuter Services office (FCB 107). The SPRINTER features an elevated station on the northeast corner of campus. CSUSM also runs a shuttle system that links the station with the heart of campus, from 6:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (shuttle service provided during the regular school year and summer session).

U. C. San Diego
UCSD offers free rides on BREEZE route 101 ! UCSD students, faculty and staff can ride route 101 free using their UCSD ID. Passengers must first receive a free bus zone sticker from UCSD's Transportation and Parking Services Department. Then, show the driver your valid UCSD ID with this sticker to get a free ride on BREEZE route 101. Visit parking.ucsd.edu for more information.

North County Events Near the SPRINTER
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Take North County Transit District's (NCTD) SPRINTER light rail train to reach special events in North County this season. The Oceanside - Escondido SPRINTER train now runs half-hour service all week long! Click here for the new schedule. Parking is free and plentiful at 13 of the SPRINTER's 15 stations located along the Highway 78 corridor.

Upcoming events that are accessible from SPRINTER stations include:

Vista Art & Sculpture Walking Tour

At the Vista Transit Center, exit the SPRINTER and walk east of the platform to Main Street to visit art galleries or view large scale outdoor sculptures interpreting kites. Click here to download a map and brochure from the City of Vista (2MB).

Wave Water Park Discount

Hit the waves in Vista this summer! At the Vista Transit Center, exit the SPRINTER and walk east of the platform. Cross Vista Village Drive to reach Main Street take a right toward Wave Drive. Valid SPRINTER/BREEZE Day Pass holders receive a $2 discount at Vista's Wave Waterpark all summer long, (760) 940-WAVE.

Oceanside Dasani Blue Bikes Program

Check out a free bike in downtown Oceanside through the city's Dasani Blue Bikes Program. The bike lockers are located at 602 Civic Center Drive, near the library (about a 10-15 minute walk from the Transit Center), but you must first check in with Oceanside Parks and Recreation at 760-435-5041; 300 North Coast Highway. Click here for more information from the City of Oceanside.

To add an event to this listing, call 760-966-6602.

The Green Alternative
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The SPRINTER helps with the "greening" of North County. Here's why:

The SPRINTER 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. The new SPRINTER trains emit at a stringent Euro III emissions level, and when compared with automobiles or with heavy rail, fuel consumption per seat is very low.

The SPRINTER 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. By the end of the first year of service, it is projected that the SPRINTER will be taking 5,000 cars off Highway 78 each day.

The SPRINTER helps ease traffic congestion in North County.
In 2003, public transportation in America's most congested cities saved travelers 1.1 billion hours in travel time. It is estimated that the SPRINTER line will result in a reduction of 57,757 vehicle miles traveled every day by the end of the first year of service.

The SPRINTER helps passengers save 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. A SPRINTER Day Pass costs about what the price of a single gallon of gas currently costs.

The SPRINTER works to promote personal wellness.
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.

The SPRINTER lead to improvements in North County's open space.
SPRINTER construction mitigation efforts in the Rancho Del Oro and Harmony Grove areas have created more than six acres of new wetlands/open space and garnered an environmental project award from the American Public Works Association. Under an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers after upgrading the old rail line, NCTD transferred 35,000 cubic yards of material to the Rancho Del Oro area to create new wetlands. After transferring the soil, the transit district created an irrigation system to facilitate the growth of many species of native plants. Conditions were created to provide habitat for the various species of birds, fish and wildlife that were affected by the new rail line. In Harmony Grove, land which once had been a decaying mobile-home park, has been transformed into a lush field planted with live oak and other native plants.

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).

SPRINTER Classroom Day Pass Program
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Attention teachers: the Classroom Day Pass program is a great way for students to learn how to use public transit while seeing the fun sites around San Diego. Discounted ticket packages are available for $1.50 per person on the SPRINTER train for up to 35 students/chaperones. Travel must be conducted 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays or 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Please note: there is limited wheelchair access when one SPRINTER car is in service.

For booking information, call the Day Tripper Hotline: (619) 233-9558 at least 14 days in advance. Trips must be confirmed by the day pass coordinator to qualify for the Classroom Day Pass discount.

Click here to learn more from the SDMTS web site.