If you have a vehicle, my first suggestion would be to either: A) Make sure your hotel comes with complementary parking, or B) Don’t bring your vehicle at all. Not to say that there isn’t parking to be had near San Diego Comic-Con, as every couple of blocks through downtown you’ll run across the likes of ABM, LAZ or Ace parking lots, but for a low cost or no cost at all, *polite chuckling*, good luck there. Even if you are willing to pay the price much like the amount of shekels you’ve already dropped on convention tickets and a hotel room, the lots typically fill up fast. Ultimately, unless you’ve booked your parking ahead of time in the same sort of lottery fashion that SDCC tickets do, you’ll be sans car during your convention experience.

The likes of Uber, Lyft and various cab companies are always available, but again you’ll  have to be prepared to pay up as you’ll definitely see an increase in fare during SDCC. Pedicabs can be a fun way to get around, but they too can suffer from SDCC increases, not to mention becoming inducers for cardiac arrest as they weave through streets and sidewalks. So, what are you to do instead? I’m glad you asked. Here are five alternative modes of transportation that not too many consider or know about, even locals.

MTS Trolley with one of this year’s Conan Advertisements for Comic-Con
This year’s discounted Comic-Con passes (Courtesy of MTS’s website)

Trolley: San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) services anywhere from downtown, to Lemon Grove, to Santee, and even to San Ysidro near the Mexican border. This is perfect if you’re staying somewhere in downtown or in a neighboring area, complete with a stop just across the street from the Convention Center. Pickup times are typically every fifteen-minutes and vehicles are ADA compliant. True, this one does get a lot of use, but it is only in recent years that the idea of using them caught on. Special Comic-Con themed discount passes are also available at the MTS Store or at select Trolley stations during the convention. Just be prepared for crowding with every stop up to the Convention Center.

Shuttle Buses: A staple for many years of the convention, shuttle buses operate for all five-days of the convention (which includes preview night). Depending on time of day, their frequency of pickup alternates between fifteen to thirty-minutes. They drop off right in front of the Convention Center, which is both convenient and inconvenient, as it adds to the already congested scene outside. For a full schedule of times and pickup locations, visit SDCC’s official site.

DecoBikes: Unlike the pedicabs that look like rickshaws pulled by thick-thighed men and women, DecoBikes are a service that allow individuals to rent their own bicycles all throughout downtown San Diego. In partnership with the City of San Diego, standalone DecoBike stations are located just about everywhere downtown, offering bike rentals by the hour or more through their automated self-service station. When done, they can be returned to any other station. Though most people won’t be looking for this type of transportation to and from the convention, it offers a fun escape from SDCC and an alternative when wanting to explore more of what downtown offers. Prices can range from $5 for half-an-hour, $7 for one-hour, and $12 dollars for two-hours. For a map of their many locations and more information on their pricing, visit DecoBike’s site.

FRED: No, I’m not suggesting you play horsey with an unfortunate gentleman named Fred. The Free Ride (nick named “FRED”) is a small, electric-powered shuttle that you request in the same way you would an Uber or Lyft. It will pick you up and drop you off anywhere along its pre-determined route. What’s the cost? It’s FREE! The catch is you’ll have to bear with a few extra pickups along at the way and sit in a tram covered in advertisements, but the cost and convenience greatly makes up for it. Hours slightly vary per day, with them taking pickups on Fridays and Saturdays up until 12 PM and 9 PM on every other day. This is definitely a downtown secret that not even too many locals know about. Download their app for your smartphone through their website and check out their map of pickup locations at The Free Ride.

Harbor Drive Shuttle: Operating for a sixth season, the Harbor Drive Shuttle is a promotional service held on behalf of the Port of San Diego and managed by Ace Parking that runs seven days a week, 10 AM to 10 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and 10 AM to 8 PM on Sundays through Thursdays. Those using the service who have parked at the San Diego Convention Center or Hilton Bayfront Ace Parking garages can get a discounted ticket costing $1 if they show their parking receipt. Up to four people per receipt can get this discounted price. For those who haven’t parked in those lots, the regular rate is $3 per person for unlimited, all-day rides. Pickup times run about every twenty minutes and stops include: Sheraton Hotel and Marina, Maritime Museum, Marriott Springhill Suites/Residence Inn Bayfront, USS Midway Museum, Seaport Village, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge, and the San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina located right next to the Convention Center. Tickets can be purchased from six out of the eight pickup locations listed or from the shuttle drivers themselves.

If you’re one of those who still insist on driving themselves to and from the convention, websites like Parking Panda or sandiego.bestparking.com can lend a helping hand with finding nearby, available parking, leaving more free time to worry about San Diego Comic-Con itself.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Whenever I stay in town for SDCC, I make a point of dropping my car off in the hotel lot at the beginning and just leaving it there all weekend. It’s too much of a pain to drive around downtown. As long as the hotel is on the shuttle or trolley route, it’s easier to take that to/from the hotel & get around downtown by walking and the trolley.

    But then I usually tend to stay near the downtown area when I’m away from the hote, so it works. I have had to go farther out a couple of times, and I’ll just say I preferred the taxi to the ambulance. (That was an… interesting con visit.)

  2. For parking I would always drive out of the Gaslamp and leave my car in a nearby neighborhood. I started by hiking back to the hotel but eventual had to cab back. It was still way cheaper than paying to park at the hotels.

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