Washington DC to Boston using only public transit

My worst idea yet.
No Amtrak.
No Greyhound or Peter Pan buses.
No excessive walking.
Can I make it work?
Route:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
I was inspired by videos made by ‪@MilesinTransit‬ to make this trip. His work is incredible and you should watch his stuff if you found this video entertaining.
Music used (in order):
Spongebob - Stadium Rave (Jellyfish JAM)
Joji - Window
Computer Magic - Electronic Fences
Washed Out - Amor Fati
M83 - Midnight City
CASTLEBEAT - Looking For Something

[@Red_Ryan_Red]

That Rhode Island bus stop on the side of the highway is criminal

[@CableFlame]

There's not even a SIGN! At least have a sign.

[@Am-Not-Jarvis]

The 101 freeway in the Bay Area has bus stops right on the side of the freeway and it’s wild

[@mattcat65]

New Jersey Transit does that all of the time...

[@user-mc9tp1we1i]

@@Am-Not-JarvisI take the 150/130 out of tiburon wye bus pad and have to cross over the freeway on ramp twice to get to the stop, it’s annoying as hell

[@bluemoro973]

thats every bus stop in texas 😃

[@jackbates7467]

Imagine actually connecting transit systems together, something transit here in Texas has yet to figure out.

[@zhl8009]

Texas also needs to *have* transit systems.

[@chrissimmons9743]

And yet Salem and Portland (mostly Salem) have.

[@railroadforest30]

America would be better connected with more passenger rail

[@movie0007]

​@@railroadforest30 Totally agree with you. What sucks about not having the connectivity of passenger rail is that for some dumb reason, it's nearly impossible for these people to simply do it. They can do bullet trains overseas, and you'd think in the one country that should already have that stuff, we're not anywhere near having something like that, because everything in this country is about who can be the richest, how can that person get rich from X, and how can they save all of their trillions of dollars. That's the problem here in America. And until that changes (which it never will) then we are left with low grade public transport buses and trains.

[@railroadforest30]

@@movie0007 true. I think the best place to put a train is along the middle of the highway. This would be a high speed train. Then the existing Amtrak trains could be a slow train which stops at many small towns and cities where in many towns at least in North Carolina the historic downtown area is built near the railroad. This could bring business to many struggling towns

[@edwardmiessner6502]

If only the trains connected! - MARC and SEPTA meet in Newark DE - SEPTA and NJT meet in Trenton NJ - NJT and Metro North meet at Penn Station NYC - Metro North and CT Rail meet in New Haven - CT Rail and the MBTA meet in Springfield Also: - Metro North and CT Shore Line meet in New Haven - CT Shore Line and the MBTA meet in Westerly RI You wouldn't have to deal with busses!

[@ToABrighterFuture]

In theory, all it would take to bridge the Perryville gap, would be an agreement between MDOT and SEPTA. SEPTA runs through the Delaware stations thanks to an agreement with DelDOT; why Annapolis can't make a similar arrangement is beyond me. Actually... Purple Line. Makes perfect sense, on momentary reflection.

[@Dogod2]

I'd rather see Rhode Island make its own regional rail service than extend MBTA even farther south.

[@MattyC62185]

@@Dogod2 MBTA is 2/3 of the way to westerly as it is and there is talk of CT rail extending to there as well would be nice for them to meet

[@MattyC62185]

@@ToABrighterFuture Metro North will soon go to NY Penn, and yes the gap between Newark and Perryville needs to be bridged and yes I’d love to see MBTA to Springfield as that’s MAs Number 3 Population Center and it’s crazy that there’s no direct link between it and Boston Other than a Amtrak Lakeshore limited

[@97nelsn]

@@MattyC62185 There’s the Peter Pan bus which goes from Boston to Springfield. The CEO of Peter Pan lobbies hard to prevent daily rail service between Springfield and Boston.

[@krubokrobu]

Great detective work! I looked for Washington-to-NYC many years ago but at that time couldn't find a way from Perryville to Newark DE.

