Washington Deluxe Bus

Hostile environment, rude staff, incredibly rude! Will never use their service again. I don’t know what makes them to hate their job this much and give horrible service, maybe they don’t get paid enough. You ask a question, they will ignore you! I read a lot of reviews saying that this is the best bus service, but nooooooo, it’s not! It’s all a lie.
Please don’t use this bus! BOLT bus is waaaaay better!

Great customer service recently — I took the bus from NY to DC, and accidentally left a suitcase on board. The helpline person was prompt and friendly, and called the driver right away, which made it possible for me to catch up with the bus in Dupont and get the bag back. She even sent me text messages to keep me posted. I’ve taken the competing buses lots of times and can’t imagine that happening with them!
Overall, the bus I rode was clean and arrived on time. Always helps to travel on a Sunday and skip traffic. Good value for the money.

Not sure why this service is rated so low. Bus driver was friendly and experienced and bus was clean and pretty comfortable. I couldnt find the outlet to charge my phone, but that wasnt a big deal. Will use them again!

I’ve traveled between DC and NYC many times and this is always the first place I look for bus tickets. Ride is comfortable and timely, with very convenient pickup and drop off points in both cities. If the schedule fits yours I would recommend this over any bus company. Employees and drivers are thoughtful and really kind– once I missed my bus and the employee on the curb let me squeeze onto the next bus without any trouble.
My only recommendation is that they run one more bus Sunday evenings, as the last one has been typically quite crowded in my experience.

The Washington Delux was a hit and a miss. The trip to DC was pretty bad. The bus was 30 minutes late and the driver and his attendant were rude and dismissive. The pickup location is literally in front of a bar with no real defined line set-​up which resulted in a mass confusion while boarding. The ride itself was smooth and we got there at a decent time (despite the driver arriving late) but everyone was hearded off the bus as quickly as possible as if the driver and attendant had other places to go and we were an inconvenience.
The ride back was a complete 180. The bus stop is conveniently located in Union Station and there was an attendant waiting for us who had complete control and command over the line. He was friendly and nice and made sure we were comfortable while waiting for the bus. The driver arrived 15 minutes early to give everyone enough time to board and he was also considerate and a safe driver. There was free wi-​fi and the cleanliest bus bathroom I have EVER used.
If you can tolerate the almost deplorable bus ride from New York to DC, then I would recommend Washing Delux. The ride from DC was excellent and relaxing.

So the website,
, where I bought the ticket, was really helpful. I was able to change my booking with no fee, and then again the day before for a $ 2 fee. So if you’re unsure of your times, this is a good way to go, though of course times do sell out. Also, on the first leg of the trip, the guy checking my ticket almost didn’t let me on because he didn’t understand that I had rescheduled my time.
Pickup locations are more convenient than the Chinatown buses, though I was a little confused when trying to find their DC Union Station pickup location… almost missed the bus.
They never seem to answer their phone.
The drivers seem safe and sensible… I didn’t feel in peril as is often the case with Chinatown bus companies. That being said, the time of the trip was longer than promised.
Next time I think i will go with Bolt Bus or Megabus, and the reason just boils down to WIFI… I need decent WIFI. Washington Deluxe, if you’re reading, please upgrade your WIFI. You will get more customers. With WIFI, they would be 4.5 or 5 stars.

Please note that I am writing this commentary whilst onboard this dreadful bus with its embarrassing service
NEVER EVER UTILIZE THIS COMPANY!!!
I am normally an easy customer to please, but I am dismayed by their terrible service and my experience in using this company.
1. I was scheduled for a 10:20 AM pickup at 122 Allen Street NY while I live closer to 34^th street. I was never given the option of saving an hour of my life and having a shorter commute by meeting at 34^th Street.
2. The bus was late by more than 15 minutes and when I called the helpline, I was on hold for more than 20 before hanging up
3. We are scheduled to be over an hour late.
4. The driver and assistant have been INCREDIBLY rude to me and would not let me carry on a carry on bag even though I explained that it has medications that I need to take halfway through the trip. Additionally, the assistant literally pushed another passenger to the back of the bus while the passenger was only trying to give her seat up to an elderly person.
5. I am sitting here right now and the wifi does not work and I cannot see one power outlet anywhere! — this is hilarious as this is all that they ever talk about!
I have a deadline to be at my destination, and I have learnt the hard way that being shoved into their tiny seats (not the case at Megabus) is simply not worth it!
Even Fung Wah is a pleasure compared to this!!!
Rent a car, take a train, use another bus company, cycle, run, walk… but DO NOT take this bus!

