Embarking on a journey that turns miles into memories, TransLink’s William Hui is once again setting out on an epic adventure. Pushing boundaries further than he did back in 2013 when he set out to Portland, Oregon from Vancouver using only public transit.

This time, William, who is the Director of System Engineering at TransLink, is riding public transit from Vancouver all the way to Tijuana in Baja California, Mexico. The city is about 2,278 kilometres (1,411 miles) south of Vancouver and is the westernmost city in Latin America.

He’ll travel by transit along the west coast from British Columbia to Washington, Oregon, then California before reaching the US-Mexico border.

It’s been over a decade since William’s first adventure, and we’re catching up with him as he embarks on this 10-day public transit trip to Tijuana. Over the next few days, follow along each morning at 11 a.m. as we document William’s travels on The Buzzer once again. He’ll update us with his travel diaries!

Read on to discover his plans. Share your own travel experiences in the comments — what’s the furthest you’ve ever travelled by public transit?

Q: It’s been 11 years since your Vancouver to Portland trip by public transit! What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in terms of public transit options and connectivity in the Pacific Northwest since then?

A: Some of the biggest changes I’ve noticed include more transit services (larger network, more regional services), mobile payment options, and zero-fare transit trials in certain jurisdictions. Certainly, some of these changes have been heavily influenced by the pandemic, but the advent of technology and social changes have also played a part, too. For example, zero-fares in Olympia, Washington have been influenced by social discourse on equity on access to essential services.

Q: What draws you to Tijuana this time around, compared to Portland in 2013? Are there aspects of the city’s culture, food scene, or history you’re excited to experience? Is there anything specific you’re particularly looking forward to experiencing on your trip to Tijuana?

A: Actually, in my 2013 trip, my goal was to go as far south as I possibly could using public transit. At the time, Salem, Oregon was realistically the furthest I could go.  With the introduction of the new Redwood Coast Express in February 2024 operated by the Humboldt Transit Authority, it closed a gap in the middle of California that allowed me to get all the way to Tijuana.

I’m not going on this trip to visit Tijuana, in particular. I resonate with the adage that the journey is more important than the destination. I am truly looking forward to the journey on public transit, visiting the towns and cities in between and meeting people along the way.  Even if I had taken this as a traditional road trip by car, I probably would not have visited the same towns as I’m visiting on the bus — this was one of the highlights in 2013, and I think it will be a highlight again this year.

Q: With a longer and more complex journey planned, how has your approach to planning and logistics changed compared to your previous trip?  Are there any tools or resources you find particularly helpful for navigating public transit across borders?

A: My general approach in 2024 is the same as in 2013. A lot of research online, Googling what services are available in the different cities and counties, and looking especially for regional connections. However, with Google Maps being more advanced today than in 2013, and more transit agencies sharing their schedule data with third-party developers, finding public transit options to travel from city to city is much easier. Google Maps provides more comprehensive transit options than in the past. Third-party resources, such as the Transit app and Rome2Rio have also been helpful in crosschecking data.  The challenge continues to be smaller agencies who may not have resources to update or provide schedule information on a regular basis online or through structured data standards, such as GTFS.

Logistically, while there are now regional connections where there were none before, some of these connections still don’t run frequently (some services only run once a day), or on all days (most regional connections run weekdays only). Looking at connection times and making contingency plans for traffic or mechanical delays is still a necessity. Fortunately, with the Internet, it’s easier to make contingency plans and figure out alternative connections or locations to stay overnight should disruptions happen.

Q: On your 2013 trip, you mentioned encountering some unexpected detours and challenges.  How are you preparing for the potential for unforeseen circumstances during this longer journey?

A: I’ve focused my contingency planning mostly on services that have tight connections and services that run infrequently (once a day). Fortunately, there aren’t too many instances of this from my research. In those situations, I’ve done some advanced planning to determine where I can stay overnight and how I can resume my trip if I miss a connection. I also wanted to ensure that I didn’t get stranded in the middle of a rural area without accommodation options, so I was careful to plan my itinerary and contingency plans to overnight in towns with reasonable accommodation options.

I came across many interesting seaside villages and quaint towns along the journey. While I would like to spend more time in those areas someday, I built the itinerary to get from Vancouver to Tijuana as quickly as possible — a “speed run” if you will.

Q: Since 2013, apps and mobile ticketing have become more widespread. How do you anticipate these advancements impacting your ability to navigate public transit on this trip? Have you booked fares in advance or pre-purchased any fare media?

