Let me tell you about my day yesterday. It started when my alarm went off at 4:00a and I hit snooze every five minutes until 4:25a, rolling out of bed with a sigh and doubts over what I was about to do.
No time for breakfast—just enough time to wash my face and comb my hair. Then it was out the door and down the street to Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, where I was to catch a 5:00a Megabus to Washington, DC. It was ...
A quick update on my perpetual struggle of choosing between the value of Megabus or the comfort and convenience of Amtrak to get between Philadelphia and Washington.
Yesterday, I found I needed to get to Washington as soon as possible. I was hoping for a $51 Amtrak fare (thinking Megabus would be about $20).
Nope. Amtrak was $86 for Northeast Regional and Megabus was $5. Onboard Megabus, the internet didn't work, the bus left late and arrived even later, but what the heck—with my new iPhone tethered to my laptop I can stay quite productive.
So I'm going to keep score in 2013—Megabus jumps to an early 1-0 lead over Amtrak. May the best man win.
Megabus is giving away 200,000 free tickets for travel between January 9th and February 28th (US and Canada only). Winter is a slow travel season so I find plenty of free seats available:
There is a 50¢ booking fee per transaction so it's better to book multiple tickets at the same time.
Even though Megabus may not be a glamorous way to travel, I'll take it in a heartbeat for $0 50¢, especially for travel within the tri-state area.
(Hat tip to Pearls of Travel Wisdom)
First off, sorry I've been blogging about Megabus and Amtrak lately--it just so happens that traveling between Washington and Philadelphia has become a regular ritual and I still cannot make up my mind about which is the better option (being that I am a tightwad who still likes luxury). After contemplating Megabus versus Amtrak again on Monday, I chose the $10 Megabus option over the $50 Amtrak offer. It was a mistake...
The bus was very late, so rather then keep us waiting further, a ...
For months I have been threatening to switch from Megbus to Amtrak for my frequent trips from Philadelphia to Washington. In the end, I always ended up booking with Megabus because tickets were always significantly cheaper. But after my Greyhound experience last month, I booked Amtrak this time. And I may not look back...
Megabus was $21 and Amtrak was $35, so it was hardly a choice this time. The train departed from Philadelphia 10 minutes late and arrived into Washington 10 minutes ...
You know that sinking feeling you get when you are waiting at the baggage carrousel for your bag, the same bags are going around over and over, and no new bags are coming off the belt? Been there. Last night, though, was even worse—as I stepped off my MegaBus bus in New York City, all the luggage had been unloaded and was sitting on the curb of 7th Avenue and 28th St in Manhattan. There was one bag left. And it wasn’t mine.
It looked similar, though by no means identical. ...