First time taking this bus! Clean, easy process and bonus points for letting me stow my bicycle underneath! I’m on the DC bound 4pm bus on July 26^th 2015. Driver is pretty rude with his interactions with customers. Got some nasty looks for having my bike which was not pleasant. Not the sort of representative one would want interacting with people who have paid to use the service. But overall a decent service and would use again for the bike stowage.

The buses were prompt, the drivers courteous, and the price was great. Only downside is the seats are super tiny with little leg room. On the whole, great!

WORST BUS EVER. Took a 9:30 from DC to NY and broke down in Baltimore. No communication from the driver why we were sitting on the side of 95. He finally said the bus was not working and another bus from Delaware would be picking us up! An hour later the bus shows up. He didn’t speak english well so he couldn’t communicate and when he did he was rude! At one point he got up and forgot to put the bus in park and we started rolling! Then he almost hit the toll booth in Delaware going too fast. The traffic was bad so he decided to take short cuts and it took us longer. He went another way to avoid the Lincoln tunnel traffic and it took us 2 hours. We finally got there at 9:30 PM!!! They didn’t even offer a free ticket! 9 hours to NY! NEVER AGAIN!

I’m here to make a comment about the customer service of the Washington Deluxe bus company. Even though they have a strict non-​refund policy; a special refund waiver was just granted to me because my connecting bus from Montréal to New York experienced unexpected delays. I want to thank the manager at Washington Deluxe for being so understanding.
Thanks
Wale

I’ve used all the other buses to and from DC and I have to say, Washington Deluxe is the best for the following reasons
— better departure/​return location than other bus services (I prefer closer to subway)
— always leaves on time
— drivers are always very friendly
— good customer service (they answer phone calls)
— rewards program and it doesn’t take many trips to get a free leg

I historically made Washington Deluxe my backup if I was unable to secure a reservation on my other bus options, but lately I have made it my preference because the drivers are always ON TIME, the ride is SAFE and the drop-​off location is convenient.
My only complaint is the wi-​fi is not always working, but overall I think Washington Deluxe is one of the BEST options out there for bus travel NYC to DC.

The price is acceptable for the service provided; nothing fancy or, let’s say, deluxe about the actual bus.
The pick up area was rather hard to find but I finally did when I saw the bus parked.
Now, the attendant was so rude and, what really made me angry was that I asked if I could bring my tiny carry-​on inside. The bag in question is a third the size of the maximum allowed on planes’ cabins. I reluctantly left my bag where told. To my huge dismay, many people inside the bus were carrying bags the size of regular must-​check luggage.

Took the bus from NYC to Washington D.C. this past weekend.
Pluses:
Leaves from West 36^th Street, a convenient location, away from the other buses which go to D.C.
Bus left on time going to D.C. and returning back to NYC.
On Saturday morning it took 4 hours to get to D.C. Great timing!
On Sunday, at 1:15 pm, it took 7 hours to get back to NYC. 7 hours. Can’t blame the driver… it was a combination of traffic and rain.
Minus, and a big one;
I felt that safety was compromised on the way back to NYC. The driver began to stretch while the bus was moving at a fast speed. He took both hands off the wheel and stretched multiple times. I was in the 2^nd row and watched him do this time and time again. Also, There were 2 pretty young women in the first row. He kept on turning to look at them. He didn’t talk, but it was obvious he was turning to look at them because he only turned to his right to stretch, not his left.
I am undecided whether to use Washington Deluxe again for this reason.

Lets start off with washington deluxe cancelling the 5:30 bus for no apparent reason. And if i didn’t check my email account i would’ve never known about it. Courtesy call would’ve been better. Only able to take the 6:00 p.m. bus. Now stuck on a bus with a driver who is barley doing 50 on the nj turnpike (btw no traffic on the road). This ride is supposed to be 4.5 hrs long my estimated arrival time is now 1130 and hr more than what it should be. Never again! Not trying to promote anyones business but I recommend tripper bus. Leaves on time and gets to your destination on time! Oh & they drive well too!

