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Bus Travel / Buses / Greyhound / BoltBus / Travel Deals / → All Tags

Get Unlimited Travel on Greyhound (Better Than It Sounds)

We don't rave about Greyhound much around these parts – we're much more partial to their shinier little sister, BoltBus. But we were checking out Greyhound's twitter feed today and stumbled upon something kinda cool.

Greyhound just announced a big price drop on their Discovery Pass – an option we didn't even know existed. Turns out Greyhound offers the option of Eurorail-style unlimited travel – you can buy a 7, 14, 30, or 60 day pass, which gives you unlimited rides throughout (most of) the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

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Bus Travel / Buses / BoltBus / MegaBus / Greyhound / Open Threads / → All Tags

Will You Ever Go Back to Greyhound?

We're pretty big BoltBus advocates around these parts, and when they don't have a cheap fare, we generally go with Megabus or a Chinatown line. Even though we travel between New York, DC, Philly and Boston pretty frequently, it's been a long time since we've been on a Greyhound.

So we're not sure how we feel about Greyhound's new buses—they've got free WiFi, power outlets, and more leg room—basically everything Bolt has minus the $1 fares. We know we shouldn't feel weird about considering taking Greyhound again—after all, they (very quietly) own BoltBus, so what's the difference? But there's something about it that just doesn't sit right with us. Thinking about going back to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and waiting in those cramped underground lines just doesn't seem as cool as picking up Bolt on the curb, even though we know our money is going to the same place.

Has anyone tried the shiny new Greyhound buses yet? Will you go back or are you also addicted to Bolt? Let us know your preferred method for bus travel in comments below.

Related Stories:
· Wanna Ride Greyhound? Tell Them in 140 Characters or Less [Jaunted]
· Handy Search Tool Helps Navigate the Cheap-o Bus Wars [Jaunted]
· Bus travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Greyhound]

Bus Travel / Buses / BoltBus / MegaBus / Greyhound / Washington Deluxe / Bus Junction / Chinatown Buses / Search Tools / → All Tags

Handy Search Tool Helps Navigate the Cheap-o Bus Wars

We can't decide whether to file this one under "best travel search innovation since Hopstop," or "damn! Why didn't we think of this first?"

The savvy folks over at the new Bus Junction realized the only thing wrong with all these cheap-o Northeast bus lines is that it can be time-consuming for cheapskate riders to browse all of them in search of the cheapest of the cheap fares. So they created a Kayak-like search engine—just plug in your date and destination, and they'll show you all of your options, including the Chinatown lines, BoltBus, MegaBus and Greyhound.

They don't seem to have it worked out perfectly yet. Most notably, there's no Washington Deluxe, one of the most reliable lines for DC to NY rides. But even so, this totally just doubled our cheapskate travel productivity.

Related Stories:
· Bus Junction [Official Site]
· BoltBus versus MegaBus, Round Two [Jaunted]
· Bus travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: kenudigit]

Bus Travel / Buses / BoltBus / MegaBus / → All Tags

BoltBus versus MegaBus, Round Two

Have you thrifty travelers noticed cheap-o Northeast bus lines BoltBus and MegaBus have been getting a little less crowded (and a lot harder to get those $1 fares on) lately?

Yes, Jaunted's 2008 Best Travel Newcomer and its double-decker competitor are now very much on the MSM radar. The latest to check them out is ABC Baltimore, which ran a BoltBus vs. MegaBus comparison in anticipation of BoltBus' upcoming Baltimore-to-New York service, where it joins MegaBus, already running an astounding 32 trips a day between the two cities.

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Please Welcome TripperBus to the Discount NYC Bus Scene

The crazy traffic around Madison Square Garden and Penn Station gets even more crowded starting today as another discount bus service starts running the popular NYC - Metro DC route. Our friends at NewYorkology have alerted us about the birth of TripperBus, an independently owned and operated bus line which will compete with the already established Megabus, BoltBus, Fung Wah, and Lucky Star buses for a few dollars from frugal New Yorkers looking for a quick weekend in the nation's capital.

