BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I saw a PAT bus with a Megabus ad on the side yesterday (6/30). There was some fine print in the ad, didn't catch the details as it went by, some sort of fee, but it didn't look too "gotcha"-ish.

the pricing system is tiered. there is one $1 ticket available for each route, some number of $3 tickets, $5 tickets and so on. So, if it is a busy route and you buy at the bus stop you will pay full fare but if you are the first to buy on a not so busy route (as are most of the pittsburgh routes so far) you have a good chance of paying less than $10.

so THAT's what they were talking about. This morning the (W) shuttle was all a twitter over super (like ridiculously) cheap NYC bus tickets. I'm a lousy evesdropper, but everybody seemed to agree it's a scam. I work with a bunch of cynics, but at least they were on the shuttle.

~$60 round trip doesn't strike me as too cheap to be true, I think it's exciting

edited to add - the $60 was for next week, I didn't search too much. I can't plan that far ahead, but that makes it cooler

if you catch it early enough you could conceivably do NYC round trip for $2 plus tax.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10178/1068172-37.stm

Definitely not a scam. Have yet to try it, but am looking forward to it. I wonder how they feel about bikes as luggage?

When I looked into going to NYC two months ago my wife and I could have travelled there and back for less than $12. Now that it is closer it is more expensive, but still totally reasonable considering the quality of the bus they are using and the potential for there to be free wi-fi.

Why is it that Megabus can take you to NYC for as low as $3, but PAT has a hard time getting you to Shadyside for a simlar price?

Mick - PAT doesn't also charge the majority of the bus 60$ for the same ride.

helen s I think there is a no bikes policy. it might be worth a shot in a box.

A friend of mine took the megabus to NYC last weekend for $7 round trip and said good things about it. The wifi was nice and he had an electrical outlet to charge his mobile devices.

Official policy seems to be no bikes, but you can possibly workaround it if you pack up your bike.

That would be pretty epic if they had a rack for bikes.

this is so exciting

I sent:

To: inquiries@megabus.com

From: Ian Everhart

Date: 07/06/2010 05:27 PM

Subject: bicycles

Hello,

I see on your site that Megabus buses do not carry bicycles. This obviously applies to "loose" bicycles, but what about a boxed bicycle? Greyhound and Amtrak similarly do not take bicycles in a rideable state, but will accept a bicycle if partially disassembled and packaged in a bike box. If there is available space in the luggage hold, would Megabus take a boxed bike in lieu of a regular piece of checked baggage?

I am really looking forward to Megabus' route to Philadelphia from Pittsburgh (still waiting for one to DC and points west...) and would be MUCH more inclined to go, much more frequently, if I knew I could bring my bike.

Thanks,

Ian Everhart

They replied:

From: inquiries@megabus.com

To: Ian Everhart

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 2:17 AM

Ian:

Thank you for your patience, as per our operation manager; Anna.

Your partially disassembled and packaged in a bike box counts as one piece

of luggage.

Sonia

Megabus.com

Northeast Customer Service

(908)282-7420

Fax: (908) 994-9423

"Coach USA: Committed to Delivering Safe, Affordable, Greener Travel”

That is pretty awesome.

Also, if anyone is coming to Philly and doesn't want to pack up a bike, shoot me a message and you're more than welcome to borrow one of my bikes while you're in the city.

When I leave downtown in the evening (usually about 5:15), I often see a Megabus with a destination sign for NY (via State College) coming towards Penn from under the Convention Center. I need to check this out. I could use some time in the big apple.....! Now if I was only willing to couch surf, it would almost be cheaper than staying home!

I frequently ride the MegaBus and usually get tickets for 5-$15. No scam there. Just don't bank on the WiFi or power outlets working, it has been 50/50 for me.

"Quickly lower yourself into a deep squat, place your hands on the floor and keep your feet behind your body"

I'm not sure thats the most comfortable way to travel though.

What's with the spammers topping old threads? It's actually rather interesting to review these old posts.

Now if one of the moderators could please take care of the spam itself...

just reminds me of the spam spam bacon eggs and spam skit, with the hovering vikings.

Anything that injects hovering vikings and repetitive breakfast meats into my afternoon is welcome

Just FYI, you'll now longer find NYC trips for those low prices of yesteryear

BTW I have to go to Philadelphia (with my bike, of course) next month. The only real option is Greyhound, right? Because it appears Megabus doesn't allow bikes, and Amtrak Philly doesn't allow checked baggage.

Philly station lists checked baggage as an option, says they sell bike boxes. You may want to just give amtrack a call to confirm availability of bike transport. Of course, that assumes you are boarding at a location which also allows checked baggage.

PHL station page @ amtrak

Ahh.. it does appear that the train doesn't actually allow checked baggage. Not the station.

Any mention of Amtrak makes me want to remind people to document their misadventures with bicycles and Amtrak on this old thread:

http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/so-i-asked-amtrak-again

despite what the website says, some CTCers had luck this year taking their bikes back on amtrak. try giving them a call. good luck with that.