BoltBus

Cannot do 0 stars, so we have to give 1 star. This is the worst customer service imaginable. I made reservations to travel to NYC, got confirmation for the time I selected, then when I received the e-​mail notification, it was for a different, later time. Called immediately and was told the time I selected had been sold out (I guess someone beat me to it), so I asked to switch to an earlier time and they told me I would have to pay an additional $ 26 to switch the tickets. The system should have informed me that the time frame I wanted was sold out, rather than change the tickets to the later time without my approval. Just unbelievable. Trust me, I’ll never travel this way again.

First this — I did get a refund, so there’s that.
My bus from New York to DC was supposed to leave at 7:15pm on Sunday evening. We got to the stop at 6:40ish. Plenty of time, which turned out to be an understatement. Two buses came, both were just dropping people off, not picking people up. And then… nothing. Around 8:30pm, I called customer service, they said a bus was on it’s way in «10 mins» and it would be a Peter Pan bus. OK. That’s unusual, but stuff happens, maybe ours broke down?
Then on Twitter I saw that the people at the other New York stop were still waiting too, and they got picked up around 9. So I though, OK, now they’ll come get us? Around 9:10, I called again, they said «10 minutes,» again. But this time, around 9:25ish, it did show up.
WELL, we found out that the driver that was supposed to pick us up at 7:15 was out of hours, and they had to hire a Peter Pan bus to come get us, but they only informed him of the one stop, not ours, and he was already into New Jersey, before he was told to turn around and come get us. Not his fault at all, he was actually really nice.
Traffic is one thing, it happens. Accidents happen. Breakdowns, though they suck, happen. But this, this was definitely Bolt Bus’s fault. And to tell you the truth, I think we would have been OK with it, if they communicated the problem with us. Sending us an email telling us there would be a delay, or a text, or answering our questions with honesty when we called them, or responding to our tweets. So some of us could have gone to get some food, water, GO TO THE BATHROOM, without fear that we would miss a bus that ended up being 2.5 hours late.

BoltBus advertises working internet and electrical outlets included in the price of a bus ticket. These services did not work on my round trip to NYC and I paid a higher price for a bus ticket because of the advertised services than if I used a cheaper priced bus company that does not offer these services. The services were not working and after contacting Bolt Bus, the customer service rep said there was no guarantee. I filed a BBB complaint! Avoid using BoltBus, go with a cheaper service and know in advance you won’t have the services but also no false advertising. P. S. The buses were old, uncomfortable and had smelly bathrooms!

Horrible bus experience. Quality has gone way down. Buses were dirty, broke down on both trips and new pickup place in Manhattan is way out on 12^th ave. Everyone had a heat stroke waiting for bus. Taking the train from now on.

Getting on the bus is a bit chaotic. The bus left on time and got in a few minutes early to NYC. Overall a great way to get to NYC!

— Bus showed up 30 minutes late.
— Power outlets did not work on the bus.
— Wifi did not work on the bus.
— Bus bathroom was disgusting & the smell overwhelmed the whole bus.
Using DC2NY next time. BoltBus sucked.

Bolt bus is just a mode of transportation. They are not what they advertise to be. Here are 3 reason they are not what they say they are.
#1: They said they provide wifi on board, yet they don’t. I gave them the benefit of the doubt thinking it was just that one bus, but it wasn’t. The bus on my return trip didn’t provide wifi either. Other bus companies provide wifi free of charge and around the same price as bolt.
#2: They also advertise by saying plugs/​outlets available on the bus. They were provided, but didn’t work. Again, I thought it was just that one bus I was on, but it wasn’t. My return trip bus plugs/​outlets didn’t work either. Therefore, the bus was equipped with them, but not useful.
#3: The bus was filthy. Nothing more to say on that point.
On a positive note, it’s a mode of transportation to and from cities. Yet, the driver drives VERY slow.

There’s nothing I hate more than condescending customer service that doesn’t even attempt to solve your problem.
I used to love Boltbus with it’s frequent times and relatively reliable wifi, but I’m livid after getting off the phone with customer service this morning. I’ve taken Bolt a dozen times, but after this, they’ve lost a customer. Bolt prices have been creeping up for years anyway.
I booked a ticket to go see a friend in NYC, but due to a family emergency on her part, she’ll no longer be at my destination for the time I was going to visit. Now, trying to rebook my ticket, I find that their schedule only goes through the end of February. As my friend isn’t available until March or April to visit, there seems to be no way around this in the customer service system. The agent even suggested that I rebook to February, then rebook again to March/​April. Of course, you have to pay the $ 3 rebooking fee, the $ 1.50 transaction fee, and $.75 WDC facility fee each time, so adding $ 10.50 to a $ 25 one way ticket is ridiculous. I was willing to pay the fee ONCE (as I expected) but not TWICE. I asked if there was even a way to waive the fee for the second rebooking since their schedule wasn’t up yet. No dice.
There is no way to waive the transaction fees/​rebooking fee/​facility fee, which from a business model perspective I can totally understand but it is awful from a customer service standpoint. Basically, there’s no way in the system to rebook a ticket three months from now, or to put a ticket on hold. Also, you can only rebook on Bolt by calling. Other companies have the ability to reschedule right on their website (megabus, bestbus), with lower transaction/​rebooking/​whatever fees. And other companies also have the ability to «hold» a ticket, meaning you want to reschedule but don’t know the date/​time yet (bestbus).
Bolt, you’ve lost a customer. I’ll go to Megabus or Bestbus from now on.

