alphas In my area, Mega Bus has really pushed Greyhound aside. Not only are they cheaper and run more direct routes, their buses are better cleaned and they have a better on-time performance. As for the comment of seeing them broken down on the road more often than Greyhound, my observation is the reverse is true around here as for some reason Greyhound has a tendency to break down on the up-hill approach to town--not often but enough to catch your attention. The only time that Greyhound is used heavily anymore is on weekends when the big dog has spare equipment that it uses to run special non-stop buses for students to all the major nearby east coast cities on Friday afternoons and return them to school on Sunday evenings.
In my area, Mega Bus has really pushed Greyhound aside. Not only are they cheaper and run more direct routes, their buses are better cleaned and they have a better on-time performance. As for the comment of seeing them broken down on the road more often than Greyhound, my observation is the reverse is true around here as for some reason Greyhound has a tendency to break down on the up-hill approach to town--not often but enough to catch your attention. The only time that Greyhound is used heavily anymore is on weekends when the big dog has spare equipment that it uses to run special non-stop buses for students to all the major nearby east coast cities on Friday afternoons and return them to school on Sunday evenings.
Greyhound runs less frequently than Megabus does because Greyhound uses a different routing model than Megabus does. Megabus favors City to City nonstop traditionally. Where Greyhound prefers to hit more of the rural areas and then ventures into the Big Cities........at least this is the model in Texas and surrounds.
Greyhound seems to be following the older method of Bus Travel and has not evolved as much as it should have. It's website is hard to use, bus stations have stagnated in what have become gentrified areas of the cities it serves in most cases. Happy to see they consolidated Amtrak and Greyhound Depots in Milwaukee, that was a smart move. But then why don't they do the same in other large cities? Greyhound's schedules are padded heavily as well in a lot of cases. Go to their website and try a few A to B City Point routes and inevitably they have you switching to a different bus or a long layover. Not a lot of direct non-stop service between major cities.
Megabus avoids terminals and picks up curbside.......which is kind of a ripoff to the local taxpayer but that is another discussion.
CSSHEGEWISCH dakotafred I hate buses as I hate airplanes. So, they ought to be easy to beat, right? Only by automobiles, so far. Buses serve a lot of places that trains never reached and they serve a useful role as feeders into major cities. Traveling by plane is not as bad as you think and people do put value on speed.
dakotafred I hate buses as I hate airplanes. So, they ought to be easy to beat, right? Only by automobiles, so far.
I hate buses as I hate airplanes. So, they ought to be easy to beat, right?
Only by automobiles, so far.
Buses serve a lot of places that trains never reached and they serve a useful role as feeders into major cities. Traveling by plane is not as bad as you think and people do put value on speed.
Prior to the growth of curbside bus services (as above)and Amtrak's growth 1998 [sorry, could not find more up-to-date information], the percentages for intercity travel were :
Other than in the NEC and maybe in some developing corridors, passenger rail is really a minor factor in the US.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
CMStPnPIt could be the bi-level buses were not built for the heat. Definitely see them on the side of the road in TX a lot and usually in the middle of nowhere. Also, heard from users down here they service the busses enroute sometimes delaying the scheduled trip. All hearsay of course....but still bad word of mouth advertising for Megabus.
IMO Megabus is just badly run. On my very limited experiences their customer service people were borderline rude, and the driver did not tell us any details of the itinerary in advance (like unscheduled or meal stops). The scheduling is idiotic - my bus left downtown LA at 5:10pm (!!) and arrived at West Oakland BART after 12:20am, just in time to miss the last train. To quote a line from "Major League", who are these f***in guys?
By contrast, Bolt Bus and Amtrak are very pleasant depending on your schedule and budget needs. The BB aircon never let us down on multiple trips through the hot San Joaquin valley (but it is not bi-level).
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schlimmMaybe in TX?
It could be the bi-level buses were not built for the heat. Definitely see them on the side of the road in TX a lot and usually in the middle of nowhere. Also, heard from users down here they service the busses enroute sometimes delaying the scheduled trip. All hearsay of course....but still bad word of mouth advertising for Megabus.
The winning Hoosier State bidder had a section devoted to reducing the running time slightly and increasing the frequency to two round trips, at which time an above the rail profit was predicted at their revenue risk.