[@theautistictransitfan]

That gap has been the bane of my existence. MARC, please extend to Newark Delaware my life will be complete.

[@davidrivera9743]

There is an answer. Harford and Cecil county buses between Perryville and People's plaza Glasgow DE. Dart bus to Wilmington.

[@twixieshores]

Glad I'm not the only idiot who 1) thought of doing this and 2) couldn't figure out a way to traverse that stupid gap

[@DelGuy03]

Years ago, when several of my colleagues here in Newark DE had to find new jobs, one of them found one in a DC suburb, while still living in Newark (where his wife worked). He drove down to Perryville each morning at 5 to take MARC to where he needed to be.

[@ericwitt]

@@theautistictransitfan There was a feasibility study that was going to happen on extending MARC to Delaware back in 2020. Delaware said they’ll pay for their end, they just need MD to agree. But MD’s Governor Larry Hogan vetoed it because he didn’t want to spend money during covid. Despite going forward with highway expansions that cost 1000x as much! Aaaaaa! The legislature had enough votes to override the veto which they finally did back in April. So maybe it’ll happen eventually…

[@andyjay729]

I've heard about proposals to extend MBTA rail to New London (it currently goes to Wickford, RI, which is probably about halfway along the NE Corridor between Providence and New London). If only they had that link, this trip would've been a lot easier.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

it’s up to the states and Amtrak, as the MBTA contractor is only involved in providing train crews and coordinating scheduling…if there’s an agreement it’s on the three with the T just the puppet for their service

[@geisaune793]

I live in the midwest and there are so many regional rail agencies in this video that I've never heard of. The MARC, NJTransit, CTRail, MBTA. Like I get it's probably easier to do public rail transit in smaller east coast states, but God I wish my large midwestern state could have a passenger rail network other than the one, inconvenient Amtrak route we have. I would love to have the option to not drive on the interstate

[@GirtonOramsay]

I live in rural northern Idaho and only have two daily Greyhounds to the nearest Amtrak station along the Empire Builder. It's pretty amazing how connected they are in the NE without Amtrak/Greyhound. Never needed a flight between NEC cities.

[@mediocrestu8238]

They all suck shit though so you're not missing out. Only really meant for getting people to work in cities and not good for travel

[@thelovewizard8954]

I often think that states like NE would be excellent for rail service, especially along I-80. Train service from the tri cities with stops at smaller towns that went to Lincoln and Omaha would be incredible for the local population, especially in the winter.

[@spiriten]

I'm a bit out of touch... what problem do people have with Amtrak? It's slow, but it at least directly connects most major places. My family used to use it to connect from Grand Rapids to Chicago

[@geisaune793]

​@@spiriten I would say it has little to do with Amtrak itself, and mostly to do simply with the fact that the United States is the wealthiest and one the most developed countries in the world, but our intercity rail passenger network isn't even close to the passenger networks in other developed countries in Western Europe and East Asia in terms of punctuality, convenience, speed, and service to small/midsize towns. And even if you do travel with Amtrak, most American towns and cities have so much suburban sprawl, and are so low-density and car-dependent that you'll still need a car once you get to where you're going. It's a bigger problem than most people realize and if you're interested in learning more, I've got some channel recommendations.

[@seanmarkey469]

i visibly pogged when he got on tha marc train

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

You know he means business when the Jellyfish Jam/Stadium Rave A is playing in the intro...I see you're a man of culture as well. While yes, the SEP in SEPTA stands for Southeastern Pennsylvania, SEPTA is more of a representation of the Philly metro area, which northern DE, Trenton, and of course southeastern PA are a part of (also, the Delaware segment is funded by DelDOT through an agreement with SEPTA). And it's great that SEPTA serve Trenton and Delaware to better connect the region, though they should really make the regional trains more convenient, since you pointed this out at 5:06. And as a New Yorker, I can confirm that is not excessive walking. Sure we like to take the subway, but we also like to walk. We have places to be! I mean we're associated with *"HEY, I'M WALKIN' HERE!"*

[@AndrewTubbiolo]

Great adventure. Thanks for taking us along!

