Adirondack Trailways-Pine Hill

A pleasant riding experience cannot make up for he ABYSMAL, maniacal customer service of this bus company. Departure LOCATION (Port Authority) is not included on your ticket, nor is gate information, nor are instructions to print out the ticket included in the PDF file. I have a new most-​nightmarish customer service story that I’ll be telling my friends (combination of my incompetence and their greed)

Overall, I had a very pleasant experience taking the bus from ny to Belleayre ski resort. It’s a package deal that includes r/​t transport to the resort and an all day lift ticket for $ 103. I’m used to taking the different ski trip buses from New York to the resorts. This bus was different, since it was not a ski bus. It’s the normal bus to Albany, so I had to stop at Kingston and switch to the bus to Belleayre. This was the part I found a little annoying. But the buses were all on time, clean, had bathrooms, and the drivers were safe. The advantage of taking this bus, is that you can get to a ski resort that will not be crowded with busloads of people. We had a great day.
Unfortunately they don’t have an online or phone reservations system for this ski Package. I had to go in person to the reservation window at port authority to buy my ticket. It’s would be great if this could be changed.

Awful business practices. I can not believe they do not take ETICKETS. I had to pay DOUBLE for a ride from Rosendale to NYC because I had no means at all to print out my ticket. I did not know you HAD to print it and then every employee I dealt with there after was rude, saying I must purchase another ticket at the station. I wish I could sue them for ripping me off. They need to update their services ASAP and realize it is 2015 and everyone takes ETICKETS.
I thought maybe I could get a refund if I called customer service but again, they are unethical and do not refund your money.
I DO NOT RECCOMEND. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS BUSSINESS.

Excellent, professional service! The bus is comfortable enough, its’s quiet and you can read a nice book, listen to music, relax. It’s a bus ride and the main purpose is always successfully fulfilled! I took Trailways at least 5 times and was never disappointed. Take Trailways and you will see that you were happy you did. Happy trails!

First off, all these reviews are horrible. So I bought Greyhound tickets… but was put on an Adirondack Trailways bus. Not a great way to start off an 8 hour trip from NYC to Buffalo. Things got a bit better when the outlets actually worked– which is great because, again, the 8 hour ride up to Buffalo. Things were getting a bit boring, and anyone who’s been up towards Buffalo knows there’s spots you loose service, and it sucks when there’s no wifi for your phone to connect to. I decide to take out my laptop about 3.5 hours in and oh look! Wifi! Awesome, right? Nope. Literally every website is blocked (except Unilocal,thankfully). What is someone supposed to do for 8 hours without youtube, netflix, hulu, etc? «This domain is blocked due to content filtering» What, are you serious? Literally shocked that a bus companies wifi would block websites like these. What is this, a middle school bus? Praying I get an actual Greyhound (what I payed for) bus on the way back to NYC. For now, off to go sulk in boredom.
TL;DR: wifi blocks youtube. wtf?

My son needed me to buy him an online ticket in an emergency from Saratoga to NYC tonight. He was at the closed Amtrak train terminal and had no method for printing his ticket. I sent him a PDF copy of it and he had his confirmation number in his confirmation email The bus driver refused to let him on the bus. Its 2015 people! What century is Trailways Adirondack in?
I couldn’t believe it! I paid $ 50 for the ticket and he’s not allowed on the bus. No refund either. Their customer service person was a rude unhelpful troglodyte. I will NEVER USE THIS DISMAL BUS COMPANY AGAIN. You shouldn’t either. 1950’s at best.

Their wifi sucks as hell!!!
When I took this bus from NYC to Lake George, my iPhone didn’t have service because it was around the Catskills or some rural area of the NYS, idk. Then, I went to settings for wifi connection and there’s their network, Trailways. I clicked it and press agree and suddenly when I go online, it didn’t work. Although, it definitely works when I took this bus back to NYC.
Idk why their wifi suck, but it sometimes work depending on what bus your in.

