Megabus, one of the new cheap bus services that have taken the transportation world by storm in recent years, now covers additional cities in New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut Ontario as well as Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio and Minnesota.
The service, a branch of Coach USA, with pricing starting at the amazing price of $1 depending on route, time of day, and advance purchase, has been so successful that the company is investing in 96 double-decker buses, each with 81 seats, to meet customer demand.
Other so-called “Chinatown” bus services, such as Bolt, also serve the busy northeast corridor with nonstop buses between such hubs as Boston, New York and Washington DC. The nickname comes from the first independent buses that started these runs several years ago from Chinatown in New York.
Cheap Bus Routes between San Francisco and Los Angeles
Seniors, students and others who seek low-cost alternatives to driving or flying between major cities on the West Coast have other choices of bus service priced dynamically in the same way as Bolt, Megabus and other new systems. The earlier a traveler buys a ticket, the lower the cost. Most services allow purchases online only in advance, using a credit card. Some services allow purchase at the time of departure if seats are available. The website gotobus.com shows most buses that are not Bolt nor Megabus.
In the Northeast , Megabus.com now offers routes from New York City to Albany, Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo as well as Baltimore and Hartford, Atlantic City and Toronto, as well as to Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC.
In the Midwest, Megabus makes the trip between Chicago and Ann Arbor, Champaign, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbia, MO, Columbus, Ohio; Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Madison, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Normal, St. Louis and Toledo.
Megabus COO Dale Moser said passenger demand jumped 219 percent between October 2007 and October 2008. However, the company discontinued west coast bus service from Los Angeles to San Francisco when not enough passengers took advantage of initial service.
Megabus coaches typically offer wi-fi, power outlets and on-board restrooms. In most cases they leave from a specific location on a street, rather than a docking space in a bus station such as the Port Authority in Manhattan. The buses do not take pets nor bicycles and passengers are limited to one piece of luggage plus carryon items.
Make Megabus Reservations 45 Days in Advance
Reservations can be made up to 45 days in advance of travel date. Keep an eye out for special deals. While online reservations are encouraged, Megabus offers telephone reservations for a $3 service fee. The phone number is 877 Go 2-MEGA. No one gets a paper ticket, but instead each customer is provided a reservation number to present to the bus driver.
In summary, there are cheap buses serving major cities across the U.S. now. For additional information on Northeast routes, see this earlier Bolt - Megabus article.
Grace Lichtenstein - I prefer "seasoned" to "senior" but whatever term you use, I have been an outdoor adventurer for most of my adult years. I am a cycling ...