[@tealmer3528]

DART pays SEPTA to operate the Delaware trains, and SEPTA charges a higher, non-subsidized fare for trips to NJ. SEPTA used to have a daily trip all the way to Jersey City from the West Trenton Line, but they got rid of that for obvious reasons decades ago.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

yeah, they’re allergic to diesel trains

[@tealmer3528]

@@bostonrailfan2427 I mean rightly so. Push-pull diesels are impractical for local service, and, well, they don't want a repeat of the Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line debacle.

[@kevinferrell8237]

I have no idea why this appeared on my homepage, but I really needed this

[@genethrowe8205]

I could have hooked you up with friends in New Haven overnight!

[@WeilBaumDing]

Love your video style and your fun journey. Greetings from Germany!

[@evaclaire1930]

The PVTA segment almost made me nostalgic for all those times in college I sat freezing my ass off in a bus shelter at Hampshire College for like half an hour since the transfer between the two buses I needed to take to visit my friend at another college did NOT sync up! I wish I was surprised that you couldn't go the other way through Connecticut, but there really is an suburban void between New London and Providence huh

[@davidrivera9743]

Now of days that's Foxwoods and Kingston.

[@stevenroshni1228]

Thanks for making this. Solid proof that the Northeast is a megalopolis. It's continuous urban/suburban area so large that going from city end to end flying is the best option (if we had true high speed rail it'd toss up between that a flying and dependent on where in the city you are going). If you wanted to do the full megalopolis, you'd start as south from Washington DC that links to as north of Boston before public transit cutoff. At Boston South Station there are privately owned busses that function enough like public express busses that bring Maine and New Hampshire into the megalopolis.

[@allenwhite4082]

mbta north station Haverhill line to Lawrence. Metro valley regional transit bus goes to Hampton beach new Hampshire. It does in summer not sure if goes there year round.

[@e.moonbound2420]

The first time I paid attention to New England in Google Maps I was in shock, you cannot convince me that New Jersey all the way to AT LEAST New Haven is not the same metropolitan area, you can easily travel from CT to southern NJ and barely be in rural areas. The sheer magnitude of the US always surprised me as a foreigner but noticing the continous cities was something else.

[@mildlydispleased3221]

It's a Megalopolis but you can't take a single train that takes you throughout it. Pathetic.

[@hastyscorpion]

@@mildlydispleased3221 There is a single train that goes through out... It's called amtrack. What are you talking about?

[@mildlydispleased3221]

@@hastyscorpion But it's privately owned, rundown and frankly shit. It prioritise freight and barely anybody uses it. American public transport is a joke. Most Americans have never been on a train

[@ozlekosusturu]

This was so enjoyable, love public transit!

[@MilesinTransit]

Finally got the chance to watch this - I'm so glad someone finally documented this trip on KZbin! Great video, and thank you for the shoutout in the description!

[@stephenlaarkamp7344]

Given a recent video of yours, you seemed to take it as a challenge...

[@MatthewSmith-cv7op]

I always wanted to do this, and I’m thrilled you did. Great job.

[@xuyan811]

That’s an awesome idea, I was thinking the same thing the other day sitting on the damn Amtrak. Wish you the best.

[@georgefritze7795]

This is so cool man! Keep it up!

[@Anthony-cz6lr]

Great video. Love your music choices!

[@gazeunderthesunmusic]

Hey dude I love this video especially your choice of music for the soundtrack , Matt from England

[@scottyslearningcorner6080]

This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve always dreamed of doing this in the opposite way and trying that.

[@ethano512]

This is awesome. I live 360mi from the nearest stop, but while staying with my boyfriend's family in Queens I took a stop to Penn station like 2 weeks ago, it is always cool to see recently familiar places in a recent video, as well as a few other stops I've been to in the past. Excellent choice of music as well lol, especially Joji and M83

[@DanielaInDC]

Great video!!! Love to see peeps using public transit

[@maxmckitrick4514]

Great vid! And you’re welcome :3

[@maxwellwagoner-watts4747]

Genius. Fantastic. Thanks dude.