This antiquated company requires printed tickets to board their buses. It’s 2015 Trailways. People are booking all sorts of services from their mobile device.
On top of this bad-​for-​the-​environment policy, the bus terminals don’t even offer this capability. In fact the agent at the New Paltz office flat out refused to help customers with this, even though there was a computer and printer right in her desk!
How hard can it be to offer this service? And when is Trailways going to start respecting the environment and their customers?
Now let’s get to the ride itself. The bus I was on was oversold by 20 people. I had no idea there wasn’t an opportunity to reserve a seat at a specific time. Those poor 20 people were left to wait for another hour and hope that there would be room on the next bus.
Last, the seat I was in was broken at a 120 degree angle. So I spent the whole ride basically with my head in the persons lap behind me.
Trailways, your ratings are really bad on Unilocal for good reason. It’s time to reinvest some money into providing a decent service for people.

Talk about archaic…
An old friend of mine made the long trip to NYC from Hong Kong to attend my wedding near Glens Falls, NY. Having taken this bus trip a couple of times, we suggested it to to him. Big mistake. I think a numbered list best illustrates the issues…
1) Friend tried multiple foreign credit cards to purchase the ticket online. All failed. Trailways must not like receiving money right? (they definitely do, but more on that later). In the end I had to buy the tickets on his behalf.
2) No printed tickets. Fine, fine, I understand it’s not «policy» to allow tickets be shown on a phone, or to print them out at the station on the riders behalf, but seriously?! Come on, it’s 2015! If you need too, charge a couple of bucks for printing at the station, but if you’re going to require a printed ticket for online purchases you need to throw people a bone here. And why not allow tickets from a phone? When I’ve made the trip, they never even bothered scanning my ticket! And don’t try telling me it’s to keep track of numbers. On my return trip from Glens Falls to NYC last month the bus driver scribbled a tally of the final destination of the passengers, rather than even refer to the tickets, so it wouldn’t be that difficult to do the same for non-​printed tickets.
3) After some sweet talking, my friend eventually managed to get them to print his ticket at the terminal. Great right? Wrong. Adirondack Trailways definitely love taking your money. They only printed the first leg of his trip, and upon arriving at Albany refused to help him get the connection to Glens Falls unless he bought a new ticket. They even looked up his existing ticket, told him that had it on the screen in front of them and could see his connection, but that he still couldn’t get on unless he bought a new ticket. They have computers. They have printers. Is this really this difficult? The customer rep I spoke to on the phone tried to inform me that the printers can only print from their database. Sounds extremely implausible, but if it is true, what genius came up with that idea?! «I have a great idea! We have these computers, and these printers. Lets make it so that the computers can only use the printers in a very specific and restrictive way!»
4) After this all went down, I found it out from my friend and decided to call the central office to get the a refund on the unused portion of the trip. Should be simple right? Wrong. The best I could get out of them was that if I provide receipts or booking numbers for both purchases (as if they don’t already have all of that info already in a computer somewhere) they’d give me a refund, minus a 25% cancellation fee (they sure love taking your money)… When I pointed out that the ticket wasn’t cancelled, but unused due to their incompetence, I was bluntly informed that it was policy. I then proceeded to point out that their policy was ludicrous. I informed the individual at the end of the line that it was disappointing that their policy was so backwards and that I’d likely be forced to pursue this further through some other means, to which they hurriedly replied that in that case, they’d have to make a note next to my name indicating not to issue any refund at all. Yup. Great «customer service» there.
Some take away points if Adirondack Trailways cares to improve themselves (ha!).
a) Either accept non-​printed tickets, or offer a way to print them (maybe for a small charge) at the terminal. Even airlines do this, and they’re notorious for attempting to screw customers.
b) People are paying you good money. Maybe try to focus a little more on the service you’re offering, rather than your self-​serving policies.
c) Just because you service areas of upstate NY that no other bus companies do, doesn’t mean you should rest on your laurels.

