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...Well, almost.
For this experiment, I defined "local transit" as anything not Amtrak or Greyhound; a few of the bus lines in this route are probably privately operated, but most are municipal or county-run. There were two instances where there was no alternative to Amtrak I could find (in one case I think it could be replaced with a bus, in the other case not). There are also two gaps where I just couldn't find any transit; those gaps total 20 miles in a trip that would be over 1000 miles driving, so I don't think that's too bad. (I haven't figured out how long the trip detailed below actually is.)
Why? Of course, the easy way to get from Portland to San Diego overland is to take Amtrak, with perhaps one transfer. But that's boring! I wanted to see how far it was only possible to get only using local transit. With the caveats above in mind, here's what I came up with. Most of what follows is derived from Google Transit, but there were a few transit agencies involved that they didn't have maps for. Warning: I'm sure there are mistakes in this, so if you try it and end up stranded in Yuba City, don't come crying to me! I'm tempted to try it sometime, though. The only annoying thing would be finding places to stay. I found it interesting how it was possible to cover a ton of ground in one day during the Bay Area stretch, but for the most part, buses were so infrequent during most of the rest of it that you were stuck only doing 2-3 segments in one day. I would also be curious to figure out how much this would cost (besides lodging) and compare it to the cost of driving, but Google Transit didn't have complete fare data.
And yes, I would like to try to extend this northwards! Just not now.
In short: Portland, Tillamook, Otis, Newport, Sisters, Coos Bay, Brookings (OR); Smith River, Arcata, Willow Creek, Weaverville, Redding, Red Bluff, Corning, Orland, Chico, Oroville, Gridley, Live Oak, Yuba City, Sacramento, Fairfield, El Cerrito, Fremont, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Clemente, Oceanside, La Jolla, San Diego (CA).
( Only interesting if you're as big a dork as I am )
For this experiment, I defined "local transit" as anything not Amtrak or Greyhound; a few of the bus lines in this route are probably privately operated, but most are municipal or county-run. There were two instances where there was no alternative to Amtrak I could find (in one case I think it could be replaced with a bus, in the other case not). There are also two gaps where I just couldn't find any transit; those gaps total 20 miles in a trip that would be over 1000 miles driving, so I don't think that's too bad. (I haven't figured out how long the trip detailed below actually is.)
Why? Of course, the easy way to get from Portland to San Diego overland is to take Amtrak, with perhaps one transfer. But that's boring! I wanted to see how far it was only possible to get only using local transit. With the caveats above in mind, here's what I came up with. Most of what follows is derived from Google Transit, but there were a few transit agencies involved that they didn't have maps for. Warning: I'm sure there are mistakes in this, so if you try it and end up stranded in Yuba City, don't come crying to me! I'm tempted to try it sometime, though. The only annoying thing would be finding places to stay. I found it interesting how it was possible to cover a ton of ground in one day during the Bay Area stretch, but for the most part, buses were so infrequent during most of the rest of it that you were stuck only doing 2-3 segments in one day. I would also be curious to figure out how much this would cost (besides lodging) and compare it to the cost of driving, but Google Transit didn't have complete fare data.
And yes, I would like to try to extend this northwards! Just not now.
In short: Portland, Tillamook, Otis, Newport, Sisters, Coos Bay, Brookings (OR); Smith River, Arcata, Willow Creek, Weaverville, Redding, Red Bluff, Corning, Orland, Chico, Oroville, Gridley, Live Oak, Yuba City, Sacramento, Fairfield, El Cerrito, Fremont, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Clemente, Oceanside, La Jolla, San Diego (CA).
( Only interesting if you're as big a dork as I am )
