X Games partnership promotes sustainable fan travel

The action sports spectacle is set to take place later this month with an eight-day multi-city tour along the Southern California coast. Events will be held in San Diego and Los Angeles with a Finals weekend in Ventura.

“Fans will be coming to X Games from all over Southern California and we wanted to provide them with a more sustainable way to travel to Ventura for the event,” said Valerie Ryan, X Games Vice-President, Fan Experience and Hospitality. “We worked with the Pacific Surfliner team to provide added route times during X Games event days to make it more convenient for fans, and the train drops off right at the X Games entrance to the fairgrounds. Fans can explore X Games and walk a few blocks to downtown to check out everything Ventura has to offer.”

The Pacific Surfliner is the second-busiest train route in the US, with the Ventura stop hosting a three-day X Games event. According to the organisers of the X Games, trains are 46% more energy efficient than travelling by car, and each Pacific Surfliner train can take as many as 290 cars off the road.

Ten Pacific Surfliner trips operate to Ventura daily from as far north as San Luis Obispo and as far south as San Juan Capistrano. During the X Games event, an additional trip will be added to the schedule to provide ticket-holders with a late-night departure option from Ventura to Los Angeles. There are 500 seats on board each train, meaning there is the potential to carry more than 16,000 passengers to and from the Ventura event over the three days.

Jason Jewell, Managing Director of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, which manages the Pacific Surfliner service, said: “We are thrilled to partner with X Games this summer and offer fans a 15% saving on train travel to the venue. We are also proud to unveil the first train wrap on the Pacific Surfliner in recent years in partnership with the X Games and Visit Ventura. This is an exciting new venture for us and we hope to partner with other brands and events similarly in the future.”

Marlyss Auster, President and Chief Executive of Visit Ventura, added: “We have been in weekly transportation meetings for months with LOSSAN and the X Games team to create a sustainable travel plan that would benefit our city. The truth is train travel is not only better for our local community, but it’s also better for the environment and the guest experience too. It’s a win-win.”