We weren’t able to use our tickets because I did not have a place to print them (I was in Albany for a wedding). The woman at the ticket booth would not print them out for us. She said that we needed to buy new tickets if we wanted to board the bus.
At the beginning of our trip from Albany to NYC, the bus driver Chris started yelling at everyone because people were taking while he was saying his introduction.
We had to stop at Ridgewood NJ for a medical emergency. I asked Chris if I could get off the bus for a few minutes. He refused. I called him an a-​hole. He called the police and had me removed from the bus, stranded in Ridgewood. Needless to say, I’m very unhappy with the experience I had with this company.

Trailways is so lucky that they are the only local bus company providing service to NYC. They have a customer service standard that is the lowest I’ve ever seen. They know that most of us are stuck with them and make no effort to make our experience enjoyable. Buses are late 60% of the time. Their online service STILL requires a print out ticket, even after a remodeling of the website (which conveniently omits student discounts and has added a service fee). Heaven forbid you make a mistake, because they have no mercy. They will make absolutely no extra effort to help their customers. If a bus is late, you’ll get a curt «it’ll be there shortly» if you attempt to contact a dispatcher. Wifi never works. Toilets are generally dirty and don’t work. Drivers refuse to answer questions as well. If wifi doesn’t work it’s a shrug. Their mantra seems to be «there’s nothing I can do about it.» Bus was 2 ½ hours late once and when I asked the driver for an eta he snapped «how should I know!?» Basically, you’ll have to use this bus service at one point in your life if you’re not lucky enough to have any other options. It’s going to be inconvenient and unpleasant, but you’re gonna have to bite the bullet and do it. Heads up, the last busses are run though greyhound (that info isn’t on the website) and are more expensive if you don’t get them online. I wish you luck fellow upstaters :/

I took Trailways for a trip upstate, and I was really impressed on the way there. I usually take Megabus because I usually travel between big cities, and Trailways seemed like an improvement in many ways. First of all, it’s just so much more pleasant to get on the bus at a proper station (Port Authority), and one that’s connected to the subway, rather than having to walk multiple long blocks west to wait on an unsheltered sidewalk for the Megabus. The bus itself was less crowded and more peaceful, and I actually really enjoyed the trip because of the beautiful scenery through the Catskill Mountains. The internet connection was decent if not perfect; it disconnected at one point, but I was able to reconnect right away. And the bus actually arrived relatively on time! For a 5.5h trip out of New York, I think getting there 20 minutes after the scheduled time is about as good as it gets. I think it helps that there are plenty of stops on the route, so there’s some incentive to have an accurate schedule, unlike an express Megabus that may sit in the exact same 1.5h of traffic every single week but has no real reason to acknowledge that in the schedule. And finally, the bus itself seemed pretty new, with leather seats that look impressive even if they’re not really any more comfortable than fabric.
After the first half of my trip, I might well have given Trailways five stars. And the return trip was pretty good too. The driver was polite and friendly, loading my suitcase ten minutes before departure time and giving me a choice of getting on the bus then or continuing to wait outside in the fresh air. The trip was very peaceful for the first half, with only four people on the bus at first. It was an older bus this time, but still quite comfortable. So why such a low star rating? There was only one problem with the bus, but it was a critical one: the toilet didn’t flush. And I don’t mean it was one of those toilets that consists of a big tank and just doesn’t include a flushing mechanism; I mean it was a shallow bowl that was supposed to flush and just didn’t. Needless to say, this could get very nasty very quickly. It would only take one bowel movement to make that restroom pretty much intolerable. Thank god this didn’t happen on my trip; I’m extremely grateful for the fact that the bus was almost empty for the first half of the trip, so the toilet didn’t see too much use. Still, a broken toilet on a long bus trip is really unacceptable. I’ll probably continue to take Trailways for trips of this length, with some trepidation, but I would absolutely not consider this company for anything longer.

