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Back in 1933 Popular Science reported on New York engineer Walter H. Judson's new railway which would have trains running from San Francisco to New York in 18 hours, and Chicago to New York in 5.5 hours. Now it's the buses battling it out to have the quickest times and cheapest fares to and from New York.
Earlier this month BoltBus announced fares from NYC to DC and Boston starting at as low as $1. And now, just in time for Boltbus's launch on the 27th, Megabus is rolling in to steal its thunder.
The AP reports that "Megabus.com is based in Paramus, N.J. It already operates in several states and is a subsidiary of Coach USA. Tickets will start at $1 a fare. Prices rise as the departure date approaches. Its vehicles are equipped with movie screens and free wireless Internet connections." Their service will begin on May 30th, and they're expected to announce cheap fares to six other East Coast cities in the future.
BoltBus told The NY Times that they won't be outdone by their new competitor, saying they're “the best of all worlds in terms of extreme value and on-board service, with three inches of extra leg room and electrical outlets at every seat.” It's anyone's game, but the Chinatown Bus is looking more and more like a spectator.
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Electrical outlets at every seat? Don't those use gas in order to power your device? Also, from now on I'm only BitTorrenting on Chinatown Buses.
It looks like Bolt bus only goes to Wash. DC at this time. The Megabus website says it's busy and to try back later. Good luck, bus travelers.
Why does the Gothamist hate the Chinatown bus so much? Before the Chinatown buses, Greyhound/Peter Pan was fleecing travelers at the rate of $50 ONE WAY to Boston.
I love the Chinatown buses.
If the $15 dollar buses can catch fire and roll over, I just wonder what the $1 bus will do!
Just as long as the chinese stick to the fung wah, with their nose picking, unecessarily high indoor voice volume, rotting bags of bok choy and duck tongues.
Why does the Gothamist hate the Chinatown bus so much?
Racism anyone?!? I took once one to DC and I think I was the only "chinese" apart from the driver...
If Coach USA runs these buses the way they run their commuter buses, they won't stick to any schedule whatsoever and you will have no way of accurately determining which bus you should take to reliably get to your chosen destination.
I think the most important thing to realize is that these price wars are probably directly resulting from the Chinatown Buses. Even more amazing is what the profit margins must have been on the legacy buses if they can lower prices so dramatically to compete with the Chinatown Bus.
Meanwhile, if it wasn't obvious before, it should be now. A federal investment in better interstate rail service is long overdue.
$15 to Toronto, my old hometown, with only a quick stop in Buffalo. And they'll run it overnight, which is the way it should be. Sweet. On the whole, I'd like to see improved Amtrak service on the same route but since that isn't happening I'll take this.
If you like Megabus, you should check out BusJunction. It's a search engine for discount bus tickets and includes all the major lines like Mega, Bolt, Vamoose, and Greyhound.