I'm new to public transit and need help

[Juche]

I hate when you make a post and it doesn't go through, then when you click to go back it is deleted. Dammit.


Anyway, I'm new to public transit and am a little confused.

My goal is to be able to take a random bus and just view the town (San Diego). Maybe get off in one part of town and take a random bus to see the sights, the stores, etc. and if I see something get off and check it out.

However, since I'm new to public transit I really have no idea how to find my way home if I do that. I can find my way to and from a spot using google maps or the San Diego trip planner, but that tells me how to get from point X to Y, then how to get from Y back to X. And in order for that to work in order to find my way back I have to stand on the right street corner, at the right bus stop and take the bus back. However, since I want to explore the town I don't want to be forced to wait for one bus, I want to be able to find my way back.

My fear is getting lost (or getting lost at night in a bad neighborhood), and not being able to find my way back to the apartment.

So how do people do it? How do people seem to have an almost intuitive understanding of public transit?


One thing I can do (after I find a printer) is print off all the maps and carry that with me in a folder. Then just examine how to take one bus to one point, then another to another.

I also notice there are transit stations (one up north, one downtown, probably more). Is that a normal trait of public transit, for there to be transit stations where many of the busses and trolleys pass through? If so, then I figure I can just take any bus to the nearest transit point, and when I get there hope there are maps or people who can help me find the connections I need.

Another thing is there is a phone number you can call on the SDMTS website if you need help, so if I get lost I'm sure I can call them. However they have business hours that close at 7 or 830pm. So I can get lost, and as long as I make sure I start heading back by 6pm or so I should be fine.

I don't have a 3G phone, so I can't look up the info online. If I did that'd make it much easier. Damn prepaid.

Is there anything else I can do? Do any public transit veterans have any advice on how you can ride public transit to explore the city, and still be able to find your way back home at the end of the day?

In public transit are there a handful of major routes, then tons of minor routes? Or do each of the routes seem to be primary? ie, is it like the Interstate and road system (where tons of the traffic occurs on a small number of roads with lesser traffic on all the other roads) and a handful of busses cover the major parts of town and carry most of the people, or do all the busses tend to have tons of riders?

[mwooldri]

1. Completely depends on the public transit system, I'm afraid.

Public transport trips in some cases need planning ahead.

In the pre-www days back home in England the county council published a timetable book which you could purchase for a trivial sum and it would have all the routes and maps for all the buses in a given area along with connections to the rail network. This can be useful especially if you're in an area which has an irregular bus service. I think the county still print the books but of course there are online planners now, and the UK has a somewhat integrated public transport site which will work out all the options for you - www.traveline.org.uk

As for the good ol' United States of America, get planning around the individual transit site operators.

[texanwitch]

2. Just jump on a bus and have fun.

The drivers will help you.

Buses have a fix route, just get on the same bus route going back home.

Take plenty of change with you or get prepaid bus card if the bus system has one.

[kath]

3. Ask for a Transit Map of the whole system -- should show all the bus routes and their schedules.

Carry that with you, and you should be good to go. In most cities, signs at the bus stop will tell you which buses will stop there.

[Capn Sunshine]

4. any ticket kiosk has tons of info

and so do the clerks at the light rail stops. SD has a pretty cool transit system.

[XemaSab]

5. Do you have a cell phone?

If you take a phone and 20 bucks, you could always take a cab back home. :shrug:

[EndersDame]

6. The Bus driver is your friend! S/he will know the best way to get around

Being polite and courteous to the bus driver will get you info on the best routes and everything.I rember seeing this yuppie woman who obviously didn't ride the bus and demanded that the driver tell her how to get some where, he gave her the most roundabout inconvient route possible.Also ask other passengers

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Rather than print off the maps, see if SDMTS still prints maps -- they'll be better quality

and will have other useful info like fares, transfer rules, special numbering designations, etc. Carry those and a basic street map of greater SD. As others have said, asking the driver is invaluable too.

A "major" route is usually through the business district(s) and has high frequency (a run every 15 minutes or less) Minor routes run infrequently or for limited periods like morning and evening rush. SD may encode something in the route numbering system to help you figure this out. Some cities affix letter codes to denote limited or express service. Some use three digit numbers to mean something different than single or double digits. SDMTS has a "how to use" guide on its website to explain such things.

http://www.sdmts.com/MTS/RidersGuideEnglish.asp

and that page also has a giant clue on how to figure this out: go to the transit center @ First and Broadway. There should be maps and guides galore, plus people knowledgeable about the system.

I navigated around SD by mass transit on a week long business trip. It was easy for me but I'm a mass transit freak. I will say that SD was much easier than some other major cities in this regard.

[dysfunctional press]

8. try here...

http://www.sdmts.com/Bus/Bus.asp

[Juche]

9. I checked that out.

What I decided to do was check the routes of all the busses, and make a list of the ones that take me back to where I am staying. So I figure if I get lost I can always take a bus to a routing station, then find a way to get on one of the 4 busses that pass near where I am living.

There are some maps too that have the city divided into 5-6 sections with bus maps on each. I'll print those off.

I wish I had a 3G phone. Or more accurately, I wish 3G phones were affordable. Internet access everywhere would come in handy.

Hmm. Maybe I can take my laptop and just look for a free wifi spot if I get lost, then look up the routes online.

[KamaAina]

10. You may also wish to check out our Public Transportation group

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=398

[grasswire]

11. get acquainted first in daylight hours

I wouldn't go blindly out at night into new territory.

I've taken SD buses at night. I do recall being on one with only one other rider who was kind of scary. I was worried that he would get off at the same stop, and it was unlikely there would be any other people around.

But that could happen anywhere.

You not only have buses in SD, you have that red trolley too!

[Juche]

12. That wasn't bad

So I set out a little before noon and spent over 6 hours. I took a bunch of maps, some phone numbers to call in case I need them (taxi service, MTS info), and my cell phone.

The trains are much faster than the busses. I'd wager 2-3x faster, likely because there are no red lights. Too bad they only go east and south. I'd love a train that goes north.

Getting lost wasn't a problem. I had a printout with all the routes and transit stations on it, with each route listed in the stations. So I took off and randomly chose busses and trains, just to see things and when I decided to go back it was pretty easy. I just found a bus that'd take me to a transit station that would then connect me to the bus that took me home.

Only about 2-3 transit stations have the busses that take me home, but most of the other transit stations in town are only 1 or 2 transfers away from those 2-3 stations.

So it wasn't nearly as confusing as I thought it'd be.