Go Buses

The only pros are that they take you straight to newton and are pretty inexpensive. You can expect rude (and lying) drivers/​dispatchers, late buses, disgusting bathrooms with no soap, spotty wifi, extreme temperatures, and horrible customer service. Once when the bus was almost 90 min late, the dispatcher left us standing outside in a hurricane-​like rainstorm while he sat comfortably in another empty bus– and he refused to let us on. I still take gobus since it’s cheap and convenient, but be warned… and don’t expect any apology or compensation when they screw up.

no bus service is perfect but I go from NYC to Boston every weekend and this is by far the nicest. drivers and workers are nice, I called to change my bus time and they were accommodating! you can also cancel up to 24 hours beforehand and get a full refund. which is nice cause no other bus line let’s you do that
the bus itself is super clean and not many people go on this bus line so there are ALWAYS empty seats and so almost all single riders get to have two seats. it’s great! sometimes it takes longer than the advertised 4 hours but that’s solely due to traffic and not the bus lines fault.
if you buy tickets online there’s also a point system so if you get a 30 dollar ticket you get 3000 points which is 3 dollars. when you travel as much as me or DOES add up and it is worth it. no other bus line has a point system like that and if they do it accumulates a lot slower.

I will preface this review with saying this bus service USED to be great! I found it was reliable and convenient to head straight to Newton instead of downtown Boston. Customer service also used to be accommodating, especially if you were late to your reservation. I have noticed that since GoBuses gained Academy as their parent company, customer service and reliability have both eroded. I am very unhappy about the numerous times I’ve been on a bus where the driver is overworked and unfamiliar with the roads. On one occasion the driver took us through a 2 hour detour through Queens instead of taking alternative routes into the city. The whole bus, with their google maps in hand, had to help the driver navigate the residential neighborhoods of Queens. On a recent trip, I was delayed getting into Newton by 3 and a half hours extra because our bus broke down in Connecticut. Dispatch SHOULD (and could) have sent a bus along with a maintenance truck so customers would not have to wait as rush hour built up to be told there’s an alternative way for us to get to our destination, but instead they had us wait for a maintenance truck to arrive from New Jersey to only confirm that the bus was inoperable. We then ended up waiting an additional hour for a different bus. Since rush hour came while we were broke down, our overall trip was 7.5 hours long! I understand that sometimes shit happens, but I cannot believe that the consistently bad experiences I’ve had with GoBuses under Academy’s leadership is merely bad luck. Other passengers on that trip had complaints that this was their THIRD breakdown with GoBuses!
I am convinced that this business is not concerned for much beyond making a profit. To leave your 25+ customers and bus driver on the side of the highway without a plan when your already crappy buses are consistently breaking down, and not having a backup is a poorly run company! Use this service at your own risk! They do not give refunds and don’t offer alternative ways of compensating! Their phone service from the website is not on line, and after reaching out to 3 offices over the course of 3 weeks, I have yet to receive a call back! …What a nightmare!

Very rude bus driver on GoBus right now. I have to say that most of my rides were wonderful. I have taken this bus for years and never had a bad experience until now. Is this the way it will continue to be? How unfortunate.

Ive taken this bus many times as my parents live in Newton and I in Brooklyn. It was my favorite bus for a couple years, til Academy bought them out or took over (or whatever it is that happened). Now you never know if youll be on one of the GoBuses (superior, in my opinion) or the crappy Academy ones. They feel more cramped, internet doesnt always work, and sometimes the temperature control seems to be screwed up. Also, lately they seem to be experimenting with routes, because travel times are ranging from 3.5hrs– 6.5. I hope the service improves as the terminal in Newton is so much more convenient, but I may have to start taking buses to South Station again.

I have taken GoBus many times and the wifi has never worked properly. It didn’t bother me much until my most recent trip when I actually needed it. Five minutes into the trip I asked the driver to reset the wifi and he told me that it wasn’t working… why did they not mention this before leaving the station? Is it ever working? Me thinks not.

