North County Transit District

The North County Transit District (NCTD) (reporting mark SDNX) is the agency responsible for public transportation in North San Diego County, California, United States. NCTD provides 12 million passenger trips per year. NCTD's geographic area is approximately 1,020 square miles, with an approximate population of 842,000 people. NCTD is governed by a Board of Directors.

The agency operates the BREEZE bus service, SPRINTER light rail service between Oceanside and Escondido, COASTER commuter rail service between Oceanside and downtown San Diego, LIFT paratransit service, and FLEX on-demand service.

NCTD owns 62 mi (100 km) of mainline track, as well as the 22 mi (35 km) Escondido Branch that has been used by the SPRINTER since 2008. The COASTER commuter train runs on 41.1 mi (66.1 km) of the mainline.

NCTD maintains two rail yards. One is shared with the San Diego Trolley at 12th & Imperial in Centre City San Diego; this rail yard stores trainsets during mid-days. The other, located north of Oceanside at Stuart Mesa on Camp Pendleton, is shared with Metrolink and is the location of the main maintenance facility.

Transit district

A transit district or transit authority is a special-purpose district organized as either a corporation chartered by statute, or a government agency, created for the purpose of providing public transportation within a specific region.

In the United States, this is usually within one state, but in rare circumstances may cover two or more states. The term used depends on which part of the country the agency is created in. Typically, western states will create a "transit district" and eastern states create a "transit authority" but the type of agency is generally the same.

A transit district is created to give it the power of the government in dealing with solving problems related to transit issues. This includes the powers of eminent domain to obtain space for rights-of-way (e.g. for railways or busways), the ability to impose excise, income, property, and/or sales taxes to fund subsidies of operating costs of local transportation, and the ability to operate independently of the cities and counties that the transit district operates within. A transit district may also have its own transit police force, although in some areas the local police provide a special bureau for this purpose.

North County (San Diego area)

North County is a region in the northern area of San Diego County, California. It is the second-most populous region in the county (after San Diego), with an estimated population of 826,985. North County is well known for its affluence, especially in Encinitas, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, and Solana Beach, where house prices range, on average, above one million dollars.

Beach culture is very prominent in the area, and many of the region's beaches and lagoons are protected areas to help ensure the environment remains pristine.

History

The name dates to at least the 1970s, when many of the communities in the area were yet to become incorporated cities and local community decisions were made 40 miles away at the county seat. The North County section of San Diego County has historically been the most expensive region of San Diego, with such affluent neighborhoods as Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Carlsbad, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas, Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe, and Solana Beach.

North County (disambiguation)

North County refers to the northern part of San Diego County, the most populous region with this name.

It may also refer to:

Places

Montachusett-North County

The Montachusett Region (also known as North County) is a region comprising several cities and towns in the north-central area of Massachusetts surrounding Fitchburg. As it has no legal standing in state government, definitions of the region vary.

The terms, which are used interchangeably, are usually understood to refer to the area economically tied with the cities of Gardner, Fitchburg and Leominster. The "North County" label—the county referred to is Worcester County—is often used to emphasize the area's distance and separate political identity from the county seat at Worcester.

The region is sometimes defined as including Fitchburg suburbs in the northwestern corner of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The region's leading daily newspaper, the Sentinel & Enterprise, is published in Fitchburg. Another, the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, publishes a "North County" daily edition and Montachusett T&G semiweekly insert, both of which cover most of the areas usually considered parts of the North County and Montachusett regions.