A: In 2013, I relied on finding the website of the transit agency and looking up their schedule information.  Now, I can just go to Google Maps or something similar to get an overview of my options and use that to find the transit agency to get more details on the schedule.

Mobile ticketing and smartcard technology is more prevalent in 2024 than it was in 2013. Especially with the longer trip, one of the unexpected challenges I encountered was making sure I had enough exact change for each of the transit segments on this trip!  The total cost of the trip is about $200 USD, but fortunately, I can pay for almost half of this using smartcards (Orca in Seattle, Clipper in San Francisco, Tap in Los Angeles, and Pronto in San Diego) and credit card (Umo in Washington State, and multiple agencies that accept contactless credit cards). I was also able to pre-pay for certain trips in California by pre-purchasing some fare media via mail. Having said that, I still ended up getting 50 one-dollar USD bills from the currency exchange, so I would have exact change for the services that still only accepted cash payment.

Q: For many, public transit is a more sustainable travel option. How does factoring in sustainability influence your travel choices, and what role do you see public transit playing in the future of eco-friendly travel? Do you consider this trip to be a more sustainable way to travel over more conventional modes?

A: I think that public transit does have a role to play in eco-friendly travel, because if the buses are relatively full, it reduces the carbon footprint of the individual passengers. I think that having the option of public transport to travel between cities is vital, especially for people who may not have access to a vehicle or need a way to get to medical appointments. The key in my view is having options.  A bus running empty is not going to be more sustainable than a private vehicle, but if the public has viable alternatives to a vehicle, then this would help our collective efforts in achieving sustainability targets.

Q: Your previous trip helped showcase the possibilities of public transit travel. How do you hope this new adventure can further advocate for and change public perception of using public transit for long-distance journeys? Do you estimate there is a cost savings to travelling this way?

A: Yes, I do want to showcase the possibilities of transit travel. I do want to show how transit connects us in ways that we may not have thought, especially outside urban centres. I’m encouraged by this trip, because the fact that there are now scheduled trips that allow me to travel across two international borders, whereas there were no such options in 2013. This demonstrates that there is a demonstrated need for people to travel longer distances by public transit, and that agencies have responded in recent years to address this market.

It opens up possibilities for people needing to commute for jobs, providing alternatives for people who may want to visit relatives in nearby cities outside their own, and allows people to not have to rely on private services to access essential services such as medical appointments. There may not be a direct cost savings (especially since one of my bus rides will cost $20 USD), but looking more holistically, it gives people independence, it gives workers the ability to take a job somewhere further away without needing to own a vehicle, and it creates equity in mobility across socioeconomic groups — you can’t put a price on this.

Q: Given your vast experience at TransLink, do you see any interesting connections between the public transit systems you’ll encounter on this trip and TransLink’s own network? Is there any one in particular that you’re looking forward to using? Why?

A: I think the vast majority of the public transit systems I’ll be visiting will be smaller agencies, so they will not be like TransLink. I’ll have some time in the major cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles but I’m not planning to spend a lot of time using those systems, so I’ll be spending most of my time using services delivered by agencies that are serving a smaller and lower-density customer base. One of the characteristics that I’m interested in is seeing how the various agencies connect with one another, both logistically (schedules) and physically (transit exchanges). This is especially interesting since some of these services are very infrequent, and some of the towns are quite small, yet it seems to all work with scheduled timed connections.

I don’t have a transit system that I’m particularly looking forward to using, but I am looking forward to travelling down the Oregon coast on transit. I’m eager to be crossing two state boundaries on transit and crossing two international borders on foot. I’m particularly interested in seeing the towns and cities where these transit services serve, because I probably would not have visited these places if I had just planned a traditional road trip. If it weren’t for these transit services, I probably would not know the existence of some of these towns, much less plan to visit them.

Q: What key takeaways from your last trip are you bringing into this one?

A: Find a place to close to the bus stop to hide out from the rain. Last time, I got really soaked in Blaine when a thunderstorm rolled by.

Streetview on Google Maps is very helpful in “scouting out” where the actual bus stop is located, so I’m not completely lost when getting to the next bus stop.

The information, especially transit information, on Google is not always accurate. Double check with independent sources and clear up any discrepancies in information, because one source may just be out of date.

Have an idea of nearby fast food restaurants, libraries or hotels at transfer points. These are great places to plan for bathroom breaks!

Travelling light is the way to go. Some of those vans travelling on the highway for 1-2 hours are small and are packed with people!