Megabus

Just got home from New York. The bus from White Marsh this morning had a tire issue. Fortunately there was another bus brought in so we only had a 20 minute delay. The people on the bus that came from DC? Not so lucky. They sat on the doomed bus and waited three hours for a replacement. I know that to be fact, because coming home, two women across from us told us what happened. And said that Megabus customer service didn’t give them a refund. And charged them for changing their return trip home (7:30 pm instead of 4:30 pm, when they’d only arrived in New York at 1:30 pm thanks to that delay). About the bus coming back. It stunk. As in, it smelled like the inside of a diaper pail. And the free wifi is a joke. I had error messages from every website I tried. Couldn’t even read email. I don’t get the fascination with Megabus. Ain’t doing it again.

Don’t know why so many people have issues with megabus but we just used it on april 1^st and it was only about 15 mins late but we arrived in nyc on time. Bus driver was friendly and even made a joke with us when we were pulling off telling us that we were on the bus to boston instead of new York. I always reserve seats for morning buses. We seem to never have a problem with that. The one issue I did have is that the bus already had quite a few people on it and seats were spread apart leaving the fiancé, kids and I to not be able to sit together but we were close enough. Next year I think ill reserve seats. Other than that it was a smooth quick ride to nyc. The megabus stop coming back to Baltimore is a different story. The people who work there always seem to be rude and not once did they update people on where their bus was. I believe our bus was about 30 mins late coming home but we made it back 20 minutes late which isn’t bad. All in all ive never had much of a problem with mega and will continue to use them

Awful… Currently sitting at a stop in Baltimore waiting on a 1pm bus that is already an hour late. I’ve called customer service twice and they have NO ANSWERS except that a «substitute bus» is being sent for ours at an unknown time. She said if the bus didn’t come for 20 more minutes, then call back again. By that time, the next bus is scheduled to be here anyway… What the heck. They sure do their best to get you off the phone as fast as possible with as little information as possible.
I’m pretty sure this bus was cancelled and they didn’t inform anyone because when I searched for the status online, the only times I was able to search were for 11:55am and then 2:30pm. There was not even a 1:00pm bus listed. The 2:30 bus is probably going to get us and this «substitute bus» is a hoax.
Awful customer service by Megabus. Completely ridiculous leaving their customers in the dark like this. All passengers for the 1pm bus should be refunded. This is a complete waste of time. We can’t even leave the stop because no estimated time was given. I will definitely be thinking twice before using Megabus again.
UPDATE — I called back after 20 more minutes as requested, and this time she said the bus left at 1pm. THERE ARE 20 PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN SITTING HERE SINCE 12:45. A BUS DID NOT LEAVE AT 1PM. She kept repeating that she couldn’t help me because the bus left at 1pm and that I could purchase a new ticket for a bus. You’ve got to be kidding me. This keeps getting worse.

Use it to get my son back and forth to college. Inexpensive and efficient. I highly recommend.

First time worst experience ever! Bus broke down and we were stranded almost 5 hours without assistance. I was on my way to NYC to a show and I missed my show and then they had the audacity to not refund me for the full trip after basically spending an entire night and morning, almost 12 hours on the bus! Megabus is horrible

My family and I rode the Baltimore megabus last year for our first trip to NYC. We weren’t sure what to expect as there were so many mixed reviews, but we hoped for the best anyways.
I have nothing but great things to say! Our bus arrived right on schedule, and left NYC on schedule as well. I slept most of the way to NYC, so it made the time go by a little bit faster. We also found that using the Megabus is much better than driving to NYC ourselves and having to pay all those tolls on the way!
We’ve booked another adventure with Megabus to head down to NYC in December this year, I hope it’s as great as the first trip!
Some advice for first timers – Arrive early and bring snacks and drinks! It’s a 3 hour ride.

Worst bus experience of my life! !
1^st Trip: Nyc to Washington, DC
The bathroom was horrendous. .they never cleaned it or the bus itself before picking up new passengers. There wasn’t even any tissue in the restroom. .plain out disgusting, unorganized. .smh
2^nd trip. .coming back to NYC. .I booked a reserved seat only to see that instead of there being 2 power outlets, there is only 1, by the window seat. ???seriously?? And my seat obviously isn’t the window seat, and get this. .the power wasn’t even working! I’m on this bus as we speak and this is my 1^st and last time using this service. .I was better off taking the China town bus or freaking greyhound… and since I’m probably not going to get back to nyc on time I’m going to turn my phone of after this post. .NEVER AGAIN

Could have given it 4 stars, because I’ve ridden Megabus plenty of times before, always arriving on time to and from my destinations. The three stars is because of their reserved seat system is not guaranteed. If their buses are running late, which in this instance they were, someone else that has the same seat reserved is now sitting on your scheduled bus from the late or never arriving bus, and the bus driver nor the Megabus attendant want to solve the issue. Thankfully there was another empty reserved seat, but to have to go through the motions in getting the situation resolved from a seat you paid for is not the way to start the day. Another young lady experienced the same and was told she would have to put in for a refund. Megabus might want to put a disclaimer on their page «reserved seating not guaranteed».

