San Diego – The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and UC San Diego Health have agreed to rename the system’s Blue Line, which currently runs from San Ysidro to downtown. It is slated to extend to Old Town, UC San Diego’s La Jolla campus and beyond.
The new name will be the “UC San Diego Blue Line” and will highlight the opportunity for all San Diegans to seek medical care at UC San Diego Health facilities.
“The health system has long been committed to playing an important and positive role in the life and lives of this region and its residents,” said Paul Viviano, chief executive officer of UC San Diego Health. “This agreement is a figurative and literal reflection of that commitment. It represents a new, smart and sustainable way for San Diegans to visit, learn and access the diverse services we offer.”
MTS is currently working in conjunction with the San Diego Association of Governments, the California Department of Transportation, elected officials and other stakeholders to develop and complete the 11-mile Blue Line extension (Mid-Coast Project) from Old Town to University Town Center by 2019.
“UC San Diego and MTS have been partners since 1969, working to encourage the use of public transportation,” said Paul Jablonski, MTS chief executive officer. “The renaming of the Blue Line to the UC San Diego Blue Line takes our partnership to a new level. The UC San Diego Blue Line extension will not only provide a great new way to travel to campus, but UC San Diego Health will realize exceptional opportunities to increase awareness of its world-class medical facilities via the naming rights for 30 miles of light rail service.”
The 30-year agreement includes naming rights to three stations on the line: the existing station at Old Town, to be renamed Old Town UC San Diego Health South, and planned stations at the UC San Diego main campus and at the health campus in La Jolla, which includes UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center, slated to open in 2016.
MTS will receive an annual fee, beginning at $675,000 with subsequent increases tied to Mid-Coast project completion and the local Consumer Price Index. All funding for the sponsorship is from non-state sources.
MTS operates 95 bus routes and three Trolley lines on 53 miles of double-tracked railway. Every weekday more than 300,000 passenger trips are taken on MTS bus and Trolley services. MTS is expecting to set a new record this year with more than 97 million riders. For more information on how you can use public transportation and save money, go to www.sdmts.com.
