Results tagged “Bus” from Intelligent Travel Blog

I'm on a bus to New York City right now, so I thought this might be the perfect time to pen a quick blog about the new site BusJunction.com, which serves as a Kayak.com for buses. It's one of those sites that you didn't realize how much you needed until it existed, and now that it exists I'm pretty sure I'm hooked. In essence, it works to aggregate all the available bus times from 13 different budget bus companies and it tells you which ones have wifi, power outlets, and the kicker, helps you find those $1 fares that are always so elusive. They're currently serving 31 cities in the East and Midwest; you just pick your ticket, and BusJunction will redirect you to the bus company's individual site.

Now if they could only help alleviate this traffic I'm currently sitting in along 95...

Senior editor Norie Quintos recently visited New York City with her teenage sons, trying to go as green as possible. Here's her report:

Getting there: The train, the most eco (as well as the most comfortable) way to go, was too expensive, so we took one of the many inter-city buses that ply the busy DC-New York corridor. Public buses are an excellent green option, and the one we booked, a double-decker Megabus, was modern, clean, and offered free Wi-Fi. Promotional rates start at $1 (good luck getting that rate) but typically go for about $20 one-way. On a five-hour ride, you'll likely get hungry; pack a sandwich and bottled water. We saw someone get on with a large takeout pizza.

Well, sort of. Earlier this month American bus operator Greyhound introduced its own Travel Stimulus Package. The discount deals include, according to its site:

• Friends and Family Companion Fare: Up to three companions can travel at 50 percent off with the purchase of one adult standard walk-up fare. A three day advance purchase is required.
  
  
• Deeply Discounted Advance Purchase Fare: Ten day advance purchase fares are 75 percent off adult standard walk-up fare. Two hundred fifty tickets are available for purchase daily.
  
  
• Expanded E-Fare: E-Fares are priced at a 20 percent discount off the adult standard walk-up fare.
  
  
• Holiday Bounce-Back Coupon: For all tickets sold in terminals during the holiday period (Dec. 15 - Jan. 5), a coupon will automatically print that will offer customers a 20 percent discount for their next trip during the redemption period (Jan. 6 - March 31).

The deals might not be as great as BoltBus or MegaBus (where you can get one-way tickets for as little as $1), but if Greyhound is the only bus you can take, then the bus operator provides some rather stimulating options.

Image: Greyhound.com

The low-cost bus routes between Washington DC and New York City have become a perennial travel story, one that we ourselves covered first in June 2006, and then again this year with the launch of the BoltBus and Megabus $1 fares. But we had yet to sit down and look at how they compare to each other, so we figured now, as everyone tightens their belts a bit, would be the perfect time. And of course, with the holiday seasons upon us and Inauguration weekend approaching, New York and D.C. are sure to be popular destinations over the next couple months.

Having made over a dozen trips between D.C. and NYC over the past few years, I've taken over half of the buses listed (after the jump). Some buses have dropped me off on the outskirts of Manhattan's Chinatown, under a bridge and a good 10-minute walk to the nearest subway station. (That would be the 88 E. Broadway stop.) I've taken others that arrive at NYC's Penn Station, just a few steps from public transportation, but have fewer time choices.

So, there's a trade-off.  It's hard to find a bus company that offers everything, but some come close. Whether it's location, times, Wi-Fi, or pit stops that matter to you, I hope the list below helps.