Eastern Travel

This bus is convenient because they usually don’t run out of seats for last minute ticket purchases or if you need to buy in person. They also take payment in dollars and Chinese yuan :). But the biggest problem is the bathroom. Sometimes, they do not clean the bathroom and if you are sitting anywhere near it, the smell every time the door opens (which is often) comes waffing towards you and it is horrid. Totally ruins the trip. So I would suggest that either Eastern Travel actually pay attention to cleaning its bathroom, or you sit towards the front of the bus (which only goes so far since seats are limited), or you find another bus company (of which there are many).

You get exactly what you get with Eastern – cheap, clean bus service between NY and DC. It won’t be fancy and the staff won’t be polite, but they will get you from A to B efficiently.
Make sure not to be late returning to the bus at the rest stops. They will leave you behind without remorse.

I feel like giving a star is being generous. Review from a customer going from dc to nyc
1. I was given an address on my ticket that was not the exact address so I nearly missed my bus even though I was there 45 min early.
2. It’s not assigned seating, so if you have a buddy you can kiss them goodbye for the trip unless your the first on.
3. The bus is clean but very cramped. If your 6 foot or over, sit in the Isle or your going to be in and in a contorted position the whole time. The seats are not terribly comfortable and hard to sleep in.
4. They lied about the express. We spent 20 minutes picking up people in Baltimore and picked up traffic bc of it.
5. They lied about outlets and wifi
6. There was no movie despite having the screens for it
7. No dimly lit isles so people were tripping trying to get to and from the bathroom.
In summary– JUST SAY NOOOOOO

****DO NOT USE THIS BUS SERVICE **** The money you are saving is not worth it. My husband and I are on the bus now as I write this. We booked a trip from Baltimore to NY. Our bus from Baltimore was completely packed; we felt like sardines. As soon as you board, you are greeted by a strong waft of air freshener – which to me is not a good sign for true cleanliness. I am hyper sensitive to smells, so this bus ride was anxiety filled for me. With that said, I can easily tell when a place is clean. What made it worse is that the only 2 seats left are the ones on either side of the bathroom at the very back of the bus. So my husband and I sat away from each other. The worst part for me was the scent of overly fragrant air freshener that came out of the restroom – it hit me like a tsunami each time someone came in and out of it. Of course during this trip, and this is no exaggeration, someone was in that restroom every 5 freaking minutes! Even my husband was getting a headache from the air freshener smell. There is actually a clean smell, trust me, I know it well. This bus definitely did not have it!
This bus line advertises that they have free Wi-​Fi and power outlets — — FALSE ADVERTISING! Their Wi-​Fi is limited. WE COULD NOT USE YouTube, Netflix or Hulu! The power outlets? You had to be lucky to actually get one – only every 4^th row in the bus had it! That’s exactly how the bus driver said it… What a freaking joke. The people that took our tickets were so unbelievably rude– NO CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS WHATSOEVER.
One of the guys waiting in line had been waiting for 2 hours… I mean seriously? The only plus with this bus ride home is that we didn’t have to sit next to the bathroom… But we still couldn’t sit next to each other, yet again.
Please do yourself a favor and book your bus trip somewhere else. Or shell out the extra money for a nice, peaceful train ride to NY. This bus service doesn’t even deserve one star – it should be ZERO STAR.

Booked a return ticket from NYC to Balitmore through
and ended up with these guys.
We missed our initial bus at 7.30am, completely our own fault. So I rang the customer service number given and got through to someone who answered «Hello» the first time I called and didnt say anything the second time, again no biggie. The woman on the other end of the phone was barely comprehensible and extremely rude and unhelpful when I could understand her. She told me that I could not book another bus as they where all booked out. I went online on my phone and saw that there was availability on all the next 3 buses to Baltimore. So I spoke to the driver, explained the situation and he charged me 5 dollars each for 2 tickets, Im not sure why but I was happy to pay it. He added some sound advice that «I should not be late»…
The wireless on the bus is restricted, so no Netflix, the power sockets didnt work and the toilets where and absolute disgrace. The trip was advertised as three hours but almost 4.
The return trip was late… so its seems he was happy to dish out the advice but not pay heed to it. The driver was extremely rude and unhelpful, he refused to leave the aircon on, it had been 35 degrees that day and it was extremely uncomfortable on the bus. Seats where horrible, and Im quiet a small guy.
Just an awful experience, Id rather walk to Baltimore next time…