Ok, SOMETIMES you get a good deal to NYC, and if you do, don’t count on the outlets and wifi to work all the time. Buses are dirty inside.

.Used Vamoose a few times and never had to pay a fee to change. I had an emergency and had to reschedule with BOLT and not only had to pay a change fee but had to pick a day now and no option to call later and each time you make a change there is a new fee. VERY POOR customer service. The agent Bruce this morning hung up the phone on me when I told him that I volunteered at the beginning of the call to take a survey at the end. Surprisingly never received the survey call! What a waste of time. My friends and I use bus twice a month to go to NY but none of us will use BOLT ever again!

FILTHY! This was our first and LAST time using Bolt bus. To start the buses are filthy disgusting. They obviously never clean them. You will feel like you need a show just five minutes after sitting on them.
The free wifi they speak of doesn’t work!!! It didn’t work the whole trip from Baltimore to NYC. The wifi sign — in page states to let your driver know if you experience problems. Well his response was, «I don’t know man.»
Also the Bolt drivers will give up your seat! We had reserved seats but were told by the driver the bus was full. On the way back I saw someone give the driver $ 20 to let him on the bus when he was standby only to see the driver 1 minute later tell a woman the bus was full even though she had a ticket. The drivers were yelling at her telling her she was late. She was NOT late and was in fact standing outside the bus for the past fifteen minutes.
The bus’ AC did not work, nor did the overhead lights.
While I don’t recommend anyone to ever use BOLT if you do be aware you will have to find and pay for parking if you leave from Baltimore as the bus just picks you up on the side of the road.

The hubs suggested a weekend trip to NYC via bus so I said wth, let’s try it. We are outside of the Annapolis area and took the bus from the Baltimore stop close to Penn Station. We booked tickets about one week before and paid about $ 110 for two people RT.
— both to NYC and from NYC busses left within 5 minutes of the scheduled time
— we left Friday @1:45pm and we arrived at about 7:15pm (Port Authority location). Before we left the driver said to expect delays since it was expected to be a 3.5 to maybe 4 hour trip, obviously bad Friday traffic
— yes, each driver has his/​her own method of educating passengers to turn cell phones and headphones down, I appreciated it. I didn’t think they were rude
— my butt was numb within about the first hour. Seats look like they are in good shape but the fabric is slippery so staying put in stop and go traffic was not possible
— there are arm rests, 3 per set of two chairs, look for it because they can be pushed up between the seats and «hide»… or maybe not. I think some people forgot snacks on a few trips and might have taken a few bites
— relatively quiet ride other than the sound of the motors, younger group aboard, seemed clean to me
— never tested the WiFi and I did not see a charger in our row either ride
— we had great weather but both stops are open to the elements so plan accordingly
Tips:
— pack snacks, both rides were longer than quoted
— pack a drink since there is a holder on the back of the seat in front of you
— be careful picking your row! We sat on the driver side across from what I think is the space for handicapped passengers so the seat rows are adjustable! They are not always put back equally spaced so you must ask! I am 5’9″ and my husband is 6’2″ and I picked the one with no legroom. The shorties behind us had about 6 inches additional. My husband asked the driver if it could be adjusted and he fixed it. (It pays to listen to your wife sometimes — he didn’t believe they could be adjusted)
— pick the right pants to wear so you don’t keep sliding. Or so you don’t get rug burn on your thighs in short shorts ladies
— layer. On the ride from NYC it was hot for the first hour as the bus was cooling down, now I’m chilly. I second the review that said to layer.
— a person was selling bottles of water for $ 1 at the Baltimore stop. A food truck guy at the NYC stop charged $ 3, c’est la vie, I was thirsty and forgot to buy in advance
Overall, content with our first experience. It’s a bus and it was better than I had imagined it might be. We might try a different line in the future to try a different time or stop location but I would also try Bolt again.