As usual, more competition means lower ticket prices and better service, and it looks like TripperBus is ready to join the bus big leagues with free wifi and fares from $1 to $25 each way. Just don't start clicking to book just yet; they are circumventing the typical Washington DC traffic by stopping instead in Bethesda, Maryland and Arlington, Virginia. As a result, they will probably become the choice bus of overnighters headed to see friends or family who live in the Metro DC area. Since we're still keen on the big city life and attractions of downtown DC, we'll stick with BoltBus until someone ponies up with free snacks.

Related Stories:
· TripperBus [Official Site]
· TripperBus Offering $1 Fare Between NYC-DC Area [NewYorkology]
· Bus Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[View from a Megabus double-decker: haaaley]

Buses / Megabus / Bus Travel / Travel Deals / → All Tags

Our Megabus Success: NYC To Philly For 50 Cents

When Megabus announced back in November that they'd be giving away 100,000 free seats to anyone who could book them fast enough, we were quick on the button and managed to nab the deal. It's a travel deal fairy tale with a happy, economical ending; a 50-cent reservation fee is all it takes to get us from NYC to Philadelphia and back for the weekend. We know we should have gone farther, but we played it safe booking in November for a random trip in January.

Deals this hot, with so many free trips at stake, have us wondering if most of Megabus' seats for the next few months will be full of other escapists hip to online travel alerts. When you book a bus trip, if you occasionally forgo airplane travel, are you more motivated by the need to be somewhere or the desire to take advantage of the $1 specials?

We hope Megabus gets a kickback from some of its destination cities, because it seems that they benefit the most from these random visitors and their tourist dollars. We'll withhold a final judgment until after this weekend, when we see how much of our money Philadelphia demands.

Related Stories:
· Free Tickets All Around [Jaunted]
· First-Person Bus Reviews: Megabus [Jaunted]
· Buses coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Stagecoach Group]

The Jauntys / 2008 Travel Awards / Buses / Budget Travel / BoltBus / Travel News / → All Tags

2008's Best Travel Newcomer Is...

For years the East Coast has had more cheap buses than it knows what to do with, from Fung Wah to Megabus. But until 2008, hardly anyone was willing to take low-budget rides between Boston, New York and DC, fearing accidents, boarding chaos or the sort of horror that can only befall the perennial punch line that is Greyhound.

But 2008's Best Travel Newcomer, BoltBus, made taking a coach classy, with clean seats and bathrooms, on-board WiFi with the power plugs to match and ingenious branding to lure an iPod generation. (That gas was over $4 a gallon this summer helped BB's triumph, too.)

At a time when you can't even check a bag for free, it's a thrill that a bus company will ferry us from NYC to Philly for less than the price of a beer.

Related Stories:
· First Person Bus Reviews: BoltBus [Jaunted]
· Fare Wars: Buses Battle for Your Stripper Money [Jaunted]
· BoltBus Doing DC to NYC for a Buck [Jaunted]

[Photo: ursonate]

Bus Travel / Buses / Budget Travel / Greyhound / → All Tags

Old and Busted: The Jet Set; New Hotness: The Bus Set

There's nothing like flying to cover long distances in a flash, and train travel is a smooth, hassle-free way to get around as well, but for many Americans, it's time to take another look at the bus. Long the preferred mode of transport for bums, winos, and the recently paroled, the economic meltdown has made Greyhound and other bus lines a serious option for the traveling masses whose transportation budgets have evaporated along with so many jobs. Seeing an opportunity to capture a new market, Greyhound has rolled out what it calls a Travel Stimulus Package, with serious savings on service to its more than 2,300 destinations. The package includes a variety of deals, from Friends and Family Companion Fares, where up to three companions can travel at up to 50% off with the purchase of one standard walk-up fare, to Deeply Discounted Advance Purchase Fares, with savings of up to 75% with a ten-day advance purchase.

Take it from me, a notorious cheapskate and bus aficionado: these are good deals. But I've got to warn you, if you've never before stooped to taking an interstate bus trip, your ego might take a hit at first. Bus stations like New York's Port Authority are notoriously scuzzy places, and your seatmate's personal hygiene habits might not measure up to your high standards. In many ways, however, Greyhound is competitive with the more elite methods of travel. The cheapest Amtrak ticket between New York and Washington, D.C. is about triple what you'd pay for the bus, and it barely saves you an hour. Flying is a lot faster, of course, but both airports are far from the city center. So swallow your pride, collect the change that has slipped beneath the couch cushions, and get traveling. You can use the money you saved to drink away the unpleasant memories of the journey when you get to your destination.

