This is topic "New" competition BOS/WAS in forum Amtrak at RAILforum.


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Posted by HillsideStation (Member # 6386) on :
 
Heard on the news Megabus will begin BOS/WAS service with travel times of approx nine hours.
No word on the fare.

Best regards,
Rodger
 
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
 
Looks like Greyhound also is getting some "skin in the game":

http://www.greyhound.com/en/buses/default.aspx

I think they are more interested in taking on Megabus and others pitching bus service to the Middle Class rather than Amtrak.

But even if the busses may be new, one still has to go near those "Superdome or Convention Center after Katrina' stations. The last two I had occasion to set foot within were at Salt Lake City and Jackson. The buildings may have been comparatively new.....but.....
 
Posted by Tanner929 (Member # 3720) on :
 
New Haven (I.E Yale Students) are hopping Mega or Bolt makes a stop at New Haven Station.
 
Posted by TBlack (Member # 181) on :
 
I can't comment on Megabus, but I have taken the Bolt, NYC to Boston. They use the curbside right outside Penn Station in NYC as their terminal, but then they go up Route 84 which doesn't go near New Haven, so the Yalies are out of luck on that one.
 
Posted by graynt (Member # 17) on :
 
Megabus is certainly unique for a bus service. The buses are doubledecker and if you book a few weeks ahead and book during the week,the fares are a dollar,plus a 50 cent booking fee.

I've ridden up to Boston from Philly last week. The buses have outlets at every seat and free wifi. The bus terminal is connected to South Station in Boston,so I used my $1 ride up to do some commuter riding.

The bus will never replace a train ride,but for a dollar it's hard to refuse. Another option is to take a bus one way,the train the other.

BTW,the DC-Boston service begins on December 15,and if you type in their introductory promotion code the ride is free..at the other end of the price range is the Acela which can run $150 one way.

Some of the Megabus stops are at or near train stations,others are not. Hey, it's a cheap alternative and these are nice buses.
 
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
 
Nine hours on a bus is a long time, even a nice bus. I might do it if it were the only public transportation, but otherwise, even when money is tight, I'd rather spend extra and take the train. I guess I'm getting old. . .
 
Posted by irishchieftain (Member # 1473) on :
 
Here's a missing rail route that became a victim of the railroad ravages of the latter half of the last century. How would you like to ride from Boston North Station to Washington Union Station via the Poughkeepsie Bridge over the Hudson River (now a cycle route and walkway, if you can believe that turn of folly), Orange County in NY State and Sussex County of New Jersey, then to go through Easton and Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley before joining with the B&O's main line in Philadelphia?

 -
 
Posted by TBlack (Member # 181) on :
 
Irishchieftain, Interesting map; it's pretty close to the route we take now in a car between the two cities.

Sojourner, I agree 9 hours in a bus is a long time. I don't think you're getting older; I think You're getting smarter!

TB
 
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
 
Concur; interesting map, Mr. Chieftain.

Now I know why one stop North of Millerton on the Harlem Div. was named Boston Corners; wondered 'bout that one since my school days up that way - i.e. 1954.
 
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
 
One of the other boards I frequent is populated mostly by retired Trailways System bus drivers....plus a few former industry executives.

These guys raise many concerns (some legitimate) about safety issues and driver qualifications for the Bolt and Megabus jockeys. Anytime one of those doubledeckers flips over on the NY Throughway or drives into a railroad overpass with only a 12-foot clearance in Rochester, it makes the board in a hurry.
 


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