Inconvenient pick up location in NYC 33^rd and 12^th ave
Left the pick up stop late
Wifi didn’t work
Long rest stop break on the road
Got to the location an hour late even though there was zero traffic in the middle of a work day.

Nyc to Baltimore: bus didn’t even arrive at bus stop until 45 minutes after we were supposed to leave. Now the same thing is going on in Baltimore. No shelter while waiting, so I will be completely sunburned by the time the bus gets here. Last time I took the bus from nyc to Boston, the bus was over an hour late. Seems like bolt bus never accounts for traffic and has no organized system for lining up passengers in ny or Baltimore. On the narrow public sidewalk does not cut it! Wifi also is spotty at best. Bolt bus, you are my nemesis.

I was nervous about using Bolt Bus for my NYC trip, but it was ridiculously cheap when compared to Amtrak ($ 6.50 to get to NYC from BMore!). I was pleasantly surprised! The bus arrived early. We had plenty of leg room and the seats were comfortable. It was quiet. Outlets at every seat. Free wifi (that worked!). The bus driver was friendly & nice. Demographic seemed to be people in their 20’s and 30’s. I would use Bolt Bus again in a heart beat! Our experience coming home was just as nice– on time, wifi worked, etc. We had zero hiccups. Will be my go-​to for any trips to NYC or otherwise!

It pains me to write this. Bolt Bus was my go-​to means of transportation from Bmore to NY. No hassle, no tolls, no gas, free WiFi, outlets, guaranteed seating and reasonable pricing. I was even a BoltBus rewards member.
But things change. The prices kept creeping up. What was a $ 30-​$ 40 round trip now costs $ 50 to $ 70. This is starting to look like train prices for a bus.
Then they moved the stops in both NY and Baltimore. The Baltimore stop is still close but the NY stop is ridiculous. Who wants to get out of bus after 3+ hours on 11^th Avenue and walk several long blocks to get to the subway??? Not this guy.
The shine is gone. Now If I want a reasonably priced bus ride to NY that has a stop near anything, I have to take the tragedy that is Greyhound.

**Oct. 2013: Please note that they changed the Baltimore stop! It is now on Maryland Ave.**
Look, it’s bolt bus. You can get a one-​way to NYC for under $ 15. I’m expecting to get there in one piece and in a reasonable timeframe, not travel like a queen. In my opinion, you should never book any travel options without leaving plenty of transportation time — delays happen, frequently, whether going by car, bus, plane, or train. Yes, it can be very annoying, but… it’s under $ 15 people!
I love that you can show them your ticket on your smartphone.
Each coach is actually a bit different, including seat fabric, leg space, seat width. They all have a bathroom and outlets in each row.
It is certainly chilly on the bus… which has been my experience on almost every coach, even luxury. Wear layers, and consider bringing a blanket!

I’ve been taking the BoltBus for years to NYC, and never encountered any issues except for my most recent trip. Most recently, the bus was low on coolant (I think it had a leak) and an alarm went off. I won’t go into all the details, but the end result was that three hours later (when we should have been approaching Manhattan) we were still in Maryland at Chesapeake Travel Plaza waiting for a replacement bus. The replacement bus was a Greyhound bus, and thankfully the new driver booked it to New York and traffic wasn’t bad.
I was all ready to call up BoltBus and give them a piece of my mind since there had been no mention of a refund, but much to my surprise an email arrived saying that I had been refunded for my trip! Yay!
Like I said, this was the first time in years that I’ve ever had an issue with BoltBus — I’d like to think it was a fluke. I dropped a star because even though I think it was a fluke, the buses should be checked before they’re sent out, and clearly that didn’t happen.
I will still use BoltBus in the future because it’s clean, affordable, and for the most part reliable.

I take the bolt bus back and forth from baltimore to NYC every few months. It’s pretty inconsistent. About half the time I’ve have seamless rides where the bus shows up on time, we board by letter (A, B, or C) without chaos, and we arrive on time. The other half of the time has been chaos with no mediator at the stop, bus delayed 1.5 hours and no refund or apology. Also has a horrible experience where the weather and traffic delayed the bus 3 hours (clearly not the fault of bolt bus).
I’ve consistently has wireless (very slow), electrical outlets (except the first row), and clean seats.
Overall I take bolt bus because its cheap and I hear that other competitors may be worse…

Now that I’ve moved back to Baltimore, the BoltBus will be my only ground transportation option to New York. The stop here is incredibly convenient, just to the east of Penn Station in Midtown Baltimore. I’ve used the Baltimore to New York service around four times, twice from New York and twice to New York. The most I’ve waited has been fifteen minutes. It’s excellent service. If you don’t have the $ 50 – 70 to take Amtrak, for about $ 15 – 25 the BoltBus is a great bargain and only an hour more of your time (if traffic is moving, of course!).