Here are the facts as told to me by my 35 guests who were on the bus I chartered for them the day of my wedding. (I realize that the ⁷⁄₁₂ review by Dee B. is one of my guests!)
— there was no air conditioning
— A guest phoned before they left NYC to see if there was another bus available. There was not.
— once they started driving it was obvious the bus had mechanical problems as they were traveling at a very slow speed. Dangerously slow for a hi-​way. They were unable to climb hills and were significantly below the speed limit on a major highway.
— people started asking what the issue was & the driver said there were mechanical errors; he said he had asked for another bus before taking this one because he knew (!!) it was not working properly.
— Same guest called the company a second time explaining that not only was it uncomfortable but the bus was dangerous
— they promised to call her back to see if they could get another vehicle. No one ever called.
After the wedding I heard about these issues and called Go Buses to speak to someone in charge. Not only were they not apologetic, but they kept telling me their boss was «in meetings all day» and could not speak with me. They said they «would let me know what he decides.»
Several days later they emailed and said they would give me back $ 200. Which isn’t even close to half off the cost of the bus. Pretty much a slap in the face.
I would never ever use them. They knowingly endangered the lives of my guests (as the bus driver was aware that this bus was not working properly prior to use). And they were not apologetic about it.

My husband and I were 2 passengers of about 20 on a Go Bus chartered for our friend’s wedding. Route was from Manhattan to NJ, about 35 minutes straight out from the Lincoln Tunnel. The bus had ZERO air conditioning, on a warm weekend in July. Neither the driver nor the person who answered their tel# could offer any help, and that was before we even left.
Once we were on Route 280, we realized why the AC was not working — the bus must have had a serious power or engineissue, as it slowed from its fast rate of 45mph to a crawl going up a gradual incline. We almost had to pull onto the shoulder, but finally managed to pick up to 20 mph or so after cresting the hill. I suspect the management knew there was a power issue, and probably shut off the AC intentionally.
About twice as long a trip as it should have been, and buckets of sweat for the wedding guests. But we did make it to the wedding, so maybe I’m being too hard on them. W

The buses are clean and reliable. I take this bus very often. They have wifi and outlets. It is very cheap but safe. If I miss my bus I can always ride standby on the next one. They are really really great on service. Idk why ppl are complaining. Try taking amtrak. They are expensive and not great on service. I’m a fan of Go Bus.
Did I mention you get a complimentary bottle of water? Nice touch especially at this price.
The other reviews here with one or two stars are FAKE. They review nothing else. Have no faces. Totally bogus. Shame on them.

I am on the 3:00 bus to NYC from Cambridge.
1. Why did it take a really long time for them to let people on at the Newton stop. Set us back some time.
2. Why does the driver constantly weave in and out of traffic and slam his breaks on and off and lean on the horn at least 11 times and we are still 2.30 hours away from destination. it must be that the company doesn’t let the drivers into the passing lane, so he drives as fast as possible in the traveling lane and when he comes to a car, he leans on the horn until they speed up or change lanes. He just leaned on the horn for a full 8 seconds, then throws up his arms in frustration. Maybe he should have a less stressful job.
The ride is very jerky due to his constant maneuvering, plus, the bus bounces up and down. The bus is clean enough, even with the fake scent that gives me a headache. Have not tried the bathroom, and don’t intend to.
Driver non-​communicative even when asked a question.

I reserved a 54 person charter bus to bring guests from a tradeshow at the Javits Center to a company event. I requested the bus for exactly 5:30, I call dispatch at 5:31 to ask where the bus is and it was still on it’s way to the location. Finally the bus driver pulls up and is facing the wrong direction that I requested the bus be heading towards to avoid having to go around the one-​way streets and to make it easier for guests to locate/​board.
When I reserved the bus I put in a special request and I followed up twice to make sure the bus driver would be able to have a sign that had our company name on it so guests would know what bus to board. Asked the driver if he had the sign when he arrived, he answers back rudely saying «WHAT SIGN? WHY SHOULD I HAVE A SIGN?»
I am left scrambling trying to corral guests waiting on the wrong side of a busy road to the bus, where the driver is smoking and blowing cigarette smoke in their face right in front of the entrance as they are loading.
After waiting 20 more minutes to see if any more guests will come, I see guests getting off the bus because the condition of the bus is so disgusting they did not want to sit there and travel on it.
There were bags of popcorn and doroitos at their feet and on their chair, guests actually held their feet up to avoid any gum or food getting on their shoes. During the trip, my boss had suggested a way that he thought was best, and the driver answered back rudely «TRUST ME I KNOW». Loud enough for the guests to hear, and certainly embarrassing someone who was only trying to help. The entire ride was uncomfortable as the driver kept cursing and saying rude remarks about other drivers such as «Oh no wonder why they can’t drive, it’s a woman», with women sitting right there to hear.
I was bracing myself to see rats crawling on the ground picking up all the food that was on that bus. It was THE WORST experience I have ever had with any type of company whether it be in the food or service industry.
I would NOT recommend this company to ANYONE. I would in fact, highly suggest ANY other bus company. For the amount of money I paid (WITH 20% tip already paid in advanced), I would expect a higher quality service, or at the least, a cleaner bus.
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

