Police in Miami busted an alleged "brothel bus" packed with prostitutes who offered undercover officers lap dances and blowjobs. The driver, cops say, had a stash of Viagra on hand for customers who needed a boost, while the bus itself had a strip club set up with a G-string clad staff, a full bar and a curtained off VIP room.
The cops paid a $40 cover charge to board the bus where lap dances allegedly cost $20 and oral sex could be had for $100. Admission to the VIP area cost $125. When one of the officers asked what that fee would get him, he was reportedly told:
Speaking of cheap buses, a Fung Wah coach jumped onto a New York sidewalk this morning, killing a woman who was waiting to board.
Amazingly, this accident might not be the fault of the chronically safety-challenged company: A dump truck coming off the Manhattan Bridge rear-ended the bus as it was idling and propelled it onto the curb and into a bank.
A few other people were injured in the incident but not as many as when a Fung Wah bus flipped over in September 2006. That crash hurt 34 passengers who are probably content to take BoltBus these days.
Megabus is riding high with new double-decker coaches and lots of new passengers thanks to $4-a-gallon gas. But is service on the super cheap bus up to snuff? Sort of!
One recent Megabus rider wasn't looking forward to her trip. Said an Ohio University student:
No one wants to take the bus, but driving and flying are so expensive.
Why wouldn't anyone want to roll Megabus style? Probably because of what another rider experienced:
The scene on 31st Street was TOTAL CHAOS. People lined up on the sidewalk for different destinations. We left about half an hour late, but smooth sailing the rest of the way, and I sat up front with no one next to me. The bus driver had NEVER driven to Boston before, so I had to help him out.
We're big fans of American rail travel, even though it breaks our hearts sometimes, so we greet the news of Amtrak's surging ticket revenues and passenger miles with cautious optimism. As the New York Times points out, skyrocketing prices for gasoline and jet fuel are encouraging more people to travel by rail, leaving the beleaguered national train company scrambling to keep up with the record-breaking ridership.
While decades of quasi-socialist neglect, financial constraints and an atrophying infrastructure have made the legacy carrier less nimble than it ought to be, here's hoping that they can hold it together long enough for passengers to appreciate the many sublime pleasures of riding the rails. Spacious seats, plenty of room for luggage, no need to remove shoes or dump liquids before boarding and the ability to be just about as drunk as you feel like just might make riders demand the much-needed improvements necessary to bring Amtrak up to the level of, say, European trains in the 1970's.
Still, travelers on Amtrak's most popular routes are in for crowded conditions this summer. Tickets for the daily New York-to-New Orleans Crescent Train are already sold out from July 5-8, and the Seattle-to-Vancouver line is filling up fast. So make your reservations soon, lest you be forced to stay home, or *gulp* take the bus.
Super-cheap coach line Megabus may not be as slick as BoltBus, but the company's about to introduce something pretty cool.
Megabus says they'll be the first outfit to offer double-decker rides between Boston and New York; the service is scheduled to start sometime in the next four months. As it turns out, folks in the Midwest have already tried the two-teired coaches. A St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter gave one a go in late May:
Except for a few bug splatters, my front row seat on the upper level of the double-decker Megabus gave me a sweeping view of the Missouri countryside. The guy sitting across from me, Dick Williams, agreed: "You get the panoramic view--it's the best seat in a thunderstorm."
It's been a rough month for Greyhound. The bus line has been hit with multiple accidents, stranded passengers and money problems. Meanwhile, Greyhound CEO David Leach says that his company is going to be A-OK despite a plunging stock price and rising fuel costs--because the recession is a good thing for bus travel. Leach also thinks Greyhound has nothing to worry about despite rising competition from low cost rivals because he's got a "secret" new marketing strategy.
We've covered BoltBus, MegaBus, and even the new NeOn, but never before have we been fortunate enough to get a full-on review of what really matters. Thankfully, word of all these cheap buses has spread across the pond, and the UK Times reveals the beauty that is the BoltBus lavatory:
I step inside the cubicle and shut the door. It's pitch black. I pat the walls, searching for the switch. Nothing. This'll be fun ... Suddenly, the door swings open and, as I turn to shut it again, I see a sign saying "Lock for light". I do, and am illuminated ... Aaaah, that's better. The bus lurches and I pee on my shoes.
There's no sink, but there is a dispenser of waterless detergent, the kind you get in hospitals, which feels strangely tingly on my hands. As that's the only nod to hygiene, though, and it's not bolted down, it might be an idea to pack some wet-wipes.
If you're up for this type of adventure, then BoltBus is clearly for you. Coaches now stop in New York, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia. Just remember to hit up the loo before you hop on.
You know about Megabus. You know about BoltBus. But now Greyhound wants a piece of the $1 promo fare action, too. And not content to just offer short hops for a buck, the bus company is selling tickets between Toronto and New York for as little as $1 each way. Crazy.
We know what you're thinking: I wouldn't spend nine minutes on a Greyhound bus, let alone nine hours. But these special NeOn coaches will be tricked out with video entertainment, power plugs and free WiFi. One would hope the bus bathrooms will be working, too.
Obviously, this is a promotional price, though from May 22-25 every seat is going for $1. If you book in a hurry, you'll still be able to lock in fares as low as a buck for departures later this summer.