As to the marginally less comfortable Megabus, it is a motorcoach so the seats are about 18" wide, with total area per seat about half that of a railcar. The top deck of the Van-Hools is less than 6' tall.
I actually rode once thinking it might be a good way to make a long one way trip overnight. The trip had a long wait at the curb past scheduled departure, a rush for seats, and a 2 am stop at a gas station, then connecting passengers were dropped at the curb for an hour or so while the bus was to be serviced then return to pick them up, certainly not just marginally less comfortable.
At 83 years old, I find I must "use the facilities" about every 90 minutes on the averge during a typical day. And that is only when I watch my sugar intake and don't get tempted by delicious and great looking cakes, ice cream, etc. I won't fly for that reason, too much opportunity for a seat-belt sign posted at the wrong time. Megabus might be a problem for me for that reason, while I never recall any problem with Amtrak. If the "facility" in the car you are riding is occupied, mere go to the next or one before or after.
WhenI used Greyhound between NY and Bethlahem and Scranton on business, I found it more relaxing than driving, and fortunately loads were light, with two seats to myself, and no trouble with the rather primitive johns' access. But when a client in Bethleham volunteered to drive me to Norrestown or Lancaster to catch a traim (of course giving him more opperotunity to explore my ideas) I was very happy indeed.
It seems to me that Ed Ellis is trying to make the ride on his train a fun experience, and that might compensate for the higher fare and longer running time. Much depends on the food and drink quality and service, also reliability.
CMStPnPAnyway, on Megabus, I would never take them as I see them on the side of the road more often than they should be......broken down and waiting on repair. I would like to see reliability stats on Megabus because just based on observation on what I see broken down on the side of the road I would say Greyhound has higher reliability.
Maybe in TX? I see them running up here, not on side of rod. A friend often rides it from Chicago to Columbus, Ohio (largest city in Ohio), where Amtrak deigns to go (another example of Amtrak's rigid and old "thinking").
BTW: You would change from the Illini or Saluki to a bus in Champaign, not Carbondale.
H-h-h-m-m-m-m, Chicago to Indianapolis would be only 4 hours and 20 min via Amtrak #393 illini......transfer to Amtrak Thruway bus 8892 Except that the 2 hour layover in Carbondale between train arrival and bus departure blows it out of the water and increases it to 6+ hours.
It is humorous that Amtrak could gain a faster running time to Indianaoplis via the Illini than the Hoosier state if it tightened up the bus connection. Illini a dogleg route vs the Hoosier States more direct route.
Anyway, on Megabus, I would never take them as I see them on the side of the road more often than they should be......broken down and waiting on repair. I would like to see reliability stats on Megabus because just based on observation on what I see broken down on the side of the road I would say Greyhound has higher reliability.
It includes delays.
What route is Megabus using in the direction I-65 is interdicted? And is the time you quoted (3:15-4:00) applicable to the 'alternate' route?
daveklepper I question marginally. Or is Megabus a lot more comfortable than Greyhound or Trailways?
I question marginally. Or is Megabus a lot more comfortable than Greyhound or Trailways?
Megabus is generally better than Greyhound. But sitting on a train that runs once per day at a very inconvenient time northbound (6 am) for 5-6 hours and paying $24-48 is marginally worse than sitting on a bus that runs 6 times per day each way on Megabus for 3:15 to ~4 hours costing $15-23-26.
daveklepper 1. Might be faster during the closure. 2. More pleasant experience than driving or Megabus.
1. Might be faster during the closure. 2. More pleasant experience than driving or Megabus.
The times for driving or Megabus are current. Normally, driving is faster than the train. The train might be marginally more comfortable than the bus.
#51, IND to CHI is running 1 hr 03 min. late today. Total time = 6 hr. 08 min. Almost 3 hours longer than by road. Maybe they have a bridge delay, too?
Show off what? The Hoosier is still slower or at best the same as driving or Megabus.
Indiana DOT has a project to widen I-6. Briddge work caused a northbound bridge to tilt so bridge closed. Link below you can find a reference to take Hoosier and Cardinal.
https://local.nixle.com/alert/5476621/
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