1 year ago, Go Bus, you stood up an entire wedding party outside of a NYC church and left us all to scatter and find our way ON FOOT to the reception (in gowns I might add). Your arrogance in maintaining that your HUGE bus was there — we just didn’t SEE it — still resonates within me! Bad bad business Go Bus… and I take pleasure in reminding you of how bad business can truly come back to bite you.

While I have ZERO complaints about the ride down on Saturday afternoon, the ride home Sunday night was another story! The driver that picked us up in NYC was BEYOND RUDE! He yelled at all of us that we were NOT allowed anything on the seats in front of us… He even got into an argument with a fellow employee who told him «I am tired of having nightmares about all the complaints from customers about you!» Only after the door was closed were we told that those of us in the first six rows were not allowed to make or receive cell calls because they would ‘distract the driver”, yet he himself made two calls while driving! He even swore several times at the traffic in the City. We were not treated like people, but cattle, and I will NEVER use this bus service again!

Absolutely DO NOT RECOMMEND.
They’re website says «Call our customer service we are now 24÷7»
Call, and nobody answers.
Besides that they have the worst service ever. The bus driver tells everyone to shut up, because he has to focus on driving (quote). The company ‘managers’ don’t answer emails for weeks, and they have a 0 refund policy. Their bus breaks down in the bronx, their driver drives like a crazy guy with a broken bus, up a hill, the bus engine dies, he lets it roll back down the hill through an intersection, and then proceeds to get out of the bus without telling anyone how long it will take or what actually happened. NO REFUND!!! Seriously? They have nothing to warn you of this on their website, or any terms you have to agree to, until you pay, and then you get a ticket on which it says these things. Someone should sue them, because that is illegal, terms not agreed to by both parties upon purchase are not binding. Only reason i would ever take this bus is because they have a stop in Riverside. Yes, they are MOSTLY clean, but plugs don’t work, and the wi-​fi is very very bad.
Strongly recommend taking a better bus if possible. Just read some of the other reviews…

Outlets not working and overhead lights are out. Driver is a good driver — he got us smoothly through very bumpy upper manhattan roads that usually make me car sick– but needs to be reminded not to have personal conversations on the phone while driving a bus full of paying customers. Water was provided. It was the cheapest option to Boston.

I am at a loss to explain all the poor reviews, except to say that some must be conflating Go Buses, the company servicing the Boston/​Newton-​Manhattan route and the subject of this review, with some other (lesser) company.
At any rate, I’ve had the chance to use Go Buses several times in the past few months, and I’ve also made use of their competitors Greyhound/​Peter Pan and Bolt Bus (actually owned by the same company, I discovered) multiple times as well in the past. My verdict? They all offer a nearly identical quality of services and facilities, but Go Buses is cheaper and doesn’t require a visit to the bleak pit that is the Port Authority Bus Terminal (or in the case of Bolt Bus, a remote outpost).
The buses are very clean, have outlets, free bottled water, and comfortable seating. The drivers navigate the routes safely and expediently. Even on Labor Day weekend, the trip was prompt and timely (not to mention less crowded than I would have expected). I have no complaints. Two friends of mine also make the trip often using Go Buses; they are equally satisfied.
The only reasons to choose a competitor over this company, to my mind, would be availability and price (although the former can be an issue due to a slightly less robust schedule than Greyhound & Co. — especially if you want to leave at specific time of day, as I often do — the latter will be a rare occurance).

