Rediscovering bus travel
Hard economic times are pushing even well-heeled travelers to Greyhound, and many are pleasantly surprised.
A bus driver helps a passenger off of a Greyhound bus.
(Reuters/Corbis/Shannon Stapleton)
Greyhound is no longer the “ugly stepchild of intercity transportation,” said Anne Marie Chaker in The Wall Street Journal. “Recession-battered travelers” are choosing the bus over Amtrak and airplanes to save a few bucks, and the bus lines are upgrading to keep them from defecting come better economic times. These days, everyone from Greyhound to Peter Pan to upstarts Megabus and BoltBus are offering leather seats, Wi-Fi, and, yes, “cleanliness.”
Newbie Amtrak refugees would be wrong to think “one cheapo coach is the same as the next,” said Noreen Malone in Slate. So, here’s a “snob’s guide to bus travel”—take original “Chinatown bus” Fung Wah for value and efficiency, if you can stomach its “spotty safety record”; Greyhound is much nicer than you remember; and “my top choice,” Greyhound’s BoltBus, is “the Google to Megabus’ AOL,” offering tech “connectedness” to young professionals.
Whichever bus you take will have the advantages of flexible schedules, better prices, and no airport security, said Jamie Rhein in the travel site Gadling. But you have to pack differently. Bring a neck pillow, socks, water, music, fresh fruit and other snacks, and a light blanket. Other tips: sometimes getting bumped to an overflow bus is a good thing, and "best of all, enjoy the scenery as you roll by.”
Show: Oldest | Newest
4 Comments
Posted by lexslamman, Thursday, June 18, 2009, 11:22 am These buses really can't compete with the comfort and community experience of traveling through the country by passenger rail. Those who trade down from Amtrak to bus for the reason of saving a few bucks are sacrificing a unique and enjoyable experience. Besides, trains have more legroom and more opportunity to get up and move around. There really is no comparison.
Posted by halle, Thursday, June 18, 2009, 6:41 pm Bring your bucky travel pillow and lumbar pillow! The bus seats are hard on the body!
Posted by FequentTraveler, Friday, June 19, 2009, 10:16 pm My wife and I found a need to ride public transportation from Columbus, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois a few weeks ago on relatively short notice. Air fares were out of sight two or three days prior to departure. Amtrak has decided not to serve Columbus, or most of the United States. We ended up taking Megabus and were pleased with the nearlynew bus, professional driver, and nice people on board. I would agree with the article that the intercity bus is certainly making a return.
Posted by mabel, Monday, June 22, 2009, 4:24 pm Another good place to check for intercity bus tickets is gotobus.com. They have a wide range of services from luxury buses to chinatown bus service. In this economy I will definitely be taking the bus!
Post a Comment