Best bus NYC to DC?

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:36pm

Hope since this trip originates in NYC and I'm going to see shows that are hopefully coming to Broadway, it's ok for this board.

I'm hopefully heading to DC this weekend to catch Next to Normal and West Side Story. What's the best way to get there? I'm assuming bus, since train is outrageously expensive. Any preference between a few bus options I see?

Also, if any bus stops/picks up in NJ, that'd be even better. It's going to suck to take an hour to get into NYC only to backtrack.

Thanks.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:38pm

I've used MegaBus and realyl like them. I've heard good things about Bolt as well, though I have not used them.

But neither pick up in NJ. I haven't heard of any that do. Sorry.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:40pm

from DC to NYC is 20 or 25 bucks each way on Greyhound

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:41pm

I think your only option for NJ is Greyhound. I prefer megabus over any other bus, including bolt. I take it very often.

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:41pm

How'd I know you'd be an expert on traveling to DC for theater, jordan? :)

Thanks, please keep the recommendations coming.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:44pm

Hee! :)

Well, in all honestly the travels started the opposite way with job stuff when I was starting the teaching fellows program ~ doing site visits and finding a place to live and stuff.

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:48pm

Ah. Does Mega have power/wifi? I know Bolt advertises that, on some of their buses at least...

[jordangirl]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:52pm

I *think* some of them do. But I don't have a laptop, so I don't know. I know I have seen people online on them before. But I don't know if it's every bus.

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 1:22am

MEGA BUS offers $1.00 bus fair to NYC if you are one of the first 10 tickets purchased on that bus trip.

[FeelingElectric]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 2:14am

All of the MegaBus runs have Wi-Fi, barring technical difficulties. This is great,considering I own a nettop.

They don't however have power outlets for devices, which means I only have 5 hours to use it on any given trip.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 5:34am

I echo the above sentiments. Bolt and Mega are both great and both do the $1 trips if you book early enough. I've actually gone the boston/nyc trip several times for a whopping $2.50!

I find both to be superior over Greyhound/Peter Pan. Newer, cleaner busses and reallyl pleasant and friendly drivers. Also, you are GUARANTEED a seat on the trip you book, as long as you are there on time. Not so w/Greyhound. They say that your ticket is ONLY good for what you purchase it for; but several times I've gotten on an earlier bus. I'm not sure they will do the same if you miss your scheduled trip.

They both have wi-fi....but Mega's is not always reliable. Additionally, there are no outlets on Mega. However, (from Boston anyway) the Mega schedule has more options.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 6:07am

They say that your ticket is ONLY good for what you purchase it for; but several times I've gotten on an earlier bus. I'm not sure they will do the same if you miss your scheduled trip.

That must be Bolt ~ or at any rate NOT MegaBus from DC. I have this annoying habit (annoying to myself) of ending up at the bus stop when the previous bus is there, and in spite of them being almost totally empty (once with a double decker bus with all of about 25 people on it) I have been told by the driver that no you cannot change. Now, if a bus only has a few seats, that's cool because they do have that stop in White Marsh. But you cannot tell me that almost 60 people were planning to get on in Baltimore the day of the double decker thing. (And actually I have confirmatin they did not because my friend who was on that bus as the later one was listed as full texted me and said that every single person had their own seat.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 7:33am

The only thing I can advice is DO NOT TAKE the Greyhound bus, if you wanna arrive next day. They usually make this stop on every city & town. Take the NON-STOP trip to NYC to DC. Yes its an hour~but youll save some time in the long run. As a a frequent travelers (day trip) from Boston. I always take BOLT BUS. Its $24.00 (boston is only $20.00) ..its has WiFI and lots of room. It's 3 1/2 hours ....I love this bus a lot.

https://www.boltbus.com/

As for two shows- It may be possible. I have never done it, just because I dont want to arrive back home at 3 o'clock in the morning. I only watch one show~which is the matinee but its is do-able to see two shows.

Damn! There's tons of GREAT SHOWS in DC, lately, huh? Theater here in Boston is a JOKE lately! I'm soo jealous! Enjoy your trip and GOOD LUCK!

J*

[jaystarr]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 7:38am

btw- if you have a lap top computer..you may SERIOUSLY consider bus with WifI service. 3 1/2 hours one way is a looooooong time to be riding in a bus (specially if youre all by yourself)

To give you an idea~when I go to NYC. I watch two movies and surf the internet for 1 hour = 1 one way trip to New York. I usually dont get bored, before you know it- youre there. I guess.. If youre doing it for the 1st time - you might not get bored because youre excited! Also Bolt Bus has an electric outlet...

J*

[jordangirl]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 7:48am

I think if you're trying to fit in two shows on one day (just saw that part of the post), MegaBus is your better option simply because Bolt's schedule is VERY limited.

Just because I'm paranoid about traffic and stuff, if I'm seeing a matinee, I take the 6:45am bus down (I've seen it empty and I've seen it packed...no guarantees either way). Gets in a little before noon, which lets me grab something to eat and freshen up a little. Then if I wasn't staying over but seeing an evening show and leaving I'd take the latest one back ~ I think it's 11:15.

