"Get On The Bus" - A Review of the Budget Bus Lines

With limited financial resources, traveling by air in first-class is out of reach for most college students. For this reason, we have become quite familiar with simply getting on the bus!

In this article "Get On The Bus", Noreen Malone describes her experience on the various discount bus lines... Fung Wah, Bolt, Mega, and Grey Hound.

Noreen says,

"The Fung Wah has a reliable schedule, departing from New York every hour from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with service on the half-hour during peak afternoon times. And if you really need to get out of town in an untraceable hurry, there's a 2 a.m. ride for a slightly higher premium."

Of Megabus, she says it, "supposedly offers Wi-Fi on its New York-based service, but there was no evidence of Internet use among my fellow riders, and the driver didn't mention it in his announcements. Perhaps it's an amenity mentioned only to the Harvard-bound clientele, not to us plebeians."

Bolt Bus received a rave review. "Riders can forget that they're traveling, since they can do virtually any activity they might while sitting at the desk where they spend their days. Of course, there are the same inherent discomforts as on any bus. It's always freezing onboard, it tends to be less than reliable in terms of punctuality and speed, and the pricing system is quite similar to that of Megabus (I got an $18 ticket two weeks in advance). Yet, on the strength of its Wi-Fi signal, Bolt is my top choice."

And Greyhound... "Greyhound, at least in the saturated New York market, seems to be catering to people who haven't figured out that there are cheaper options. But the upgraded bus—physically, the nicest one I took—was a sign that the ante has been upped and that Greyhound is adapting to compete."

Source: Slate Magazine "Get On The Bus"

~ contributed by Shaquanna P. BBSN Board Member, Fundraising Chair, Interim Public Relations Chair