Just say no.
This has got to be the worst form of transportation in america. Yes the rate looks fantastic but as the saying goes «you get what you pay for» instead of my usual driving from baltimore to Trenton then taking the NJ transit into NYC I decided to try the Megabus. it was cheap to book the night before and despite all the terrible reviews I thought I’d give it a shot. For starters The pickup isn’t in Baltimore it’s in White Marsh. and if you didn’t print the parking permit you’ll be fined and towed. There’s barely enough space for all the megabus patrons cars to park. The bus showed up on time, but the driver was the rudest, meanest not taking any questions bastard I have ever encountered. He was throwing people’s luggage in the storage area as if it was trash! and it didnt matter what any of us said he just continued to shovel our bags in there and he didnt care. we left right on time. get this — we’re in august — and there was no a/​c on the first floor of this bus!!! it wasn’t working!!! there was an elderly couple who asked about the a/​c and douchbag driver raised his voice at them saying «if they don’t like it he ll drop them off at the first rest stop on 95» are you kidding me??? we were completely shocked! we were lucky to find an understanding couple upstairs who switched w the elderly couple to help them out. the ride on this hell bus was shaky and wobbly and not comfortable at all. the bathroom door didn’t lock so the door kept slamming. the outlets didn’t work for our phones and there was no WiFi. when we got to ny it was only 10 minutes late. everyone on the bus told the driver well be making formal complaints. his arogant ass just laughed and said «go ahead — it won’t do anything» the nerve of this asshole! and he made sure to remove his name tag! I’m leaving new York tonite and im not using my return ticket on mega bus. I’m going to buy a one way on Bolt Bus then find a way back to my jeep in parking. Seriously — everything typed here — this is no exageration. read the other reviews. Do not ride Mega Bus.

From all the bus services that travel between NYC and DC Megabus is the worst. Their pick up location in NYC is chaotic, improvised and the staff is extremely unorganized. We made the line and just before getting into the bus he puts a few of us to the side and let’s advance a whole new line. When asking the guy if we were in the wrong line or bus he was just plainly rude («just stay there!») instead if explaining what was going on. Yes, it’s cheap and you can’t expect much, but we’re still paying customers!
Whenever I can I prefer other alternatives to DC area.

Megabus is awful. They don’t care about the passengers and they’re extremely rude. Go with another service, at least you’ll get to where you need to be on time.

Seriously, people giving Megabus one star need to remember YOU’RE TAKING A BUS. Seriously, bargain transportation isn’t going to get any better than this. Don’t believe me? Go take yourself a ride on an MTA bus, or head up to New York on a Chinese bus. Hope the wheels don’t fall off. Seriously though, the Megabus has you wait outside, but that means cheaper fairs, and they run late sometimes, but remember, they’re traveling on a little road a few people might have heard about called I-​95. Get a grip, complainers. The Megabus is a steal. Parking is free and fairly safe at the White Marsh lot, and that’s also a location that gets them right onto I-​95 and out of Baltimore fast.

Tried the mega bus again. My bus was for 12 midnight and I got there at 11:30pm. At 12:50 the bus still hadn’t gotten there so I call to find out where the bus was. They lady on the phone told me that the bus had gotten there at 12:30 and I said to here that’s not possible because I’ve been sitting here since 11:30 and no bus ever came and there’s about 15 other people waiting on the same bus. Her response was «well that’s what it’s saying in my system. Feel feel to write an email if your unhappy». Mind you I always take the same bus from Baltimore to New York so I know I wasn’t at the wrong location. I waited until 2am and no bus came so I just left and took the Greyhound that morning. I should of never wasted my money on megabus.

I’m not really certain how people can dog this. Seriously. I can go to NY for as little as a dollar, have free wifi, CHARGERS, and not have to pay one cent for tolls. If that’s not a winner than I don’t know what is. Sure it’s a little cramped at times, but dammit who cares? You’re still saving money and I’m cheap!
Parking is fair at White Marsh and they have crap ton of buses leaving from there to NY and returning. There were no lines, it departs and returns on time, and the staff are friendly.
What’s not to love?

Did a R/​T from White Marsh — NYC for first time & the verdict? Super easy & very affordable. Headed up to NYC on Saturday morning, bus arrived & left on time. Seats are a tad small, but otherwise fine. There are working outlets to charge phone/​personal electronics. Trip up was non-​stop & arrived at drop off 20 minutes early.
From NYC — Baltimore (White Marsh) pick up was on 34^th St next to the Javits Convention Center & signs are posted on sidewalk for each destination city to stand in line. Other riders and bus operators are pretty helpful answering questions. Bus left on time. The trip back included 1 brief stop at rest area, driver stated he was picking up a passenger; however, saw him run into store. No clue if anyone was picked up, but not a big deal as stop was approximately 5 minutes. Plus, we arrived in Baltimore early. Tried the wifi & it was slow; streaming video sites are blocked for bandwidth reasons.
FYI, there was a taxi waiting at the White Marsh park & ride. No idea how quickly a second taxi arrives after a person snags the only one.