[@jinxin6678]

This was an amazing video! 😊

[@jimmyduke302]

This is super cool, really enjoyed watching! Really hope we can make transit more convenient, affordable, and accessible in the future

[@jg-7780]

This is awesome! Do you recall by any chance how many other people were on your marc train and stayed on past penn station? I'd be interested to know if anyone actually rides that trip besides transit nerds.

[@cameron_o]

There weren't many people on the train back to Baltimore, a few got on there but only five got off at Perryville

[@XavierXena]

If it makes since I will take the MARC, much nicer and faster trains then the metro, the metro just has much more reliable service, but for destinations you can't get to via metro or when times line up, you really should use MARC transit

[@natsfan100]

@@XavierXena Metro also has a lot more stops...

[@mirzaahmed6589]

I thought Aberdeen was a sizable city.

[@kenaj8828]

I used to ride from Baltimore to DC all the time in high school hahaha

[@nolimitsauce3320]

This video was really great keep up💪

[@b.kenealy]

EPIC Good job cam 👍 you’ve earned yourself a SUB

[@spottedstars4521]

I went to Umass, currently live in Worcester, and grew up in the Boston area It was so fun knowing you got to see so many cool places I spent countless hours in!

[@kryptonj8]

This is so cool. Seems like areally beautiful journey despite the cold.

[@marccreter9348]

Great video man, a lovely little Northeastern tour

[@ambcrn]

commenting a half way in and i just wanted to say i LOVE the music you added in this! eager to see how the rest of the trip goes as i continue watching ❤

[@falconshock3677]

Lol I’m surprised this doesn’t have more views Good work bro

[@MassbyTrain]

W vid. I saw a video of someone doing Boston to Nyc and they had to take Amtrak from westerly to new London

[@vamosmaryland]

as a former terp and crew member myself, absolutely loving the scarf selection

[@charlieemhardt4772]

I very much enjoyed your video. You are funny with your editing

[@lordwiggin449]

Awesome video man!

[@lizzieburgess674]

As a long-time - and enthusiastic - user of public transport in both Europe and much further afield, this is very interesting to me. Your buses and trains were very empty compared to what I am used to in Europe and Asia!

[@willowtuttle8370]

Great video! Keep it up 😀

[@andrewdutton3831]

What a superbly well done video. I’ve been curious about the logistics of this, and have never seen it done. Use of music, humor is first rate. Pacing is just right. Nice job.

[@Peace4luv4life]

Yay!!!! So dope, thanks for sharing!!

[@katpyss]

That was a cool video, man. I really enjoyed it. I live outside Trenton, hopefully you didn’t have to spend much time there. At least you were there during the daytime.

[@sharonan1]

As a public transit fan, I love this so much. Thank you for sharing your journey! I've ridden on most of the transit lines you used and lived in a lot of these locales, from DC to Boston. Hope You enjoyed Boston, my favorite city. (Tiny niggles: It's New-ARK, Delaware, not NEW-urk (in NJ). Also, it's WUH-stah.)

[@franwex]

Great video. Great soundtrack!

[@roaddogg800]

I've always enjoyed doing these types of long-distance public transit trips. I have in the past went from San Diego through Los Angeles all the way up to San Francisco and Beyond, a distance of over 500 Miles using public transit. Ironically it's way more expensive than traveling Direct on any other mode of transportation but fascinating seeing all the different local systems and the experiences throughout.

[@josephdetellis3552]

Great video!

[@brianthetruth6055]

As a Baltimorean who travels to Boston like every other month, this is something I would try!

[@aaronrice8966]

@thehemwickhag9270why is that any of your business?

