Public Transit Vacation
August 11th, 2010 by Suzanne | Filed under fun trips, hilarity, Off the (Beaten) Subway Track.I proofread the penultimate version of Off the Beaten (Subway) Track on my way down to DC a few years ago. It inspired Maurice (the hamster that runs on the wheel that powers my brain) to hustle a bit. This led me to wonder how far I could go riding public transportation. Could I get all the way to Florida from New York City? Unlikely. Subsequent research stranded me somewhere in Maryland.
For no good reason, I pondered the subway/bus/commuter train idea this afternoon again. Could I get from Boston to New York City on public transit? How about Montreal? I was willing to walk ten miles if I had to do so in order to link a broken transit system and make it work. But what about my luggage? Would it endure?
Then I thought I could use some new luggage. If I mapped out some crazy trip, could I get a sponsor? Hey Samsonite! Would your toughest suitcase survive a several hundred mile trip using only public transit? Don’t you want to find out? Call me.
An airline could challenge me. Given all the bad publicity they have, I could demonstrate that people are still better off flying than taking public transportation as far as it can go. Another option is public transit authorities, but they are pretty low on funds these days. The US Postal Service already wastes their time on Lance Armstrong, but how awesome would it be to trust me with a sack of mail to be delivered in another geographic region via public transit? It would be like the pony express, only with less horseshit to deal with and more subway musicians singing off-key. Someone could outfit me to prove that their clothing really stands up to being worn five days in a row. I will try not to spill on my shirt.
I’m open to suggestions. This could be brilliant. It is sort of like “Eat. Pray. Love.,” but with granola bars and other snacks, praying that I don’t miss a connection that forces me to wait an hour for the next bus, and falling in love with a subway rat. (That would be Maurice’s love connection, not mine.) In the movie version, I will be played by Natalie Portman and Husband will be a Muppet. He’ll stand on the platform on 72nd Street as I board a 2 train to Penn Station and forget to wave me off with a white handkerchief because he’s busy using it to mop off the rivers of sweat cascading down his face. Seriously brilliant…
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Ahahaha! This is great. I really think you should pitch the idea to the appropriate parties.
That is brilliant. You should do it!
I’m weeping over America’s aversion to high-speed train travel. I think I crossed all of Spain in 20 seconds, but I can’t get from Richmond, VA to Washington, DC in less than two hours. Why oh why?
Hey! Look what I just found. http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/most-popular/general/china-bus-drives-over-cars.html
i love it! can i accompany you on your trip?
I’m not sure why you were stranded in Maryland. Do you not consider trains public transport? In any event, there are those cheap buses that run from NYC/Chinatown to DC. In DC you can hop on the train. But even if don’t consider trains to be public transport, I’m sure there’s gotta be buses to Richmond, etc. etc. Let me know if you need research. I don’t have ajob now anyway… Just mention me in your book.
It can’t be a bus like Greyhound or a train like Amtrak, which I think is the problem. My understanding (with limited research) is that I could get from Philly to MD with SEPTA, but that it would not be possible to link up with MARC and get to DC. Maybe I’m wrong? I’m very excited by this prospect. Credit is always given when it is due!
Of course!
hmmm, I’d have to understand your definition of public transport – includes local buses? walking at all?
interesting from wikipedia:
Longest (Almost) Continuous Trip on Commuter Rail
Newark station is the southern terminus of the longest nearly-continuous trip by commuter rail in the Northeast Corridor. By using a combination of SEPTA, New Jersey Transit, Metro-North Railroad, and Shore Line East it is possible to travel all the way to New London, Connecticut, a distance of 258.31 miles (415.71 km). It is necessary, however, to take a short hop on the subway, quick cab ride or mile walk from NJ Transit service at New York’s Penn Station to the Metro-North service at Grand Central Terminal.
This is necessitated by the fact that the Metro-North deviates from the Northeast Corridor, providing service to Grand Central and eastern Midtown Manhattan. The Northeast Corridor leaves Penn Station through the East River Tunnels used (though not owned) by the Long Island Rail Road, then finds its way through Long Island City and Astoria in Queens, over Wards and Randall’s Islands and through the South Bronx. The Metro-North’s New Haven Line rejoins the Northeast Corridor between its Pelham and New Rochelle stations in Westchester County.
An exception to this necessary and complex transfer occurs when Metro-North operates Game-day service to the Meadowlands Sports Complex, which operates via Penn Station (by bypassing Grand Central via the Northeast Corridor) during football season, allowing the full 250-odd mile trip, albeit with a great deal of planning ahead of time as there is obviously no regular service. There are preliminary plans to bring Metro-North into Penn Station, following the completion of the Long Island Railroad’s East Side Access project into Grand Central.
On a related note, the Maryland Transit Administration has made steps to extend its Penn Line from Perryville, Maryland to Newark, which would allow a continuous journey from Fredericksburg, Virginia to New London. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has also taken steps to extend service beyond Providence, Rhode Island to Wickford Junction in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, though no serious talks have begun on linking the MBTA and the Shore Line East. Such a venture, coupled with other planned service, would provide a very slow journey all the way from Virginia to New Hampshire, traveling through ten states and the District of Columbia.
This is very exciting. I had not researched my idea in a few years, so it seems like getting to VA is possible. I knew about the Shore Line train in CT because my friend’s family lived near it. Let’s do it!