Last August I purchased two tickets to Massachusetts for myself and my girlfriend totalling $ 52. When a change in our schedule allowed us to take an earlier bus, I called Go Bus and was told that we should cancel the initial bus, and purchase new tickets. The agent said I should expect a refund within 1 – 2 weeks.
6 months later I have yet to receive the refund. I have called over 15 times, and just last month was finally assigned a customer service agent that is «in charge» of my case. Supposedly the issue has been escalated to her manager, but her manager is never available, and I have been told that «there is nothing else I can do». I have been told repeatedly that I would «receive an email» about the issue, and never have.
I understand this is a low cost service, but refunding a customer is a basic requirement for any business, and there is absolutely no excuse for why it should take this long.
Go Bus has forever and always lost a customer in me, and anyone who I come in contact with. At this point, I don’t know that I’ll ever see those 52 dollars.

Horrible, Horrible, Horrible~!!!
My job used this company to take our students on a trip to Medieval Times in NJ. On the way there at 9 am the bus seemed ok as far as being a comfortable temperture. It was the middle of June and we had a bus full of 10 year olds and chaperones. The bus had no air conditioning on the way back at approximately 2pm when the sun is out really strong. We kept asking the driver if he could turn up the air, he kept saying the bus was just turned on to give it a chance. Why he wouldn’t turn the bus on and run the air at least 10 – 15 minutes before we were due back is beyond me, I mean common sense! Anyway we complained the whole ride asking for air, it was extremely hot! He opened the emergency window at the top but that did nothing to alleviate the situation. At one point one of the teachers got overheated and she was about to pass out her eyes got crossed and I was pretty scared. She asked the driver to pull over on the middle of the highway. He told her to come to where he was seated to get some air. She told him she really needed to get off the bus cause she couldn’t breathe. He pulled over to the shoulder and let her off and she got on the other bus that was with us on the trip. She told us that bus wasn’t mush better as far as air but it wasn’t as bad as the one we were on. When we finally made it back to the BX and off of the Deegan Expway I noticed the bus turned off and I saw the driver having to restart it. He was able to get it driving again, then we get to driving down the block and with about 4 blocks to go the bus turned off again and this time he was unable to get it started, I was so aggravated, I took my students off the bus and walked the rest of the way back to the school.
I am definitely going to make a complaint on their website!!! Not a way to run a company. Buses should be checked and inspected thoroughly especially when being used to transport children to a destination that is more than an hour away.

The staff who organize the lines and help you with your bags are very respectful and helpful. However, mean is an understatement for two of the drivers I had one day. The bus was delayed for 1 ½ hours (it took the bus almost 6 ½ hours to go from Newton, MA to NYC!!!). When we were almost back in the city, the driver told us he was late for his next trip so he parked the bus on a random street and wouldn’t let us get our bags from the trunk of the bus. Then he just left, leaving the passengers with no bags locked in the bus. He basically forced us to stay inside the bus waiting for another driver. After approximately 10 minutes the other driver finally arrived and he started being even more disrespectful.
One person actually called the office to explain the situation in that moment and it seems like the manager didn’t care at all when he said «it wasn’t his fault there was traffic” — he basically gave no answer for the behavior of the drivers so I guess that shows how much he cares for the service he is offering.
This is not an acceptable way to treat customers! After hearing all the passengers complaining for what was going on, I’m pretty sure none of them will use this service again. Hopefully the management of the company will get rid of those employees and maybe even promote the two guys who organize the line and bags. It seems like they are the only 2 who have good management skills since they were the only ones who actually care and said how sorry they were.

Let me start by saying that I used to love World Wide Bus (now Go Buses). However, ever since the new management took over, they have cut down on customer service significantly. The reason I pay $ 30 for a bus ticket instead of $ 15 on the Chinatown buses is that I want to travel on a decent bus and be able to change my reservation as needed.
Go Buses no longer allows this kind of flexibility, apparently. When you call their customer service number, the people don’t even have access to the system to change your reservation. Minus 1 star.
The buses have gotten Greyhound-​level overcrowded. Minus 1 star.
To top it all, today the company announced that some of the buses were running with delays of over an hour because of the snow in Boston. OK, so I showed up for my 1:30pm bus at 2:15 as their website advised. I waited and waited and waited, until they started boarding us at 2:50. I asked the guy if he was going to let people from the 3pm on the bus as well, which would result in over-​crowding, and he said «Yes. This is the 3pm.» When I confronted him and said that no, this should be the 1:30pm as your website says, he was like «The 1:30pm left an hour ago.» Either they really don’t have their stuff together, or they just lied in order to o