Well how exciting is it to be on a bus? It isn’t. You get what you pay for and it’s a really good deal. We paid $ 27-​ish, bought our tickets in advance online. We made the reservation easily, and you can either print out the confirmation or show it on your phone when you arrive.
They say you should arrive at least 15 minutes prior, and I agree. We took a 25 minute cab ride making it on time (we woke up late!)…but barely made it. It was also the first ride from Baltimore to NY. Estimated 3 hours and 15 min long. Check in was easy and so was seating. You are allowed to take one luggage and it rides underneath the bus. Don’t sit near the bathroom, or you’ll smell like air freshener the entire time… its terrible.
The ride was great until they stopped to switch drivers… that is when they dropped from 5 stars to 3. Who does that? And the driver took FOREVER to arrive, set us back another 20 – 25 minutes. When the bus was off, the air was off and it was warm inside.
Aside from that, we had a smooth and cheap ride from 2 cities. I would ride again. But that was a bad break!

Smooth ride and on time. My husband and I took the mega bus on our day trip to NYC from White Marsh, Md. It is so relaxing and fast. We can slept most of the time since we took an early ride. The bus can go into the city by bus only lane which saved time.
When parking at white marsh, park on the west side and print out the mega bus sign with license plate depart and return date then leave it in the dashboard of your car.
Arrive 30 minutes early and get inline to get better seating
Choose the seat that will stay in the shade by anticipating the travel time.
Bring water, snack, foods if needed.
The restroom is small and not the best. No water to wash hands, only hand sanitizer
The line at 11^th and 34^th at can be long, so be prepared if it rains and look for the sign to your city.
The people are decent group and quiet.
We definitely will take the bus again

I was on the mega bus already and this was a fifteen minute rest stop for the passenger and driver… omg I was supposed to be in dc at 5:30pm not 7:00pm…where on the site does it say mega bus will make rest stops…
When I first got on the bus the driver kept announcing this is an express bus going straight to washation dc… he stopped for a cigerate break and made a big annoument saying «does any one have smokes i can borrow»… really unprofessional !!! beside arrival time being late the driver… kept on announcing please no cell phone talking /​music etc… while he was driving with the radio on… Are you freaken kidding me… So because you are a driver you get to be disruptive while the passenger is limited to what they do… Wow unbelievable!!!

My first time taking Megabus traveling roundtrip from Baltimore to NYC. I too was prepared for the worst.
My rating is based on arrival/​departure, and appearance of the bus.
On time for both trips. Get to the line early for preferred seating. «Do not arrive late for your bus». They check your confirmation, stow your luggage, and have you start sitting about 15 mins before departure.
Seats are small, but I’m not a small gal and I was comfortable enough. Even managed to take naps both times. I was able to put my sizeable carry on in front of my seat between my feet without disturbing the person next to me.
Do bring a jacket or small blanket, as the AC on the lower level is quite cold. The upstairs not as cold.
Get to the line early for choice of seating. First trip I was early. Return trip from NYC back to Baltimore, I literally got to the bus «5“mins before it pulled off so I had to sit upstairs directly in front of staircase smelling the disinfectant for the toilet. At least it was pine scented.
The line up area is outside so carry an umbrella or rain poncho because you’re standing with no overhead coverage. My return trip was rainy, so I wore my poncho.
If you have to travel on public transportation, as I did coming from visiting family in the Bronx, give your self extra traveling time because the walk from my subway stop was from 34 and 7^th, and NYC streets are a frigging mile long.
All in all for what you pay, this was a win win. I usually drive to NYC, but it was good to let someone else do that for me. My first experience was a good one. From the long lines I saw for other times and destinations, mega bus is a viable option for a lot of folks.

MegaBus is the cheapest way I’ve found to get to NYC from Baltimore. I’ve taken it 4 – 5 round trips. Cheap means you have to adjust your expectations accordingly. I’d say MegaBus is essentially like public transit in the developing world (except usually a little cleaner with nicer upholstery).
That means it will sometimes be late, sometimes on time. Sometimes everything breaks down and you have to wait forever. No customer service or support. Temperature is unpredictable. Even the dispatchers don’t have information. Seats are tiny. It is what it is.
I expect this, thus I’m ambivalent. It’s a roll of the dice.
I do wish you could book a specific seat. I usually travel with my spouse and we rarely have luck sitting together. This is because the bus stops in DC first and so the bus is half full when it gets to Baltimore, and unlike airplanes where you can get people to switch an aisle seat for a different aisle seat, people on MegaBus seem to dig in and not want to move. I don’t think we’ve ever gotten anyone to move. The DC riders will also put all their stuff on seats next to them or pretend to be asleep on two seats to encourage you to sit elsewhere so they get their own row. So riding from Baltimore, expect it to be frustrating.
All this said, MegaBus is for a super flexible traveler who expects the worst and is pleasantly surprised if things go okay. I keep taking it because it’s usually a 3 – 5 hour ride and it’s easier and more affordable than dealing with a car in NYC. If I could afford Amtrak I would do that instead. But Amtrak can also be late so… shrug.