Bus Wars Part II: Megabus heads to Boston

And then there were four. Discounter Megabus plans to start offering trips between Boston and New York starting in late May. They will be going head to head with Boltbus, which is launching its service in April.
Both services have a similar pricing deal: It begins at a $1 for a seat if you reserve in advance and gets more expensive the closer you get to departure. BoltBus will offer WiFi and power outlets; Megabus plans to have WiFi but no power outlets. BoltBus will be shoving off from South Station; Megabus from 700 Atlantic Ave.
And both companies are locked in a Texas Death Cage showdown with the Chinatown bus services, Lucky Star and the sometimes-mechanically-challenged Fung Wah, which offer potentially lower cost service without amenities or the guaranteed seating.
The BoltBus-Megabus Battle in Boston is part of a larger war between the Scottish owner of BoltBus, FirstGroup PLC, and Scottish rival, Stagecoach Group, which runs Megabus. A kind of Scottish Battle Royale for the hearts and minds of the Backpack Brigade.
Still all this fighting over us. I'm thinking it's a good thing.



Fung Wah is the best! Don't believe the hype. The only reason all the "blazing fires" and "roll-overs" gets media coverage is because they are a chinese company. I have broken down THREE TIMES on greyhound and NOT ONCE on Fung Wah. However... this wi-fi thing on Bolt Bus could be a deal breaker for sure.
cool! More options - nice. Hopefully better service than Fung Wah and Lucky Star but I take them too for the right price!
I think it is a great deal for the customer. Only why do they not have any busses out of Worcester.
Lucky star bus travel is the WORST the buses smell are always late to leave and arive and they left us once at one of the Stops. The bus driver was rude and verbally treatening.
I wonder why the trains don't see the handwriting on the wall and offer competitive pricing?
Mr. Kraft,
It's an infrastructure issue. Highways are publicly owned and maintained. Rails are privately owned and maintained.
Since highway travel is heavily subsidized by general revenues, buses start at an advantage.
1) Other than local commuter services, there is only one passenger train service, AMTRAK.
2) Amtrak is in such poor financial shape, I wouldn't be surprised if their prices are already nearly as low as they can go. . . .
The Acela trains I've taken are very full at busy hours for around $100 each way. I'm also surprised though that they don't discount "off hours" trips more heavily.
I take Fung Wah every other weekend, and have been doing so for over 1 year! I like them the best.
I've been riding Fung Wah buses for the last 5 years. I had no problem with it. Maybe the customer service is not that great, but it was sure cheaper than Greyhound. Greyhound are slow...very slow!!! On average it took 5-6hour to get from New York to Boston. Fung Wah bus took on average 4 hours, or less. If it doesn't stop in the middle, I think it could be 3.5 hour. Fung Wah buses are fast because they communicated with other buses to make sure which route have no traffics.
Boston Globe, they're bias toward chinese buses, they wrote,"sometimes-mechanically-challenged Fung Wah". Don't beleive that. Greyhound broke down so many times during the time i was in college paying $60 round trip. The most memorable one was when the bus stalled on route 95 south in a freezing cold for over 1 hour until another bus picked us up. Report that Paul Makishima!!
I like the trains better- not as crowded, not prone to traffic delay, and in inclement weather also not as prone to delays.
I still think the Chinatown busses will be cheaper than these other two companies, when all is said and done.
I've take three round trips on Fung Wah. On my last Fung Wah trip into Boston, a state police officer had closed down the ramp to the bus station off of the turnpike. The driver then got lost, heading all over south boston, and then the financial district. He had neither GPS nor map, nor cellphone to call headquarters for directions. On top of that, he didn't even speak English! How can a driver be licensed without speaking English? eventually we had one passenger give driving directions to a translator who directed the driver. What a snafu!
I will be most happy to try out these new bus lines.
What Happened with the Vamoose Bus, I would ride them for $25.oo each way over any other company for $1.oo,.
I went with Vamoose bus that 1 week they where runing between New York and Boston and their service was great, they had free WiFi on the buses and a lot of leg space. Its a shame on the city official that they closed them down with a foolish reason that they dont have a license, They knew that Peter Pan is getting ready to create Bolt Bus so they were afraid of Vamoose,
Just found www.BusZoo.com has offered $1.00 to various locations(New York, DC, Philadelphia, Richmond, Baltimore and Norfolk).
It seems that the pricing war has just started. With gas price so high, it's good for all of us commuters!
That is cool, but screw buses, I'm taking LimoLiner, Delta or US Airways Shuttle before you get me on Fung Wah or Luckystar
I own A One Chauffeur Connection of New England. We offer charter service and would be happy to deal with any client whom has its own group and work out a shuttle program. As for the other operations, everyone has flaws and if they don't they are not in business. However, we will at least be gentlemen. 781 961 5700
I rather have a question: How do I make a reservation? I see no contact link and telephone.
I can be emailed or contacted at 3472546988.
Thank You
Jean
Even though greyhound buses break down sometimes ,greyhound has the best drivers and greyhound is training the bolt bus drivers ,and that makes them one of the best which is trained by the best to asure you a safe ride to your destination. And that my friend puts them ahead ,seperated from all the rest .
My daughter and I went from NY to Boston on Fung Wah. The driver went over the speed limit the whole way, moved recklessly from lane to lane, and did all this while talking on the phone the ENTIRE WAY! I could not believe we made it home alive. Passengers were yelling at him to get off the phone but he did not pay attention. Very frightening experience.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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