North County Merchants Celebrate COASTER Anniversary

Sixty retailers along COASTER corridor offer discounts and giveaways to riders on Saturday, February 27

OCEANSIDE, Calif. – February 22, 2010.

February 27 marks the 15^th anniversary of COASTER service in San Diego County. To celebrate this milestone, the North County Transit District (NCTD) is partnering with the Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association, Leucadia-Encinitas Highway 101 MainStreet Association, the Carlsbad Village Association, MainStreet Oceanside and the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce to host the “COASTER Crawl.” The “COASTER Crawl” is a progressive event that will carry riders, with special two-for-one train fares, to Oceanside, Carlsbad Village, Encinitas and Solana Beach.

NCTD and its partners have scheduled entertainment at the stations including dueling guitarists at the Oceanside Transit Center and a small-scale farmer’s market at the Carlsbad Village COASTER station. In addition, merchants in the downtown areas of the host cities will offer special promotions to COASTER riders that day. Offers include free admission to the California Surf Museum in Oceanside and other discounts at participating restaurants and stores that are within walking distance of the stations.

“The COASTER Crawl is more than a ride along America’s most beautiful rail line,” said Rick Wright, executive director of MainStreet Oceanside. “It’s a chance for San Diegans to get out of their cars and visit some of the most walkable and vibrant communities in our county.”

The 15th Anniversary COASTER Crawl will use the regular Saturday COASTER schedule and will feature special events at the Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad Village and Oceanside Transit Center stations. Round trip fare all day long is $10 to $13 for two people depending on the zones and half price for seniors age 60 and over. Simply buy one ticket for two riders from machines at the station. No reservations are necessary; however space is limited on trains.
For complete trip planning information, call toll free 511 or visit GoNCTD.com.

NCTD serves 12 million passengers annually by providing public transportation within North San Diego County and via the COASTER to downtown San Diego. Its family of transit services currently includes the BREEZE bus system, the COASTER commuter rail service, LIFT paratransit and the SPRINTER light rail. It is NCTD's mission to deliver safe, convenient, reliable and user-friendly public transportation services.