My recommendation would be to go for N2N for the matinee and WSS for the evening if for no other reason than N2N gets out at 10:20 best-case scenario, and depending on which Metro train comes first (weekends and nights they, like the ones in NYC, often have construction and a more limited schedule than during the week) it could be a good 20 minute or more ride to Gallery Place/Chinatown or Metro Center once you get ON the train. The National will be a lot closer to the bus stop.

edit... I'm assuming by "this weekend" you mean the 10th and/or 11th. I know the closer in, the more likely you are to have the $20 each way rates pop up. If you mean the 17th and/or 18th, I found that Bolt was actually cheaper there as Mega jacked up their TO DC prices to $45 ~ I guess because of expected demand to go down for inauguration. Hence why I'm taking Bolt that weekend. The total cost was $45. Yes, it's $10 cheaper than most of the "Chinatown" lines, but honestly having been on MegaBus (operated by Coach) when they pulled off at rest stop (or whatever those things on the Turnpike are called) to exchange drivers because ours had hit his time limit and knowing Bolt is operated by Greyhound, I know they have to follow the regulations for bus drivers. I've been on one too many of the Chinatown busses where the driver had obviously been driving for a LONG time and usually stayed on the cell phone the whole time. Literally. I'd rather pay more and know they're operating under transportation guidelines than pay less and risk my life.

Updated On: 1/9/09 at 07:48 AM

[Magica]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 8:09am

I prefer the Bolt Bus as it doesn't make an annoying stop in Baltimore to pick up/drop off a hoard of people. Dependent on the bus driver most of the time the the trip on Bolt is nonstop. Avoid Greyhound if you have any respect for your knees...there is absolutely no leg room on those buses!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 8:28am

So just you know... Greyhound wont get you to DC by 3 1/2 hours! probably 5 hours...

You have to think about that! I took that godawful bus one time to NYC (on my way home to Boston) and it took me 6 hours, instead of 4 and I SWEAR not to take the bus anymore..that's why I am posting it- I dont want people to experience what I have to endure and also bus HAS NO SCHEDULE- its says it will leave by 9...oh no!.. the bus driver will take his time...he might leave by 9:30 or 9:45 or even wait for the 10 o clock schedule because the bus is not filled up yet.

J*



Updated On: 1/9/09 at 08:28 AM

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 8:38am

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

By the way, yes, I have a place to stay in DC, so I'm not planning to do it all in one day--definitely 1 or 2 nights. I can barely take a 1 hour train into the city every day. I can imagine taking the train, then a 4 hour bus, then two shows, then a 4 hour bus, then an hour train (plus delays and transfers). That's like a 24 hour day!

Thanks for sharing, everyone. You've been a help.

[danceallnight]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 9:27am

Bolt Bus stops in Cherry Hill, NJ and you can take it to Phila. and pick up the DC bus from there if you live closer to South Jersey area.

[jennamajig]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 9:41am

I just tried Bolt bus from Boston to NYC (take that route often, fam lives in NJ right outside NYC) for Christmas and loved it!

I did, however, have a bad experience with Megabus this past summer. From Boston to NYC it was great - fast service with an awesome and friendly driver, no traffic. Wifi did not work, but driver did try and fix it to no avail.

From NYC to Boston, took a 7 pm bus. Driver was an a**hole. He played loud music up front and when we made a rest stop, he almost left without ten passengers before the ten minutes break was even past! One was the friend I was with and therefore alerted me to the situation, so I had to point that out to him and we got in an argument (those on the bus were on my side, thankfully). When we finally got into Boston, my friend took down his driver number and wrote a complaint to Megabus.

I haven't take Megabus since, so hopefully this was just a bad one-time experience.

[circusliz]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 10:39am

Bolt and Megabus are both good. I also recommend DC2NY and Vamoose. The only caveat with Vamoose is that they don't have stops in DC proper. Dropoff points are in Bethesda, MD and Rosslyn, VA. But the Rosslyn stop is right next to the metro (only one stop to DC and 4 to Crystal City where N2N is playing) and Georgetown is just a 5-10 min walk across the Key Bridge.

[SFJPS]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 11:23am

I love DC2NY. http://dc2ny.com/ Wireless included. Easy trip, good staff, bottle of water as you board, and safe drivers. Sometimes they stop at one rest stop for 15 min., other times they don't. usually the passengers vote. I've never had the trip take more than 4 hrs. 15 min. It's been flawless.

[masb19872]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 1:28pm

I recommend Boltbus over Megabus, just because Boltbus has power outlets for each seat. Megabus (at least, when I used it) didn't. The actual buses for Boltbus were nicer, as well.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 1:50pm

The advantage of megabus is they have buses that leave both DC/NY after 11 PM so it is more convenient for those with evening shows.

Bolt's schedule is very limited, which is why they rarely get business from me, as well as they absurdity of boarding based on when you got your ticket.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 1/9/09 at 1:56pm

If I were you.. do 1 bus on the way to DC then another 1 on the way home (the one that has more schedule) I do that sometimes ~specially going home- youre mostly likely to be tired and just sleeping....

I like BOLT BUS because its very clean, the bathroom is very clean too and the clientele is okay~mostly college students.

Okay...you guys know me.. its all about the photos, baby! LOL.





More leg room


This is where they dropped you in NYC or pick you up..



Updated On: 1/9/09 at 01:56 PM