# Pronto - San Diego — North County Transit District

> Mobile transit fare payment and trip planning for San Diego County. (iPhone/iPad app by San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pronto-san-diego/id1577230742 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [San Diego Metropolitan Transit System](https://appshunter.io/developer/1212568294)
- Category: Travel
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.66/5 from 29,540 App Store ratings · 262 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 14.0 · 105 MB
- Languages: English, Spanish
- Released: 2021-08-15
- Data updated: 2026-08-28
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pronto-san-diego/id1577230742/reviews.md

## What is Pronto?

PRONTO makes buying fares for MTS and NCTD easier than ever. Add money to your PRONTO app, then scan your phone at the validator each trip you make. Our pay-as-you-go function means you always get the best fare! When using the app, hold your phone 5 to 6 inches below the validator to scan your barcode.

The PRONTO app can also help you plan trips, see real-time arrivals, get service statuses, save favorite stations, and find stops for San Diego County area transit so you can plan your trip around San Diego without any problems.

Always Get The Best Fare
With PRONTO, you can pay-as-you-go* by adding money to your PRONTO account with a credit or debit card. Every time you scan your app, the appropriate one-way fare is deducted from your balance. Look for validators at Trolley, SPRINTER and COASTER stations, and onboard buses.

You will never be charged more than a Day Pass ($6 Adult or $3 Reduced Fare) in a given calendar day, regardless of how many trips you make. Likewise, you will never be charged more than a Month Pass ($72 Adult or $23 Reduced Fare) regardless of the number of trips in a calendar month. 

You can track your progress toward a Day or Month Pass in the PRONTO app.

*Pay-as-you go features not available for COASTER (must prepay for Day or Month Pass). 


Manage Your PRONTO Cards
• Register your PRONTO card for balance protection
• Load money onto your card using a debit/credit card 
• Set up autoload to top off your card automatically when your balance gets low
• See your balance, current fare, and earned passes 
• Look up your recent scans, transfer times, and payment history
• Manage multiple PRONTO cards for your family or group
• Block/Unblock a lost or stolen card

Next Departures:
• Find Next Departures using stop number, address or landmarks
• See real-time bus and train service statuses and news
• Map and List view of Nearby Stops
• List of recent stops and favorites

Trip Planning:
• Plan a trip using popular landmarks or addresses
• Full trip itineraries with fare information, actual walking distance, and map view
• Set alerts to notify you when transit is arriving 
• See a list of recent trip plans
• Save favorite stops for easy access

Need More Help?
Contact PRONTO Support at 619-595-5636

## Key features

- Mobile fare purchase
- Pay-as-you-go fares
- Real-time arrivals
- Trip planning
- Service status updates
- Manage PRONTO cards
- Save favorite stops

## What do users think of Pronto?

Overall sentiment: neutral

**Pros**

- 🚀 Fast and convenient
- 💡 Useful virtual card feature
- 👍 Easy to load funds and manage account
- 🚀 Scan to ride is quick and efficient

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes, especially with trip planner
- 🔒 Lack of Apple Pay/Wallet integration
- 👎 Confusing and complicated payment setup
- 🐛 Unreliable real-time schedule information
- 👎 Inability to use account balance to pay for others

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Account transfer issues between devices
- Problems loading funds and seeing balance updates
- Inconsistent scanning at validators and on buses

**Most requested features**

- Integrate with Apple Wallet for easier access
- Improve trip planning functionality
- Allow account balance to be used for multiple riders
- Provide more user-friendly payment options

## Recent user reviews (10 of 262)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pronto-san-diego/id1577230742/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Dysfunctional

*2026-08-23, version 4.100*

I can’t remove payment methods from my account on the app. Therefore I can’t add new ones.

### 1/5 — Horrible app

*2026-08-23, version 4.100*

You would think an app like this would be simple and intuitive…it’s not

### 1/5 — Struggle bus

*2026-08-19, version 4.100*

I literally have to delete and redownload this app AT LEAST once a month because the trip planner screen freezes and crashes the app

### 2/5 — Scan issue

*2026-08-07, version 4.100*

I needed to scan a variety of angles before it finally recognized the barcode.

