BUS CHOICES * USA - Booking it to N.Y.
Competition means lower fares. But what's the best bus line to take?
Boston,CT,USA -The Boston Globe, by Nicole C. Wong -June 29, 2008: -- Surging gas prices and airline fees are making day trips and weekend excursions to New York that much more expensive. Yet one mode of transportation between the Hub and the Big Apple has actually gotten cheaper: the bus... You can thank intensifying competition. BoltBus and MegaBus launched service on the popular Northeast Corridor this spring and undercut the three incumbents by offering some tickets for $1, $5, or $10 each way. Lucky Star quickly slashed its $15 price to hang onto customers... The Globe tested the five low-cost bus lines - BoltBus, MegaBus, Lucky Star, Fung Wah Bus Transportation Inc., and the pooled operations of Greyhound Lines Inc. and Peter Pan Bus Lines. We bought our tickets online and anonymously boarded the New York-bound buses from Boston's South Station on various days and times over the past month... Don't expect to make friends on the bus. Most riders sleep, read, listen to music, or talk to their traveling companions. Some gab on cellphones, but many drivers ask that calls be kept short... BoltBus and MegaBus shuttled us around in coaches that were noticeably cleaner than the competitions', but that's because they're new. The interiors are also designed differently... The rest of the experience depends on your driver. BoltBus aimed to hire drivers whose fun, friendly attitude would remind riders of Southwest Airlines flight attendants. Our MegaBus driver tuned the radio to old Top 40s music - and amicably turned it off after someone asked him to lower the volume. Our Greyhound driver stood outside the bus door warmly reminding passengers to watch their step as they got off. And our Lucky Star driver also treated passengers quite well, but we got a little nervous when he made a vulgar gesture when he was cut off by another driver... More important than demeanor is the driver's skill at, well, driving... Nevertheless, we liked BoltBus the best. Stretching out in a seat while sipping on free Wi-Fi and electricity can make even an hour-late, traffic-tangled ride bearable . . . and dare we say enjoyable?... That we were able to read online content at all was a minor miracle. We usually grow nauseated when reading on the road. But BoltBus's cushy seats and suspension - plus the driver's skill - provided an unusually smooth ride... (Video from YouTube, by dollyboston - June 13, 2008: "NYC BoltBus")
Labels: cheap bus fares
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