This will be the first and last time for me to use this bus company. I needed to get to Buffalo from NYC with a few of my friends. We got there fairly early, a guy in bus departure area and the driver forced us on the earlier 9:00 bus! The bus driver took me and my friends tickets one by one. When that occurred I thought we were able to go on the bus early and chill there for some time since Port Authority Bus Terminal barely has any seats. Instead, when they told us to get on the bus the bus was nearly filled with people already! Therfore we went back down and spoke to the driver. We told him we are supposed to get on the 10:00 bus. The guy from before and the driver, gave us attitude about how the tickets are already taken you can either get on the bus or lose your money. How RIDICULOUS!??
Therefore, we got back on the bus furiously. Needless to say, people on the bus reluctantly moved their belongings to offer us the seats next to them.
Aside from all this, the outlets didn’t work and the bus had an unpleasant smell. I definitely do not recommend this bus company, it is an absolute nightmare you’ll have a better time going on another company’s bus service.

Hi Trailways! I’m writing from the 21^st Century! Welcome.
Upon heading from Manhattan to Buffalo — no complaints. Coming back? Now that was a different story…
Rushing to the counter in Buffalo to make the 4PM bus back to NYC, my friend and I missed it by moments. This could have been due to the fact that the Trailways rep behind the counter operated with a sense of urgency and mental prowess reserved for pigeon feeding, nonchalantly helping someone on the phone peruse the website while I panted out of breath at the counter at 4:01. Honestly even if she wasn’t semi comatose, we would probably have missed the bus anyway. No matter. I tried to print my ticket at one of the DIY kiosks, but she told me that since I bought my ticket online, it wouldn’t print out.
«Will you print one out for me, please?» I asked.
She dismissively hissed, «We don’t have a printer. You have to go to the library down the block.»
«Can’t I just show the bus driver my online ticket and confirmation number?» I wondered aloud.
«No, go to the library.» Buffalo winter temperature: somewhere below 0 without wind chill.
Chinatown buses, Megabus, Boltbus, GotoBus, GoBus, will all let you on with cell phone confirmation, but not good old Trailways. So after figuring our next steps, running around Buffalo to find an open restaurant, we finally made it to the library just after 6. Whoops, it closed at 6. This is where the customer service of Trailways really made me feel like this business cared about me. To be enveloped in the warm embrace of Trailway’s customer service is truly a remarkable thing.
«Why didn’t you go to the library when I told you to? You should’ve gone.» She barked at me like a junkyard dog at a suspected intruder.
«Is there any way that you can let me on? I have my confirmation number right here,» I pleaded.
She sent me over to her supervisor who was outside enjoying a cigarette in the brisk dusk chill. I told him my situation. He said that he would talk to the bus driver and that I would have to have the ticket printed up at the transfer station in Rochester, apparently the only hub with this futuristic printing apparatus.
«Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. What’s your name?» I asked as I reached out to shake his hand.
«It doesn’t matter. Go wait by the door,» brushing me off, refusing to shake my hand, accept my thanks, or even make eye contact. All this from a squirrelly, emaciated bus supervisor who had the look, sound, and red neck demeanor of a meth addict with a taste for incest. I should have known. Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover.
When we got to the transfer station at Rochester, an older man was grumpily sitting alone behind the Trailway’s desk. He could have just as easily been in the waiting room at a doctor’s office dreading the oncoming colonoscopy. He flipped through the pages of a tabloid newspaper, I think the New York Post. He looked visibly annoyed and uncomfortable prior to my approach. It’s hard to believe that anyone with that little to do would be so outraged that I didn’t have a printed ticket.
«It clearly states on our website not to purchase tickets without printing them up,» he jeered.
«I was in a terrible rush.» He just rolled his eyes and whistled as he went to the terrible trouble of having to print up a single ticket.
Through the treatment by these three mutant employees of Trailways, I kept my cool. They were probably even more annoyed than I was about the fact that their company is responding to technology (paperless ticketing) at a snail’s pace. However, they couldn’t possibly be more annoyed than me at the fact that I had to endure three condescending assholes so that I could sit on a 9 hour bus ride with a toilet that had yet to be cleaned that day or maybe even that week, evidenced by all of the soiled paper spilling over the rim and onto the floor.
So the question looms: What does a help wanted ad look like when Trailways has a job opening? I’d imagine something like this:
Trailways is actively seeking a person with no decency, social skills, and preferably someone either overweight or with a drug problem. You will be unchallengingly employed in one of our state of the art 20^th Century facilities. If able to work a fancy printer machine, you will be able to work out of our Rochester office. Do not answer this add unless you are a surly, miserable prick and your behavior is a reflection of the empty, terrible human being that everyone knows you are.
In closing: Fuck you Trailways. Fuck you and die.

