San YsidroTransit Center

I’ve been taking this trolley since I moved to San Diego over years ago from Fresno. There have been a lot of changes including putting in new tracks and renovating the station. But even through all that, it’s usually fairly clean and most of the MTS Ambassadors (people who help with fares and directions) are pretty helpful. And you can’t forget about it being the closest stop to Las Americas Outlet! It’s only a 15 minute walk away!
FYI: if you wanna get the least empty train, go to the front one. The border entrance is closest to the back train and a lot of people don’t like to walk all the way to the front.
**I give this station 4 trolley trains out of 5**

This transit center is literally at the foot of the international border. The trolley tracks are backed up against the port where one exists customs and enters the U.S. With that being said. This is a VERY busy station full of people traveling to and from Mexico.
The transit station itself is relatively dirty, most likely due to the sheer number of people who cross over. There are three sets of machines where you can buy your trolley tickets, however, the sun is always facing them making them nearly impossible to operate unless you shade the screen with your hands or an object.
These machines are far from perfect. On top of not being able to see the screen, the credit card readers are extremely finicky so you often have to try to purchase your ticket multiple times. On busy days, there are MTS employees there to help you use the machines, but even they have trouble sometimes.
I personally feel that this station is among the most neglected station in San Diego. Considering it extremely high use, it warrants more service and at least some shade for customers buying tickets.

Yeah… I’m going to give the San Ysidro Transit Center 4 stars and say «Yay! I’m a fan.» Why you ask? Well, this place — at the end of the Trolley’s blueline — is a hub of commerce, where you can buy fries with that Big Mac… and pay 25 cents to use the restroom.
Very convenient to go back and forth over the border and jump onto the trolley to head back home.

San Ysidro Transit Center is the only stop on the trolley where you can just walk out of the USA and into Mexico! Granted, the stop itself is pretty run down, the area is very congested and there is a lot of foot traffic. It’s not very clean, needs an upgrade, smells, and offers no free parking. But even with all that, there is a great view of the international border and Mexico itself. It’s sad to see it the way it is, but there is no stop like San Ysidro, and considering you can get to another country by trolley is a pretty cool perk. Sadly, the overall quality of this stop is awful and it should be located at the Plaza Major Shopping Center rather than where it’s at.

The end of the line for going to Tijuana, and it’s packed, no matter what time of day or night you ride it.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me; but when I ride a train, even of the light-​rail variety, I want it to feel different from being on a bus. The main difference for me is that you board buses at street level, but you should board trains on a platform. It doesn’t matter how high the platform is, or that you can board buses from the same platform, but I want to feel like I’m doing something special, not just my daily commute.
All of this is hilarious because I ride both the bus and the train every day in San Francisco. But the San Ysidro Blue Line Station just feels too ramshackle. I don’t necessarily want a better introduction to the United States, but it would be nice if it didn’t feel like they ran out of money so they just stopped construction. That’s actually a pretty good summary of how California has been run since the passage of Prop 13, but I want my train stations to do more than symbolize or epitomize what’s wrong with the communities they exist in. They should represent the best in us, or at least the best in engineering and design.
So this was going to be a two-​star review, but it’s so close to the Mexican border, there’s no way it can be that low. You can literally take light rail to the edge of Mexico. You can’t cross the border as easily as you used to be able to, but who cares? You got there on a little train!

Huge station, as it’s at the border. An easy way to access Mexico without driving. It’s got lots of cops, and dead ends at the U.S. border security area, so it’s pretty safe. It’s right next to a McDonald’s, and several other convenience type places. From the border, you get access to basically of San Diego up to Old Town, as well as east to places like SDSU and others.

One of the most marvelous destinations on the San Diego Trolley is another country. This stop is almost on the edge of the United States-​Mexico border, just footsteps from the busiest international border crossing in the world.
Getting through the checkpoint, going in either direction, is quite a chore, but is worse for drivers. The Trolley gives a good alternative for both Mexicans and gringos alike not wishing to drive and be thoroughly examined by the federales.
The Transit Center houses San Diego County buses, as well as Greyhound and Mexican intercity carriers. There are also several local Tijuana operators at this station, operating second-​hand American transit buses. Most go to the shopping, entertainment and red light districts of TJ.
Connections: Metropolitan Transit System lines 929 and 932; Greyhound; and several Mexican bus companies serving Tijuana and longer distances deeper within the country.