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

So Newark, DE isn't pronounced the New Jersey New-urk (or Nork if you really want to fit in with the locals) way, but rather it's pronounced as it reads. New-ark. That being said, I'm glad you didn't take a MARC Camden Line train from College Park towards Baltimore at the beginning and opted for the Metro, as then that would've been cheating since it's outside DC and not Union Station. And man do I love that Maryland flag at 2:09. Truly a masterpiece with a touch of Old Bay. While other states put their coat of arms in the middle of the flag, Maryland said, "It's free real estate" and made it the entire flag. It's the heraldic banner of arms of Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. It consists of his father's banner (black/yellow; used by pro-Union Marylanders during the Civil War) and his grandma's banner, the Crossland banner (red/white; used by pro-Confederate Marylanders during the Civil War).

[@jamallhayden2512]

Thanks for the video!

[@AntonWongVideo]

what a legend! you figured it out!

[@snramadhan]

the amount of dedication

[@hobog]

Maybe need to retitle to "regional transit". Now, need a similar vid for Seattle to Vancouver Canada and to Portland Oregon, maybe after a vid for LA to Tijuana

[@andyjay729]

The last one is actually relatively easy. Metrolink from LA to Oceanside, Coaster from Oceanside to San Diego, and the San Diego Trolley right to the border. EDIT: Well, sometime next year anyway. They're doing some work on some storm-damaged tracks around San Clemente (regular riders of that route will know which section I'm talking about) and currently have to shuttle riders around with buses, with drops in service as a result. I tried to ride from SD to LA a couple weeks ago and found that I'd have to wait several hours for the next train, so I ended up taking a Flixbus.

[@tsunamiwarning8040]

If someone was willing to give it 2 days like in the video, they should be able to make it to Tijuana from Alturas, up in the northeast corner of the state.

[@andyjay729]

@@tsunamiwarning8040 Two days? Probably closer to a week, especially if you only want to use local public transit as opposed to Amtrak.

[@tsunamiwarning8040]

@@andyjay729 So, I looked and it should be possible if you can get reservations for the Eastern Sierra and Sage Stage transit buses. Weird to have a public transit system that needs reservations, but I guess it counts. Oh, and obviously the lines needs to be fixed in Orange County. Edit: oh, and the Sage Stage only runs 3 days a week. Sage Stage from Alturas to Reno Amtrak. RTC Washoe Lincoln Line to Sparks - Centennial Eastern Sierra Transit to Bishop/Lone Pine Overnight in Bishop/Lone Pine area Eastern Sierra Transit to Lancaster Metrolink to Oceanside via LA Union Coaster to San Diego Red Line to San Ysidro

[@andyjay729]

@@tsunamiwarning8040 I guess if you timed it right, you might be able to do it in two very long days, but given the distance, I'd probably guess closer to three. Now you've got me wondering if it would be possible to go coast to coast using only local commuter trains and buses.

[@scrapcrumbs]

This is top tier content.

[@hhgttg69]

great looking trip, need to do more :)

[@manaphyonfire]

This is a gem of a video. Salute to you for taking the time to film your journey.

[@torotimemaster8983]

I'm not sure what this is or why this is, but I'm here for it

[@cyanglaciertooth9932]

When you told us there'd be a spoiler alert that something would go wrong, I would've thought that'd be on MBTA's part. That's why I sometimes refer to the MBTA as the "Morbidly Broken Trains of Agony". XD

[@matthewhernandez8342]

Awesome video bro

[@charlie3k]

Wow, this is a new niche of KZbin content that I enjoy!

[@skinsfan442]

Great start with metro, makes me happy

[@gabrieljacobson4750]

this is epic. good job man, i’ll just take the acela tho hahaha but maybe one day!

[@ArcticArca]

i’m impressed how traveling 400+ miles on different public transport companies costs about as much as a single brightline train from miami to orlando (200mi)

[@wesleyhunt7599]

As someone who does not drive but is looking to attend a 2026 World Cup game in Boston, this is helpful. Thank you.

[@4stringed]

You look so happy when sailing!

[@bonecanoe86]

I'm vibin with your video style, I'll subscribe so I can say I was sub #65 to flex on people when you have tons.

[@calchurchill2730]

Ayyy, Amherst! Cool to see my hometown here! I used to ride the B43 a ton growing up.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Dude, this stuff is great! I've taken several legs of that journey but putting them all together is something else. Nice job!

