The City of Oceanside has the benefits of a good public transit system with several North County Transit District (NCTD) routes beginning or ending service within the City limits. The introduction of the new Sprinter light rail system, the planned expansions of the Coaster and Metrolink commuter rail service, and improvements to Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner intercity rail service will bring visitors and residents more non-automobile travel options.

The Circulation Element will detail how the public transit and rail systems in the City function, and how the City and its residents can derive the most benefit from them through thoughtful integration. Recommendations in the Circulation Element Update include working with NCTD to create circulator routes that would serve the seven planned Oceanside Sprinter stations, and could dramatically improve traffic operations around the stations. It could also spur additional retail, commercial, and residential development in the station areas. One example of this is the current Oceanside Boulevard Specific Plan aimed at densifying various land uses along the Sprinter line/Oceanside Boulevard corridor between I-5 and Crouch Street.