[Photo: Bargain John]

Related Stories:
· Greyhound Introduces New 'Travel Stimulus Package' [PR Newswire]
· Greyhound [Official Site]
· Bus Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Buses / Budget Travel / Travel Deals / Travel News / → All Tags

LimoLiner Fighting Off Competition With Free Booze, Fresh OJ

It's no secret that reliable, comfortable, we-wouldn't-mind-taking-that bus service has rocked the East Coast travel scene. BoltBus and Megabus have become major players, but old stand-by LimoLiner, which has been at the comfortable coaches with WiFi game for years, is adding some amenities this month to stay competitive.

First on the list is free red or white wine for weekday passengers on the 6 pm bus out of Boston and the 6:15 pm bus out of New York. Meanwhile early morning departures will now include a fresh squeezed OJ with breakfast. And safety-obsessed travelers might appreciate the seat belts that are be installed at every seat on the LimoLiner fleet.

Of course the biggest perk in the announcement from the company is that its advance purchase fares will continue to be $49 each way through January 2009. While that's a couple bucks more than you'd pay on one of the other guys, the LimoLiner only seats 28, making for a cozier trip.

Would the new perks make you consider LimoLiner, or are you a hardcore fan of another East Coast bus line? Fill us in.

Related Stories:
· LimoLiner [Official Site]
· From 2006: LimoLiner, Part II [Jaunted]
· Buses coverage [Jaunted]

Travel Deals / Buses / → All Tags

No Excuses Now: Get To Brooklyn For Free

Whenever we have out-of-town family come visit NYC, they always swear they want to see the hip goings-on in Brooklyn, but somehow their trips always seem to end before they leave Manhattan.

Now there are no excuses: A new shuttle service is literally grabbing tourists up at Manhattan cultural sites and dragging them out to BK. For free.

Non-New Yorkers may not understand why a free service is needed merely to get people from one borough to the next, but if you've ever met a Manhattan resident you know that for them, Brooklyn might as well be as far away as Bombay.

The Heart of Brooklyn Connection, a partnership of the borough's major cultural sites, runs the free Sunday service, which picks up passengers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Bryant Park and drops off at the Brooklyn Museum, Botanic Gardens, Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Public Library.

And, Brooklynites, don't start bitching that you're losing out to Manhattan folks yet again. Heart of Brooklyn also has a Saturday service that picks up residents of various far-flung Brooklyn neighborhoods (Williamsburg, Red Hook, Bay Ridge) and takes them to the museum and park as well.

Related Stories:
· Heart of Brooklyn Connection [Official Site]
· Brooklyn Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Heart of Brooklyn]

Buses / Budget Travel / Megabus / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: Sketchy Buses

There's lots of grim bus news today, from allegations that organized crime outfits tried to extort Chinatown bus operators in New York to word that a passenger leapt from a moving coach on I-5 in California.

If there was any good news, it's that Megabus is expanding service in the Northeast. Newly unemployed bankers rejoice?

Related Stories:
· Feds Bust Alleged Crime Ring [WNBC, via]
· Man Jumps from Moving Bus [BC]
· Support for "Tim's Law" in Canada Bus Beheading [Canada.com]
· Teen Attacked on Milwaukee Bus [WISN]
· Megabus' Expanded Northeast Offerings [Official Site]

[Photo: wrestlingentropy]

Greyhound / Bad Seatmates / Crime / Buses / → All Tags

Terrifying Travel: Bus Beheading Trial Moving Forward

Remember earlier this summer when horrified bus passengers in Canada watched as a guy allegedly stabbed and decapitated his 22-year-old seatmate? Well, a Manitoba court determined that the suspect in the case, Vince Weiguang Li, is mentally fit to stand trail.

While Li, who's been charged with second-degree murder, will see his case return to court on November 6, a defense attorney says there's more to it than just this psychiatric assessment:

I agree that he is fit to stand trial, but the issue is whether he is criminally responsible for his actions. My position would be in court that he's not criminally responsible for his actions and he did not know what he was doing was wrong.

It will be for a court to determine whether that's correct or not.

Related Stories:
· Canada Bus Beheading Suspect Can Stand Trial [AP, via Google]
· Staycation Travel: The Ultimate Bus Horror Story [Jaunted]

[Photo: Stephen Rees]