### 1/5 — why does the app kick me off every time?

*2026-08-06, version 4.100*

within the past 5 months, the app has kicked me out my account 3 times now. Once, I had the app open and ready to scan, and as the bus pulled up, it logged me out. Most recently, the app kicked me off my account again, and I attempted to log in 4 times until log in was successful. it’s really annoying to deal with. once, okay whatever. but 3 times over the span of a a couple weeks is crazy. not to mention with the recent schedule changes, for the past week the app showed inaccurate schedules. there’s fixing that needs to be done and taken care of.

### 3/5 — Only 1 use

*2026-08-03, version 4.100*

Attempted to use my pronto app to purchase MTS Trolley tickets for myself and my kids. You can only use the app for 1 person, so 1 tap at the station. That was frustrating. Ended up needing to use the kiosk machine to purchase for my kids.

### 1/5 — Garbage

*2026-08-03, version 4.100*

Fire every boomer that approved this app. How difficult does it have to be? This is what happens when someone hires their grandson to create an app. It’s literally embarrassing.

### 1/5 — Do better

*2026-07-27, version 4.100*

I feel like a lot of these reviews must be fake. This app is horrible. Incredibly slow and there’s several things about the user experience that can be improved with regards to payment methods. Also the scanner at the trolley stations and buses are horrible. You have to scan at a certain angle under certain lighting conditions. I’d rather have a physical card

### 1/5 — Cant sign in to app

*2026-07-26, version 4.100*

But i can sign into the website…

### 1/5 — Such a dumb way to do it, learning curve for experienced travelers

*2026-07-25, version 4.100*

I had so many issues with this app. Not good for visitors or group groups like families traveling together. It’s only good if you’re a commuter who uses it regularly and never errs in the order on which you d do you wanna sit by the window?

The planning feature in the app is good, but there’s no way to convert a trip into one way round-trip ticket. Only all day tickets are available.

You can’t buy multiple tickets because everyone needs their own digital “card”. 

It doesn’t tell you have to tap in to activate your ticket *before* getting on the train. You can’t activate your ticket from the train (even though the app knows where you are when you’re using it). 

First trip on the Coaster in decades was soured by the frustrating app.

## Frequently asked questions about Pronto

### What does the PRONTO app do?

The PRONTO app simplifies purchasing fares for MTS and NCTD transit in San Diego County. You can add money to your account, scan your phone at validators for each trip, and plan your journeys. It also provides real-time arrival information and service status updates.

### How does the fare system work in the PRONTO app?

The app uses a pay-as-you-go system where fares are deducted from your loaded balance. You'll never be charged more than a Day Pass ($6 Adult/$3 Reduced) or a Month Pass ($72 Adult/$23 Reduced) within a calendar day or month, respectively. Progress towards these passes is tracked within the app.

### Is the PRONTO app free to use?

Yes, the PRONTO app itself is free to download and use. You only pay for your transit fares and any money you load onto your PRONTO account.

### What devices is the PRONTO app compatible with?

The app description does not specify exact compatibility details. However, it is designed for mobile phones, implying compatibility with most modern smartphones running iOS or Android operating systems.

### Can I manage multiple transit cards for my family?

Yes, the PRONTO app allows you to manage multiple PRONTO cards for your family or group. You can register cards, load money, set up autoload, and block/unblock lost or stolen cards through the app.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.100 — 2025-01-14

Bug Fixes and Enhancements

### 4.084 — 2023-09-06

Miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements

### 4.083 — 2023-08-22

Issue fixes

### 4.082 — 2023-07-25

1. Ability for users to delete account directly from the mobile app
2. Fix issue of Trip Planner compatibility with iOS 16
3. Miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements

### 4.051 — 2022-06-28

Trip Planner Optimizations and Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue impacting some user’s ability to process successful transactions
Barcode optimizations to improve scanning user experience

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## More apps by San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

- [MTS Mobile Hub](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mts-mobile-hub/id1443999653)
- [EZ Access](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ez-access/id1602708288)

All apps by San Diego Metropolitan Transit System: https://appshunter.io/developer/1212568294

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*