i go to new york

they're not the ordeal that uk coaches are, right? a/c, legroom, etc.?

Bolt isn't, I don't think. I'm taking my side effects to Philly for $12 tomorrow.

maybe one time out of ten you get a bus with broken a/c or something but mostly theyre pretty decent. for a little more you can get greyhound which is a little more reliable/comfortable but not by that much

sold, thanks guys

I have been on several megabuses and they were all more comfortable than the one greyhound I did

Get there early and get the seat behind the stairs on the top deck for more legroom than you can use

Yes, get by, mega etc, not greyhound - others are way nicer.

*bolt

the megabus boarding area has some sweet refugee camp vibes

I once spent a happy four hours or so riveted by the conversation of two 21-year-olds getting to know each other immediately behind me on the megabus.

sweet. i went with megabus in the end because they were lots cheaper than bolt or greyhound for my dates. felt dirty though (via giving money to brian souter/stagecoach uk)

i still don't understand how these things make money. does they run on solar power?

I once spent a happy four hours or so riveted by the conversation of two 21-year-olds getting to know each other immediately behind me on the megabus.

on my Columbus -> Chicago run two students got on at OSU and took the seats in front of me. they proceeded to "stealthily" grope each other and he put his face on her chest, until Indianapolis. There a guy who'd been sleeping on the back seats got off, and they rushed to claim it. Someone else took the other end of it, though, so they just gave each other handies under a draped hoodie until they fell asleep.

I guess Brian Souter would be proud?

Megabus is great, although the Hell's Kitchen pickup location really is the pits. I've ridden a lot of Greyhounds and only two or three Megabuses but I would pick the latter easy for comfort, reliability, a/c adapters (plus spotty intermittent wifi), etc. Some people also swear by the harrowing and ultra-cheap Chinatown buses but those are currently out of commission I believe, due to some kind of permit inspection/police business.

the Chinatowns were pretty hit-and-miss, but I never got the 'harrowing' ones (unless that's what you call plowing to DC at 85 mph).

if money is less of an object take a freaking train. so much nicer.

delays are less of an issue (unless there's a big snowstorm) and you can get up and stretch and there aren't weird bus people. plus wifi.

i did busses for years, then took a train once and realized i would never take a bus again.

There isn't always wifi on Amtrak iirc, depends on the service?

$100-$150 round trip vs. $40 round trip, hmmmm.
also lots of horrifying train accidents lately!

(those are weekend rates, weekday rates are a bit cheaper)

the Chinatowns were pretty hit-and-miss

could refer both to the bus service, and the guys shooting at each other in cheap-bus turf wars

bus was $54, train would have been $200 (my return journey is on labor day, so this might not be usual). flying would have been $150ish.

is the $1 bus a scam teaser rate for only one seat? i remember RyanAir offering 5 pound plane tickets to Greece but you had to be the fifth caller or something.

yeah

i like bolt better than mega, bolt picks up at penn station which is convenient. mega picks up three avenues away

but if you're missing the UK, mega is a double decker.

the megabus boarding area has some sweet refugee camp vibes

― lag∞n, Tuesday, July 30, 2013 4:02 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

i took megabus last year on the wednesday before thanksgiving. the worst

traveling the wednesday before thanksgiving is pretty much a misery no matter how you go, iirc.

i feel like i have tried it all. bus, plane, drive, train, and it is all awful. driving being the best because even if you're stuck in traffic you don't have to listen to/smell/be pressed into so so so many other humans.

For the record, caek, in the orbit of NYC you have other options for trains besides Amtrak, although not to Boston. The Metro North plugs you into all kinds of pleasant places in Jersey, the Hudson River Valley and Connecticut, and for most of those you can get on at Harlem-125th Street which is a short bus ride from you. These can be very cheap, especially at off-peak times. The Long Island Railroad, naturally, goes all over Long Island. Haven't fooled around with that at all.

metro north is great if you want to go to new haven for anything, or stamford or wherever.

Yeah, I keep postponing New Haven architecture tourism but it's only a matter of time. I took the metro north up to New Canaan (not an un-cute town if you want a dose of Rich White Main Street, like in the movies) to see the Glass House a couple weeks ago and it was a very pleasant experience all round. Just keep an eye on the timetables, the trains seem to be organized around people commuting to NYC for work, so trips to the city later in the evening are pretty infrequent.

yeah metro north from 125th is what i have to take to get to my CT cricket games apparently.

for future ref, does it make sense/is it possible to get metro north to new haven and then connect in new haven to whatever the boston equivalent is to do the second half of the journey?

there's an amtrak station in new haven but i wasn't aware of any train to boston when i was there

besides amtrak, i mean.

ya the boston commuter rail taps out at providence iirc

whatever the boston equivalent is to do the second half of the journey?

lol its so cute that u imagine we have a comprehensive local rail network

is the $1 bus a scam teaser rate for only one seat? i remember RyanAir offering 5 pound plane tickets to Greece but you had to be the fifth caller or something.

― bishop desmond youtube (sanskrit), Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:15 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ive never gotten $1 tix but ive gotten like $15 tickets to providence. wouldnt expect it on labor day but the prices can get cheap if your flexible abt the hours

i've seen the $1 ticket once, it's almost worth it just to get an extra trip added to your 'rewards' section

megabus runs buses to like 15 different locations from their 11th avenue spot, it's crazy. bolt only does boston, philly and dc so it's more sane, and easier to get to. harder to get tix though

"refugee camp vibes" otm, its like the last bit of children of men in there

the bus is a bad idea full stop

stoked for the madness!

i mean i love children of men, especially that long shot

i book lots of bos-nyc travel. the cheapest roundtrip on amtrak is about 100. you can get a return on united out of newark for the same price, but you have to get to newark. flights out of laguardia are a ton more expensive.

my personal experience with the various buses has been generally positive, even fung wah, rip. to be clear, i totally have a hundred dollars, i could take it out of the atm right now, $3 fee, but i would still probably take a bus as first option.

can i have a hundred dollars if i cover the atm fee?

Flights out of Newark are cheaper because if you don't drive, it'll take you 3 hours to get there and if you have delays/cancellations at that point you're screwed. I once tried to get like a 7am flight out of there, arriving by the airport's OWN MONRAIL just as it started up in the morning, and you literally CANNOT ARRIVE ON PUBLIC TRANSIT in time to make your plane.

I guess if the monorail wasn't 15 mins delayed and there were no lines for check-in or security and your flight was a little bit late and Mercury was in retrograde and there was a stiff breeze out of the northwest on a Tuesday you might make it, but otherwise RIP.

xps nope, but i would autograph the receipt for you with the message "to caek, keep reaching for the stars"