I’ve often thought the only people who write Unilocal reviews either LOVE a place or HATE it, and it’s so true. I am actually traveling on an Eastern bus right now and had such a HORRIBLE experience I’m sending my review in now.
Not only do the drivers have terrible attitudes, but they are exceptionally rude. For instance, we stopped at a rest stop for 10 mins and after using the restroom and picking up a water/​sandwich (12 mins tops!) I come outside to see the bus driving away! I literally start chasing it and the driver sees me and gives me a look of PURE loathing. I ask to be let back on and he reluctantly opens the doors. As he does another woman catches up to me (she too had almost been left). I step on and nicely ask «Sir do you not count how many people are on the bus before leaving?» And he has the nerve to yell at me and say «Woman I said 10 mins! We don’t work around your schedule we’re leaving now!!» I was completely floored, told him he was absurd and went to my seat.
Seriously don’t consider Eastern an option when looking for a bus. Even if you have no other option I’d rather take my chances! Just say NO!

DO NOT USE. If you think you’re saving $ 10 – 20 dollars by using this service, be sure your travel schedule is flexible. This really is just the Chinatown bus service of ten years ago at twice the price. (Used to be something like $ 12 – 16)
Here’s my litany of complaints for the NYC-​to-​DC «express» bus I had the misfortune of riding
1.) Our bus arrived late. It was a 12:30 pm midweek bus (Thursday). Not a busy weekend or holiday bus.
2.) As passengers filed in and the bus became full, they booted off two guys, telling them the next bus would arrive in 20 minutes (Actually, one hour, according to their schedule. They lied to those guys’ faces).
3.) They closed the bus doors ahead of me and about 4 other people in line. They didn’t bother to announce to those of us left in line that the bus we’d reserved seats on was already full. Just closed the doors and I guess left us to figure out.
4.) My luggage was already in the compartment under the bus. I told the bus lady and she started pounding on the door so the bus wouldn’t drive away with my luggage in it. Then another passenger piped up that her luggage was already on the bus too. Perhaps they should have communicated with us or else not allowed us to store our luggage unless we were boarded
5.) I finally got on the next bus. There was a lot of yelling and confusion as I watched them boot off two other people once the bus was full. They don’t know how many people are on the bus at any time. I don’t see the point of their taking advance reservations.
6.) Only forty minutes on the road, the driver stopped for fuel. Why? This particular gas station was very busy so we took off again without refueling.
7.) At different points, I realized we were taking state highways, not the I-​95. Why? Maybe it was for a good reason, like to avoid road construction or traffic, but I noticed the driver wasn’t using a GPS.
8.) The driver had cell phone convos via Bluetooth, loudly, for about 20 min at a time. If all I’ve said so far hasn’t discouraged you yet, at least don’t make the mistake I made by sitting near the driver.
9.) While on the road, we were already running behind when we stopped at a service station in Maryland for about 15 – 20 minutes.
10.) After about 15 min back on the road, we stopped at a weigh station. Again, we were already running late. Why?
11.) At some point, we stopped at a fuel station again.
12.) Then we had a drop-​off in Baltimore, which isn’t in their online schedule for NYC-​to-​DC when you purchase tickets (I used
). The bus schedule online kind of leads you to believe it’s an express bus with 2 pickups in NYC.
13.) The bus got to DC over an hour late. So, for me and others who missed the earlier bus (which we reserved seats on), that is over 2 hours behind.
I think when the low cost intercity bus industry (started by Chinatown bus companies) was still unregulated, and in the short time before greed pushed overworked bus drivers to their limits and to have accidents, I had more tolerance and flexibility. You didn’t expect much in the way of service given the stupid-​cheap tickets that you purchased from sidewalk sellers in Chinatown. I really hope this company gets its shit together and survives in these times.

