Los Angeles, CA

#3
HI there !

I am from LA !
There is a whole bunch of detailed info about hitching OUT
of LA in the forums on STP - forgot which ones though !!

Anyway !
So basically you need to get out to around Magic Mountain amusement park,
Sylmar and beyond to Valencia.

You can get a bus to the end of Van Nuys or Sepulveda out in the San Fernando Valley, and get a ride to the first layover spot (one near Magic Mountain) or a truck stop over the Grapevine(mountain pass).

I'd also suggest going out to Venice Beach and hooking up with the travelling peeps & kids there (if you already aren't there). Everybody hangs under the palm trees next to the beach on the boardwalk & Food Not Bombs serve Sundays at Rose & the boardwalk.
Also an EXCELLENT non hippie drum circle on Sundays........

Take Care

Linda
 
#5
Hey all,

We all know how far and few free stuff is in the USA, and more so on free transportation. Here's something to help folks get around when they hit up a new place! This thread is a compiled list places that have free services on their public transit lines. This not a list for places where it's easy to hop the rail lines for free when you're suppose to pay. This is also a list for regular free services and not just sponsored events, but if they also do sponsored events that helps.

So far I have:
Cleveland, OH - 5 downtown looping
trolley
Minneapolis, MN - Free ride buses route 10 southbound and route 18 northbound on Heppenin Ave, and free to sponsored events
Albuquerque, NM - Free downtown loop bus​
 
#6
Erie, PA - Free trolley that runs every 15 minutes from the greyhound bus station up into town and by hospital. Erie bus station sucks - it is sooo sterile and there's always a layover there. Nice irish bar in town :)
 
#8
Southern Vermont - free busses between some towns, named the Moover busses (yes, they're painted like cows ::cat::)
New Jersey - free busses around New Brunswick, Piscataway, owned by Rutgers but open to anyone
Knoxville, TN - free "trolley" bus along several routes
 
#9
This topic leads me to a grand project & movement that I have been thinking of for a few years. I am sure that I have suggested this before. The idea is to build a collective online Megabus Crew Change. We all know & see the holes in the Megabus system. I have hacked fake ticket numbers by mining fellow bus travelers at bus stops & creating fake bus ticket numbers that I write down, email/text to myself. Most of the Megabus staff are not well rained, well paid enough or care.

The latter project would need to involve all of us to datamine from real experience the scheduled mandatory Driver Break & Crew Change & fueling \ locations for megabus. I have seen other travelers get on during these stop at Rest Areas, gas stations & fast food places.

Who is down to make this a reality?
 
#13
Rhubarb Dwyer said:
Corvallis, OR is entirely fareless. Also, they offer late-night service for those of us that like to close bars.
For $1 you can ride the Loop between Corvallis & Albany, which has LOTS of free hot meals and free showers once a day.
Click to expand...

Could you elaborate on this loop with the hot meals and showers? I'm just curious about it and I'm sure others are as well.
 
#14
Haystack said:
Could you elaborate on this loop with the hot meals and showers? I'm just curious about it and I'm sure others are as well.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I camped in Albany for close to a week. The city is pretty dull, but in the downtown area, I found close to 50 hot meals a week within a mile or two from where I slept, specifically:
​
- Helping Hands Mission:
Breakfast, lunch, dinner served every day
Hot showers at 1pm every day
Plenty of other services (pretty sure those were reserved for folks staying in the shelters)
Day Center open when weather is too hot or too cold​
- Signs of Victory
Breakfast, lunch, dinner served every day (couple of exceptions when there is church)
They offered me a bed, but I opted out​
- St Mary's
Huge feed Mon/Wed/Fri - 4:45pm
Lots of food to walk away with​
- Several other feeds held weekly at other churches and in Montieth Park. You'll see all the same folks at all of these, so just ask around.

- As far the bus line they call "The Loop": This runs back and forth to Corvallis, leaving from Albany Amtrak station. It was either $1 or $1.50 each way.
Corvallis has services, but not as many or as often as Albany. So, when I spent a week there in the park, it was worthwhile on some nights to bus back for the St Mary's dinner, eat like a king, grab bags of groceries, camp there(bus was done for the night), and bus back to the Corv in the morning with a few days worth of food.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Koala and Haystack
#16
highwayman said:
This topic leads me to a grand project & movement that I have been thinking of for a few years. I am sure that I have suggested this before. The idea is to build a collective online Megabus Crew Change. We all know & see the holes in the Megabus system. I have hacked fake ticket numbers by mining fellow bus travelers at bus stops & creating fake bus ticket numbers that I write down, email/text to myself. Most of the Megabus staff are not well rained, well paid enough or care.

The latter project would need to involve all of us to datamine from real experience the scheduled mandatory Driver Break & Crew Change & fueling \ locations for megabus. I have seen other travelers get on during these stop at Rest Areas, gas stations & fast food places.

Who is down to make this a reality?
Click to expand...

THIS THIS THIS

I too have seen people skeeze onto the bus at highway rest stops during a non off/on stop.
 
#18
Just arrived in Indianapolis and found that the buses are all free until July 4th, don't know if it's a yearly thing or what, but it was useful to me!

Edit: the buses run free from June 25th to July 4th annually.
 
Last edited:
#19
Salt Lake City, Utah - you can ride the TRAX for free as well as the Frontrunner. (The TRAX downtown is ACTUALLY free, and outside of downtown as well as the Frontrunner they never check tickets so it's basically free as well. For the UTA buses, I will just find an old transfer ticket on the ground and flash it to the driver. I have taken public transportation on a daily basis in this city, and never have once paid for it.
 
#20
highwayman said:
This topic leads me to a grand project & movement that I have been thinking of for a few years. I am sure that I have suggested this before. The idea is to build a collective online Megabus Crew Change. We all know & see the holes in the Megabus system. I have hacked fake ticket numbers by mining fellow bus travelers at bus stops & creating fake bus ticket numbers that I write down, email/text to myself. Most of the Megabus staff are not well rained, well paid enough or care.

The latter project would need to involve all of us to datamine from real experience the scheduled mandatory Driver Break & Crew Change & fueling \ locations for megabus. I have seen other travelers get on during these stop at Rest Areas, gas stations & fast food places.

Who is down to make this a reality?
Click to expand...

I have relatively extensive knowledge of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama for MegaBus rest stops! I say let's definitely start up a MegaBus crew change thread! Some of the stops might be more difficult to get to than their worth but I think it would be interesting info to compile.

As for public transit...I've never paid for or had my ticket checked on the the street trains in Portland OR. And you can often ride the Tri rail in FL for free which connects West Palm Beach to Miami. Off peak hours are the best time to go, when they often aren't checking tix. Neither of these are technically free, but they might as well be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Menu