Transit tripper: Crossing America by train, bus, bike

Ask most people about their travels and they will talk of sights and cities. Ask Josephine Hazelton and she will tell you about the journey.

Getting from here to there is much on the Turlock grad student’s mind these days, as she winds down from presenting her research on Central Valley transportation at an academic conference at the University of San Francisco, prepares to give another talk in Southern California later this summer and co-writes a paper about transportation challenges that women face for an academic journal.

Anyone wanting to hear the highlights can tune in to the July 12 Turlock City Council meeting, when Hazelton will wrap up her internship with Turlock public transit as part of the Mayor’s Award.

So what qualifies as vacation for the California State University, Stanislaus, student entering the master of public administration program? Two weeks traversing the country via public transit, Hazelton said, to see how other states encourage bus and bicycle use.

On June 12, she and friend Katelyn McGinnis joined the more than 370,000 folks riding the California Zephyr each year, hopping aboard in Sacramento, riding through to Chicago, and on to Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston before flying home June 25.

The two women stepped off the train to trek through eight cities, renting bikes for short jaunts between in-city destinations, taking subways where available and checking out the public buses. The Modesto Bee caught up with Hazelton after she had time to unpack what she learned.

Q: How was it, traveling all those hours across America?

A: You get to rethink how you travel. I’ve gone by car, the typical road trip. I found it a very isolating experience, even with your family. On a train, you get to talk to so many people from across the world.

There were seniors, families on vacation, business travelers, tourists. That was my favorite part. I played cards with some hitchhikers in a band. I talked to a man from Europe who said he found it more relaxing to travel by train. We ate with an Amish couple. So many people I would never have met. You get to talk to people – and it’s not at all weird to do that. Its a cool kind of culture.

On the East Coast, business travelers said they use it because it’s the most efficient and cost-effective. As it goes along the coast, it’s a gorgeous ride and you get to enjoy every minute of it. When you’re going by car, you’re focused on the road. When you’re going by train, you can focus on the scenery, enjoy each others’ company.

Q: What did you like, dislike about the train itself?

A: I was surprised how much more comfortable the seats are than airplane seats. So much roomier, and they really recline. They have these little foot extensions. We slept in them during our 16-hour ride. They were comfortable. There’s a ton of overhead storage. You can get up and walk all over. They have observation cars that are half booths and tables, and half lounge chairs.

There’s Wi-Fi on some routes – generally the short ones. You’d think on the long routes would be where you’d need it, but it’s where there are a lot of business travelers.

The dining cars are double-decker, with the restaurant upstairs. You eat at shared tables and there are waiters. The food was really good, for being cooked on a train. There’s also a cafe car that’s open most of the night with hot dogs and mini pizzas, things like that.

Q: Which part of the trip did you like best?

A: The Sacramento-to-Reno route is my favorite, through the Sierra Nevada. It takes you places where the highways don’t go, so it’s gorgeous.

Q: You talk about mixing in biking and walking. What can cities do to make those more appealing?

A: Buffer poles and cement strips, protection from traffic. In Denver, there are a lot of stairs where they have rims along the side for pushing bikes up. Little things like that make it very bike-friendly. Some cities had bike lane pedestrian crossings marked with “Look.” It’s saying bikes have a right to the street.

Boston was the worst biking city. All the one-way streets made it difficult, and there was an arterial street you couldn’t cross by bike. I had to go over a pedestrian bridge and cross over and then go back across another bridge to get across. The center of Washington, D.C., on the other hand, was designed for bikes and pedestrians. They have bike lanes down the center of the street, with buffers from the traffic.

Q: Were there any hiccups in your itinerary?

A: We missed our train once, in Washington, D.C. There was a rainstorm. But Amtrak’s good about just switching you to the next train. We just hung out at the station and caught the next one six hours later. Amtrak will text you if your train is late, too.

Q: After looking at all these big city systems, what is the one big thing you would advise transit policymakers around here to consider?

A: Multimodal connectivity, and how are we going to make those connections. We got into Salt Lake City at 1 a.m. and the Amtrak station is on the outskirts. There were no sidewalks, and we were on a major road. There are no transit services at that time of night.

In Omaha, Neb., the station is also outside the city, but we could walk to a bus.

When you get to Denver, the station is downtown. We could walk to our hotel.

In Chicago, Union Station is a hub for transportation. It is so easy to connect to local transit.

Q: What are some little things local transit could do?

A: In Omaha, there were bus stop signs with no information. For visitors traveling in a new city, I had no idea when the buses would come or where they were going. I realized how important signage is. (So I think Turlock could benefit from) better bus stop signs and lighting. As Turlock extends its hours into night, that’s a concern.

I always say the keys to making public transit easy to use are affordability, access and convenience.

This story was originally published July 3, 2016 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Transit tripper: Crossing America by train, bus, bike."