So
I bought my ticket via
Took a one way trip from Rockville MD to NY Penn Station for $ 25 one way.
Bus departed and arrived on time.
It goes back into DC Chinatown after the Rockville stop which is in a random parking lot across from a Chinese Supermarket .
Staff were curt but I guess u get what you pay for.
So overall I would resuse them cause they get u from point A to B cheaply and on time.

NEVER LEAVES ON TIME!
The only reason I take this horrible service once a year is because of how cheap it is. Now I don’t think it’s even worth it.
There is no communication with the 50+ people in line even when the buses are over 2 hours late. People just stand outside In the heat or the cold for hours.
Don’t ever trust what time they say they’re going to arrive because it’s always 2 hours later, not counting the mandatory Burger King stop they make.
Do not take this service.

This company has the worst customer service! I bought a ticket and made a mistake with the date. They would not refund my money or allow me to transfer the ticket and made me purchase another ticket (cash only). Then as I walked on the bus the staff talked about me in their native language. You get what you pay for… don’t do it! I’m also calling BBB when I get home.

Don’t bother. Do yourself a favor and just book ANY other bus service. I just returned last night from a trip to DC on a 75 degree day on a bus with no air conditioning. Before leaving DC, I asked the driver about cooling the bus down, as it was already extremely hot onboard, and she explained that it «was winter in New York, so we didn’t need it.» That should have been my cue to just get off the bus, but I stupidly thought it would get better.
There doesn’t seem to be anyone available for customer service to assist with customer needs either. The bus itself was filthy, and their «free internet service» was nowhere to be found.
If you think it’s worth saving an extra $ 20 on roundtrip service, I’m telling you — it’s not.

Not too bad, I actually expected it to suck, but I was comfortable and even fell asleep. Has free wi-​fi, electrical outlet plugs and sturdy.

Never ever taking this service again. Doesn’t matter if you preorder a ticket, it’s first come first serve. I was supposed to leave on the 3:30 bus to DC, got on line/​arrived at 3:10 and did not leave NYC until 4:50 at night. Also the bus was filthy. I’ve taken them before but this experience was horrible. Never again.

That was my first trip to NY with bus and I faced a lot of problem with Eastern Bus. I still mad about it.
–First of all, My Bus time was 2:50. It was supposed to be come to the station 2:30, but it arrived to the station 3:40. I was Planning to take earlier bus even though, I saw that the passenger and bus driver were fighting on the bus and police had to come.
— Second, The car didn’t have enough air conditioner or cold, and it was dirty. No wi– fi, No TV work. No smell good. There is no toilet paper.
_​Third, In the middle of our way, the car broken down. I had to wait on the car nearly 4 hrs to transfer next bus without air condition and light.
It supposed to arrive at 6:50pm according to schedule but i arrived at New York around 11 pm. I had to cancel all of my appointments and dinner with my friends.
NEVER EVER — EASTERN BUS !

This is the second bus I’ve taken from NYC to DC. The first one was a long time ago, don’t remember what it was called, but that one cost $ 45 one-​way, so I was looking for something cheaper. Um, I dunno how one finds this bus in the first place. I looked up chinatown buses and never found Eastern Travel, and all the buses I found were sold out. It wasn’t until I was in NYC staying with a friend and he was looking up tickets for me on
that I found it. 13 hours in advance, I was able to procure my ticket for $ 20. You have to have access to a printer, though, to print it out.
So I got to the area super early, but being unfamiliar with NYC, I was standing in the wrong place. When I finally realized I was in the wrong place, ten minutes before the bus was supposed to leave, I walked over and found that the bus was already full with a crowd of 8 or 10 people standing there. Well, that was pretty annoying, but luckily I wasn’t in a hurry, and standing outside Penn Station on 7^th Avenue at 8am is actually a pretty entertaining place to be, at least for a newcomer. I was actually glad I missed the bus, although that is definitely unprofessional. But hey, if you’re a serious professional, you probably make decent enough money to pay for a better bus anyway.
The bus arrived on time (unlike my carpool up to NYC on Friday). I had no other issues with this bus, except… the seats are really uncomfortable if you have any notion of sleeping in them, which I certainly did. Don’t bother. Unless you have the whole two seats to yourself or are tiny enough to curl up in a single seat (I’m 5’5″, 130lbs). If you are my size and try to sleep in that seat, you will feel like you’re in a strait jacket or something else that can’t contain you.
I’m about to take this bus again back to NYC, and it’s Friday again. We’ll see if it arrives on time… my last bus trip was on a Monday morning.
Update: My second trip to and from NYC went well. Bus was on time. Took a little longer during rush hour, but nothing terrible. I made sure to leave a little early and got to NYC with time to spare. The bus always stops in Baltimore and makes one stop for restroom. It’s $ 22 if you buy the ticket on the spot, $ 20 online, and $ 10 – 15 if you buy it far in advance.
It is definitely run by Chinese people, with an office in D.C. Chinatown. Good if you speak Chinese.

