Man travels from San Francisco to Los Angeles exclusively on public transportation

[BCL]

Apparently his self-imposed rules were no Amtrak, Greyhound, FlixBus, cars, or any other similar services. But it did include commuter rail and bike share. It also included a one night hotel stay, which probably cost him more than the total fares.

https://sfist.com/2025/02/26/transi...t-costs-him-just-61-but-takes-two-whole-days/
https://www.jalopnik.com/1799538/man-travels-la-san-francisco-public-transit-only/

 

[The Journalist]

Might want to double check that title...

 

[BCL]

Might want to double check that title...

Why? I read several articles. He actually started in Oakland, if the issue is that articles have titles that say he started in San Francisco.

 

[blueman271]

Why? I read several articles. He actually started in Oakland, if the issue is that articles have titles that say he started in San Francisco.

Going from Oakland to San Francisco takes one train and isn’t noteworthy. Yay he rode BART! This gentleman went from Oakland or San Francisco to Los Angeles using only public transportation which is noteworthy.

 

[BCL]

Going from Oakland to San Francisco takes one train and isn’t noteworthy. Yay he rode BART! This gentleman went from Oakland or San Francisco to Los Angeles using only public transportation which is noteworthy.

I'm just saying that he started his trip in Oakland and ended up in Los Angeles.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I'm just saying that he started his trip in Oakland and ended up in Los Angeles.

Didn’t your original title say Oakland to San Francisco? I wondered why that would take 2 days.

 

[BCL]

Didn’t your original title say Oakland to San Francisco? I wondered why that would take 2 days.

Yeah. He started off in Oakland taking a Bay Wheels bike to the 19th Street BART station in Oakland in order to get to San Francisco. I didn't change the title; must have been changed by a mod. It was 100% correct that he started off in Oakland. It's right in the video, which starts off at a hotel and looks like Lake Merritt in Oakland. I see the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, the road construction in Uptown Oakland, and the blue tile of the 19th Street BART station.

It took 2 days because he only took standard public transportation including local bus systems and commuter rail. I'd think they mention San Francisco in titles (including his own vids) because that's likely to result in more clicks than Oakland in the title.

Here's a quote from one of the articles:

https://sfist.com/2025/02/26/transi...t-costs-him-just-61-but-takes-two-whole-days/​

Adam technically starts in Oakland, not San Francisco, and he uses a Baywheels bike to get to the Oakland 19th Street station. After BART, the journey is then all buses between Caltrain and LA’s Metrolink. Some of these buses had free WiFi or available USB chargers. But these buses would often stop every couple blocks, making for some interminably long bus rides.​

 

[MikefromCrete]

Yeah. He started off in Oakland taking a Bay Wheels bike to the 19th Street BART station in Oakland in order to get to San Francisco. I didn't change the title; must have been changed by a mod. It was 100% correct that he started off in Oakland. It's right in the video, which starts off at a hotel and looks like Lake Merritt in Oakland. I see the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, the road construction in Uptown Oakland, and the blue tile of the 19th Street BART station.

It took 2 days because he only took standard public transportation including local bus systems and commuter rail. I'd think they mention San Francisco in titles (including his own vids) because that's likely to result in more clicks than Oakland in the title.

Here's a quote from one of the articles:

https://sfist.com/2025/02/26/transi...t-costs-him-just-61-but-takes-two-whole-days/​

Adam technically starts in Oakland, not San Francisco, and he uses a Baywheels bike to get to the Oakland 19th Street station. After BART, the journey is then all buses between Caltrain and LA’s Metrolink. Some of these buses had free WiFi or available USB chargers. But these buses would often stop every couple blocks, making for some interminably long bus rides.​

Once again, your original title said he traveled from Oakland to San Franciso, while in fact he traveled from Oakland to Los Angeles. It a pretty good UTube, but a better one is the Transit Bandit's epic journey from Vancouver to San Diego. I think that took seven days. It's quite a job to sync up all these local bus routes, heavy rail, light rail and commuter rail.

 

[BCL]

Once again, your original title said he traveled from Oakland to San Franciso, while in fact he traveled from Oakland to Los Angeles. It a pretty good UTube, but a better one is the Transit Bandit's epic journey from Vancouver to San Diego. I think that took seven days. It's quite a job to sync up all these local bus routes, heavy rail, light rail and commuter rail.

OK - I got it. My bad. But the correction threw me for a loop since he did start in Oakland and not San Francisco.

 

[dennisw]

I've often wondered if this is possible between Washington and Boston. I believe there are 2 gaps in the commuter rail networks: Northern Maryland to Wilmington, Delaware and New Haven to Kingston (?), Rhode Island. Does anyone know the exact end of the commuter rail lines and if there are public transit buses that fill the gaps?

 

[MARC Rider]

I've often wondered if this is possible between Washington and Boston. I believe there are 2 gaps in the commuter rail networks: Northern Maryland to Wilmington, Delaware and New Haven to Kingston (?), Rhode Island. Does anyone know the exact end of the commuter rail lines and if there are public transit buses that fill the gaps?

This looks like a job for Miles in Transit. In fact, I think he's done it, but not all in one trip. One of his trips involved Washington to Philly, with a bus connection from MARC to SEPTA, Perryville to Newark. DE. Apparently, it's 2 buses, you have to change in Elkton.

But if you ask me, Miles' greatest trip was when he went to the Snyder's of Hanover factory store from Philly using public transit. Well, he did take Amtrak one way to Harrisburg. I take drives around Hanover from my home in Baltimore, and I was amazed that York County, PA has as much bus service as it does.

 

[blueman271]

I've often wondered if this is possible between Washington and Boston. I believe there are 2 gaps in the commuter rail networks: Northern Maryland to Wilmington, Delaware and New Haven to Kingston (?), Rhode Island. Does anyone know the exact end of the commuter rail lines and if there are public transit buses that fill the gaps?

I’m not sure where commuter rail begins and ends in Maryland/Delaware but in Connecticut it ends in New London and begins again at Wickford Junction (North Kingstown) in Rhode Island. I believe it is possible to ride a bus from New London to Westerly RI and transfer there to another bus to Providence which means one could transit the northern NEC entirely on local transit.

 

[Bonser]

Apparently his self-imposed rules were no Amtrak, Greyhound, FlixBus, cars, or any other similar services. But it did include commuter rail and bike share. It also included a one night hotel stay, which probably cost him more than the total fares.

https://sfist.com/2025/02/26/transi...t-costs-him-just-61-but-takes-two-whole-days/
https://www.jalopnik.com/1799538/man-travels-la-san-francisco-public-transit-only/

I’m not sure where commuter rail begins and ends in Maryland/Delaware but in Connecticut it ends in New London and begins again at Wickford Junction (North Kingstown) in Rhode Island. I believe it is possible to ride a bus from New London to Westerly RI and transfer there to another bus to Providence which means one could transit the northern NEC entirely on local transit.

You can do it cheaper on Amtrak. Either $52. (1 day)on train- thruway. Or $79 on the CS. He spent $61 over 2 days.

 

[railiner]

This all sounds like stories from “All Aboard With E M Frimbo”, one of which I believe was the possibility of traveling from New York City to Chicago (and beyond?), using only electric traction lines (streetcars and interurbans), in the early twentieth century …

 

[BlackDiamond]

I’m not sure where commuter rail begins and ends in Maryland/Delaware

MARC ends in Perryville MD. SEPTA runs to Newark Delaware. So that is the gap.