I’ve taken Adirondack trailways many times before and I’ve always had a pleasant experience with all those times I rode the bus. Except today. I was traveling from Albany to NYC and I decided to take the 7:10 am bus. When I got to the stop, I saw the bus coming 20 minutes before the departure time so I thought, wow, this is great since it’s freezing outside. However, as the bus driver got off the bus, he informed us that he wasn’t the first bus and we had to wait for the second one which was SUPPOSED to come within 10 minutes. No, it was 25 minutes before the bus even came. Usually, I don’t mind waiting. However, it was 35 degrees outside and early in the morning so I did not want to be kept waiting. When the bus finally came, it stopped behind the first bus and so everyone towards the front had to rush back just to get on the bus. After I gave the ticket to the other bus driver, I went over to the compartments so the first bus driver could put my luggage in. However, I stood there for 5 minutes as he took other people’s luggages. Finally, I told him that I’m going to New York and he rudely asked me if I have my ticket to the driver. YEAH, I DID. I wouldn’t be standing here waiting to get my luggage put in if I didn’t give the ticket to the driver yet! Maybe it’s cause I’m asian, or it’s early in the morning that he was having a bad morning, but he literally just took my suitcase and threw it on top of someone else’s. How fucking rude. This is by far the worst experience I’ve had with any Adirondack driver. He definitely ruined my morning. The only reason why this review got two stars is because of the other pleasant drivers I’ve had in the past. Thank god for for them. I hope to never encounter that particular person again.

I needed a ride to the back of beyond upstate NY to visit friends. So glad I chose to take the bus as it took all the stress away from driving to a hard to find spot in the middle of the woods. The wifi was off and on, but mostly on. It was great to have a plug so my devices always stayed charged. The seats and bathroom were comfy and clean. We arrived on time and I always felt I was in good hands. I’d definitely do it again!

This is the worst bus system out there. I came 45 minutes early to the terminal, only to find out an hour and a half later that they had canceled that bus ride. If you are planning on getting anywhere on time do not take this bus service. They are almost always late and extremely unreliable! Not to mention very expensive.

The price has crept up a few bucks each way in just a couple years, but for the most part this bus between NYC & New Paltz is fine. They almost always get there in the 90 minute time frame which is damn good considering you start by going through the Lincoln Tunnel and northern New Jersey!
I would give it 3.5 stars if I could but I really don’t think 4 is warranted.
*Sometimes returning to NYC on the 11pm bus from New Paltz the drivers can make crazy time. I’ve arrived a full 15 minutes early to the Port Authority which begs the question; just how fast was that damn bus going?

Almost 7 hours between Syracuse and Manhattan without a chance to get off the bus to stretch, eat, and use a proper facility is completely unacceptable. And that’s exactly what happened with Adirondack Trailways last weekend!
We were promised a rest stop and then never got one — and with no announcement on the driver’s part. We just kept driving and driving until a couple of passengers decided to ask her. No explanation, just decided to change plans without notifying us first.
Like many people, I suffer from back pain so, needless to say, the trip was pure agony since I was crammed like a sardine for several hours. But, I especially felt sorry for a woman who looked about 8 – 9 months pregnant who had to put up with this as well! F*cking barbaric.
Not cool, ADK Trailways. Next time, I’ll just book a round-​trip flight.

Took the bus from Port Authority to Kingston. Overall very pleasant experience and I would definitely take this bus line again. Lines were longer than anticipated, but ticket agents moved them well; professional service was definitely satisfactory.