[@yoshster0612]

Let’s go PVTA!! Hope it gets even better soon Also, I'm not sure what day it was nor what time you boarded the G73E, but you could've taken the R29 to Amherst from Springfield for a transferless trip, and it would've taken roughly the same time as the G73E and B43. Only issue with that is the lack of R29 frequency of every 2 hours and it only serves Springfield on weekdays. Just something worth noting.

[@Lewa263]

I went to UMass Amherst, so the PVTA was the only service you named that I WAS familiar with, haha. I never thought this kind of trip would be possible. I have family in Maryland, so I've traveled between Boston and DC many times, but only ever by car or plane. I'm tempted to try this sometime.

[@CtrlAltDft]

Pretty cool video!! I like to take multi stop bus trips with no hotels so this sounds like a fun idea!! As a Rhode Islander, sorry about that stop!!!

[@i_alam]

Just a tip SEAT offers micro transit service which is a bus you can book like an Uber and take it up to the border.

[@twchalk]

“Yeah I’m sailing! Woohoo!” Great bonus clip😂

[@tanini_pimpson]

I love this!!!

[@theosw6961]

Nice video! I love learning about public transit and it was cool that my region got featured. Rookie mistake getting on the B48 to Northampton (we’ve all done it) & yeah our drivers can be a bit dickish. I hope you liked your time in the valley, and much love from Holyoke!

[@TheAverageWachusettSkiier09]

I'm glad that you took the mbta

[@andr_w]

Awesome challenge!

[@alexmasters23]

Mark Twain would be a great name for a MARC train

[@MythicalRedFox]

This was absurd and I love it.

[@gregl1927]

Glad you got to experience PVTA! And yes the 3 looks like the 8!! Used to live around there.

[@themodernshoe2466]

I love this. It's adventurous to go anywhere in the US without a car, even if they're two of the busiest cities on the east coast!

[@goldber_g]

as someone who is local to the area, it is so funny seeing cecil transit in these videos

[@timosha21]

I'm a tram and I approve this video! Definetely wasn't aware of the connection between Marc and SEPTA

[@alexmckoy3478]

as an avid nj transit rider, i feel very seen. great video!

[@Molejules]

You've inspired me to try this trip again - I couldn't even get from Boston to Newark, DE, in one full day and I didn't plan on doing a second day. I blame SEPTA entirely for this. Side note: the northbound route through SEAT territory is a bit more palatable if you transferred from the 108 in Mystic to the Stonington HOP on-demand service - it serves a lot Rt. 1 all the way right up against the RI border in Pawcatuck which used to be part of the 108.

[@emilydaddona6329]

You gotta share your playlist man haha, that CASTLEBEAT track especially really scratches an itch I've been looking for (I mean it's a clear Black Marble ripoff but I adore Black Marble so I don't mind at all)

[@sammymarrco2]

fun video bro!

[@lukesalter9600]

My dad and I have been trying to plan this trip from an Idea he had years ago, but I heard the cecil transit bus got cancelled, but I suppose I should have looked closer. Congrats on the awesome trip!

[@davidrivera9743]

COVID temporary suspension.

[@barexampasser]

This is actually epic content and Im glad somebody did this.

[@jj6148]

2:01 This made me nostalgic because I at eat the exact location where that pigeon was last Christmas with my mom before we went back home.

[@kalinda619]

Goated music choice

[@WillmobilePlus]

This is a fairly fascinating premise. You should see how far you can go via this method in total miles.

[@dawsonkoons9335]

I'm sorry you probably got demonetized for these songs! But you did great! Great video!

[@hucklebucklin]

Please drop a playlist of songs! I literally switched device just so I could rewatch and shazam the music. Edit: Just checked the description- awesome!!!!

[@rochesterjohnny7555]

nice trip, if I had free time I would totally do something like this

[@hbowman108]

This is like a route I recently investigated between Howell, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, which I think is the farthest you can go in the Detroit area. Which has no rail.

[@shigemorif1066]

Wow, so cool!