I used to think this was the best Chinatown bus to take. They have proved me wrong. The past 2 times from Baltimore-​New York, the same bus driver was rude, smoked in our faces while taking our tickets, yelled at customers, left behind schedule and swerved and yelled at truckers. After complaining not once, but twice to gotobus, Eastern said they would look into it. They came back and said that they had tracked the driver on GPS and felt that there was nothing wrong and that there was nothing they could do. I will never be taking gotobus or Eastern ever again, Greyhound has better prices now and way better service. This is not even worth the $ 20 each way, I’d rather hitch hike.

First off, it’s not an «express.» They don’t seem to know the definition of that word. There is an unannounced stop in Baltimore that added another 40 minutes onto the travel time (if I had known I would have booked an earlier bus, that sort of disclosure is imperative for those of us on a real world schedule).
There are no electric outlets or wi-​fi on the bus. The reading lamps did not work.
The ride back from NY left 35 minutes late for no apparent reason, and people just kept strolling up and getting on as if it were a regular secret that they don’t adhere to their own schedules.
That being said I wasn’t seriously inconvenienced, but I am used to better service from other companies. I was just trying something new to see if the grass was greener on the other side of the pasture.
It wasn’t.

Gives buses a bad name. They don’t seem to have any actual schedule… they just start a huge line near the FootAction and if a bus gets full, they call another one from the magic land of uptown buses somewhere. Took this on a Friday night to Baltimore and the one before mine looked like something out of a horror movie… I’d be surprised if it made it through the tunnel without exploding. Then mine showed up and it looked brand new.
That’s where the good news ends. We left 30 min late because they were stunningly inefficient at filling it up (were they waiting for the next hour’s passengers to show up?). Two hours in, we took a totally unneeded rest stop where the driver told us he was leaving after 15 minutes flat no matter what.
Of course we didn’t wind up leaving for a half hour after that grand speech because he wanted to stand outside and smoke.
The fellow passengers were also definitely not as, um, well-​adjusted as Bolt, Mega, Vamoose etc. This seems to attract the NYC crazies who talk on their cell phones for the whole ridge or curse loudly at their 8-​year olds.
Unless this is literally the only option, I’d pass.

I showed up at 1.15 to take the 1.30 bus from Midtown NYC down to DC. There were some guys in neon yellow vests ushering me into a line.
Pros:
1. There were spots on the bus
2. It was only $ 20
3. the seats were comfortable, and leaned way back
4. They played a movie
5. Bathroom on the bus
6. Wi-​fi
Cons:
1. A 15 min stop mid-​way, which seems unnecessary given the bathroom
2. No toilet paper.
3. Slow wi-​fi
Any of these companies would probably do a decent enough job. It’s cheap, efficient, and fast. What’s to complain about?

My boyfriend and I took this bus service round trip from NYC to DC. Just a quick day trip to go to see the George Lopez comedy show at the Warner Theatre! I like this location because it’s in Midtown and closer to Queens. However, it is in Times Square so there is a lot of people traffic! You get what you pay for so don’t expect anything fancy! Eastern Travel served it’s purpose and got us to DC.
Here are the pluses:
–very cheap
–didn’t have to rent a car
–didn’t have to drive
–and we could sleep!