Comparing Stuff

Recently, I've noticed that I compare a lot of services that I use on a regular basis. Here is the first in a series of musings on different services that I use to accomplish the same task. First up, something I'm getting pretty familiar with: cheap buses. All of the bus companies listed below are part of the growing segment of buses that do trips up and down the East Coast and all have different models for pricing, amenities, and rewards. These are just my general impressions based on a few years of experience on and off.

Megabus
Pros: Megabus does(and I think was the first to do) variable pricing. This means that your ticket price is based on when you buy your ticket. It's a genius innovation that an airline is even using. The buses are clean and they go to a bunch of different places on the East coast and in the midwest. Megabus in DC leaves from Metro Center, which is pretty convenient, no matter where you are coming from. They run a bunch of trips every day, so you can almost always get a ticket.

Cons: Megabus has an incredibly inefficient boarding procedure, mainly because the tickets you print out online aren't easily read by the bus drivers. They have to check off every single person getting on using a 20 digit code. This takes forever and creates a push and shove queue that is no fun. Megabus doesn't offer Wi-Fi or outlets and the bus to and from NYC is a double decker. This sounds like more fun than it is. Both floors are cramped and there is no overhead space to put small bags, which means you either have to hold stuff in your lap or put it in the cargo space. Very annoying. My advice, use Megabus only when in the midwest. Oh, and they don't have any rewards program.

Tripperbus:
Pros: Leaves from Rosslyn(close to home and work for me) and has wireless, plugs for my laptop, and a good rewards program that gets you a free trip after every 4 full price tickets. The buses are clean and I haven't had any problems with my trips up or down. The first three tickets sold for every trip are 1, 5, and 10 dollars. Every ticket after is 25 dollars. Reasonable if you get your ticket early.

Cons: Because of the pricing system, it's pretty hard to get one of those cheap tickets. I end up getting $25 tickets more often than I'd like to admit. Unlike Bolt or Mega, the price jumps up very quickly to the highest level, which can be problematic. They also seem to be fond of showing movies on the bus. This would be fine, if everyone wanted to see the same movie and they had a lot of choices. Obviously this is not true. So it's possible you'll get stuck watching a really bad movie on the bus because you've been outvoted. That is annoying.


Boltbus
Pros: Similar pricing as Megabus, only they have wi-fi and electrical outlets. They also only do single decker buses. This means much more space to stretch out. Bolt was also really chill the time I accidentally bought the wrong tickets and needed to get them changed. Good customer service is worth it's weight in gold.

Cons: Because they're good, it's hard to get cheap tickets. They also leave from Metro Center, which is convenient for most people, but I live and work in Arlington and it would be great if they left from a place somewhat closer to me.

Vamoose:

Pros: Jewish, otherwise identical to TripperBus in every respect, including location.

Cons: Again, identical to TripperBus.

Chinatown
Pros: The buses leave from inside the city and have very straightforward prices (usually about $17 one way).

Cons: The first to do low cost trips up the east coast, one would think would be a quality service. One would be wrong. Buses are old, dirty, and don't have any amenities (wi-fi, outlets, working bathrooms). The drivers are mean, and the other passengers aren't much better. I've seen people get left at rest stops. Multiple times I've seen people lose their seat on the bus after they've purchased it simply because they didn't line up at the front of the queue. This is definitely a last, last resort and is a buyer beware situation writ large.


My current philosophy is to compare Bolt, Tripper, and Vamoose when I'm going to buy a ticket to NYC. My preference at this point is Bolt or Tripper, although Tripper's insistence on playing movies will deter me in the future if they don't cut that crap out.