March 25, 2008
New $1 MegaBus to launch May 30 with free rides
 MegaBus, yet another super-cheap long-distance bus, today announced it will launch express bus service with free wi-fi and on-board video for as low as $1 between New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo, Atlantic City, and Toronto.
Reservations open today, and anyone booking for the first week of service (May 30 through June 5) will get the ride entirely for free (except for "the standard 50 cent booking fee,) the company said. (Book here.)
MegaBus, which is owned by StageCoach/CoachUSA, will go head-to-head with Greyhound subsidiary BoltBus, which this Thursday will start a Washington D.C.-New York route from $1 each way (plus a 50 cent service fee,) followed by NY service to Boston and Philadelphia.
MegaBus pickup and dropoff locations are detailed in the New York Times:
Megabus.com buses to Baltimore, Buffalo, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington will pick up and drop off passengers on the northeast corner of Eighth Avenue and West 31st Street, outside Pennsylvania Station. Buses to Atlantic City will leave from the Port Authority Bus Terminal nine blocks north. The company will operate 11 departures a day to Boston and Washington. The Boston Globe notes a few differences between the companies:BoltBus will offer Wi-Fi and power outlets; Megabus plans to have Wi-Fi but no power outlets. BoltBus will be shoving off from South Station; Megabus from 700 Atlantic Ave. And both are locked in a Texas Death Cage showdown with the Chinatown services Lucky Star and Fung Wah.
Elsewhere, the Press of Atlantic City notes the fare for the NYC to Atlantic City route will range from $1 to $30, and adds this info: The Atlantic City service will piggyback on carrier Academy Bus, of Hoboken, which already has more than a dozen daily trips to and from four New York locations and several resort casinos. And as England's Guardian points out, the parent companies of both BoltBus and MegaBus are Scottish rivals. More from the Guardian:FirstGroup and Perth-based Stagecoach have been active in the US for some time, initially concentrating on contract services such as school buses, tours and municipal routes. This is the first time they have squared up in a public battle to promote tickets to the same destinations.
FirstGroup's $2.8bn takeover of the US transport firm Laidlaw last year gave it control of the 92-year-old Greyhound bus network. It says it is introducing pricing tricks learned in the British market to re-invigorate weak growth. In addition to the super-discount buses, the "upscale" DC2NY travels between the current- and once-U.S. capitol cities for $40 round-trip. It usually has free wi-fi, but according to its website "sometimes we have to alter a schedule and a bus is not equipped with internet service."
The luxury bus Limoliner, which travels only between NYC and Boston, now charges $89 for one-way service. In addition to free wi-fi and power outlets, there is an attendant on board who will bring you free snacks, drinks and newspapers. And there is a newly-released DVD movie on each trip.
Some of the Chinatown bus companies can be booked through GotoBus.com. Current fares include $35 round-trip to D.C. and $30 round-trip to Boston.
Earlier: $1 BoltBus to add Boston, Philadelphia routes in April
Bolt Bus to launch $1.50 trip between NYC-DC
'Luxury' bus DC2NY offers on-board wi-fi to D.C.
LimoLiner bus to Boston upgrades onboard wi-fi
March 25, 2008 7:01 AM in Arrivology, Cheap Stuff
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