COASTER train ridership climbed 14.2% in fiscal year 2026, the strongest gain among North County Transit District (NCTD) lines, according to an agenda packet for the agency's Thursday, Sept. 10 committee meeting.

Mid-day ridership surged 36%, and weekend ridership rose 18%. Ioni Tcholakova, NCTD's director of service planning, is scheduled to present the full performance overview to the Marketing, Service Planning, and Business Development Committee at 11 a.m. at NCTD's board room, 810 Mission Ave., Oceanside.

Jim O'Hara, who represents Encinitas on the NCTD board, sits on that committee.

The gains come as the district grapples with a projected $7.7 million deficit in fiscal 2027-28, growing to more than $33 million by fiscal 2030-31, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in July. Fares account for roughly 8% of NCTD's revenue.

"We are always looking at trying to improve the productivity and efficiency of our services so that we can stave off some of these drastic service changes," NCTD Chief of Staff Mary Dover said at the agency's July 20 board meeting, when the deficit outlook was first presented.

Not every line fared as well. NCTD eliminated three FLEX on-demand routes, 471, 472 and 478, in February 2026 because of low ridership. After those cuts, revenue hours on the remaining COASTER Connection routes dropped 60%, while ridership on those routes fell 30%. Ridership on the surviving FLEX routes, however, grew 14%.

BREEZE bus ridership rose 2.9% overall. Routes 311, 313, 315 and 325, which absorbed riders from the eliminated Route 323, saw a 9% ridership increase from March through June, exceeding Route 323's prior numbers by 27%.

NCTD also plans to shift COASTER fares from a zone model to a flat rate starting Thursday, Oct. 1. One-way adult fares will be $6.50, matching the current Zone 3 price. Monthly adult passes will rise to $185.

The district's fiscal 2027 operating budget totals about $180.9 million, a 1.17% increase from the prior year, according to the board agenda packet.

Across all five NCTD transit modes, systemwide ridership has climbed steadily since the pandemic, reaching 8.5 million passengers in fiscal 2024-25 with a projected 9 million for fiscal 2025-26, according to NCTD budget documents.

The committee meeting can be viewed on NCTD's YouTube channel or attended via Zoom. Public comments may be emailed to [email protected]. The next regular NCTD board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22.