(This addresses Washington Deluxe’s Customer Service group. Drivers are great.)
When you buy a bus ticket for the long trip in between DC and NYC, you are essentially trusting somebody else with your own life. Right?
As a frequent passenger of services like Megabus, Bolt, and WD, you might think that they are all the same (except for price). But I used to think that WD separated itself from the crowd because I feel like their drivers seem a more conscientious of what they are doing – especially on break in between long trips.
Too bad the same cannot be said about WD’s Customer Service group. Today, I learned that a «complementary ticket» is not, in fact, free (or easy to use). And I learned that the companies own faults & mistakes are ones that you (the customer) actually pays for.
Four instance, on Christmas Eve, I was waiting to board a crowded bus from NYC to DC. The bus driver arrived early, but the WD check-​in employee failed to show up – on the busiest travel day. Customers next to me in line kept yelling at the driver to start checking them in. Obviously, he was resting from his previous long journey, and the check-​in responsibility was another employee’s. I told the complaining passengers to stop stressing out our driver! I later informed WD of this incident, and they sent me a «complementary ticket». And the next day, I received another one, so I thought that was their way of expressing gratitude for bringing such an important process improvement to their firm.
For a Feb. 4 trip, I tried using one of the complimentary tickets, but had problems with the instructions that were emailed to me with the complementary ticket. WD needs to re-​examine the wording used in their instructions because they are not as accurate as they think they are! The system seems very inconvenient for passengers; in order to use the complementary ticket, I was later told by phone (with Customer Service) that you must first use your credit card to actually purchase a ticket. After, you must go back into the system and hit the «Edit My Trip» function in order to input your complimentary #. You’d think their system would be advanced enough so that you can input the # as you were making your initial reservation. Much like on Amazon where you can enter in a discount code before you actually have to put in your credit card information. I even pointed this problem to the customer service representative last week, who didn’t seem to care about the simple correction necessary online.
For my Feb. 10 return trip, I tried using my second complimentary #. So I booked my trip on my credit card like before, and then went back into the Edit My Trip icon to enter the complementary # (where it asks for your «reservation number». But the system would not take it. Again, I contacted customer service, but they told me that this particular complimentary # had been deleted. After some investigation on their part, they said that the 2^nd ticket had been issued to me in error even though I had not been notified of this.
Obviously, you’d be upset too! It is like going into McDonald’s…awarded a free meal… sit down to eat… then a cashier comes to take it away until you go back in line to pay for itl. (Except McDonald’s would never do this, because they care about reputation with customers.)
So, since I could not use the complementary #that I had received, I told the customer service rep but I’d use my free trip from my Loyalty Rewards Program toward the ticket I had to first purchase to use the complimentary #. WD only would by deducting a fee for making the switch. In my opinion, I should not be charged a fee because of their inefficient online purchase process. I follow the correct procedure to purchase my ticket first, then try to use my complementary # – which they would not honor.
The whole experience (just because they cannot even waive the silly little fee or honor the complementary ticket that they had originally sent me) makes you question WD. Making pennies is more important than a valid customer issue.
I asked for a Supervisor, and was told I’d get a call back in an hour. That was Monday morning. No call… it’s Wednesday night now.
Also, this experience makes me wonder whether Washington Deluxe’s CEO is even aware of these operational problems that are costing him tons of revenue from other disgruntled customers or prospective customers like you who are now reading this Unilocal.
***Makes you wonder how accountable this company is if you cannot even find the names of WD’s leaders anywhere online. Good luck finding it! It’s not listed on Washington Delxue’s website. In fact, I had to look up its DOT# 1 096 690 online to find out that it is really owned by «Q.T. Transport» in Lorton, VA. Then you have to dig further online to find out its real name is «Quality Tour Transport Inc» with a P.O. Box (!!!) in Newington, VA. So it appears that the leaders of WD may not really want to hear customer complaints.

Being that this bus company has two profiles, I will post my comments on each. I have been riding Washington Deluxe for years because they are inexpensive, stop at convenient locations and times and (in my opinion) are safer, clean and smell better than the Chinatown buses. With that said, the bus is usually late *sigh* so do not plan an important event around it or you will most likely miss it.
Recently, or so it seems, they’ve began letting dogs ride on the bus. Yes, this is very hipster-​ish and cute. But here lies the problem: what about people who are allergic. Now, I admitted am not an animal lover (yes, I value the lives of humans more. Lol typing that made me think of that episode of South Park where the PETA people were doing inappropriate things with animals) however there is a difference between casually passing animals in the street and being confined in the bus with one for 4 hours or more. Perhaps the company should allot specific buses and times for dog lovers to buy a seat for their pets? Or at least give a heads up to customers in case anyone is allergic? I think it’s only fair.
Other than that, the bus has outlets and WiFi which works sometimes so at least you’re not on edge, counting your battery percentage down.

Very rude woman checking people in and pretty rude driver. The driver instructed passengers to talk softly and keep the conversation to themselves, he then proceeded to talk on his cell phone (at least with a Bluetooth) the whoooole drive to DC, loud enough for me to hear through my earplugs. For a bit more money I would recommend the Best Bus. If you don’t mind being abused and treated like crap save money and take any of the Chinatown buses. The positive thing they Deluxe does have outlets though which is always good.

Washington Deluxe is one of the best inter-​city bus options out there. The buses are clean and always depart on time.
With other bus companies, I’ve ended up waiting at the curb either sweating or freezing because the bus is running late or there’s some other issue. That’s never happened to me with Washington Deluxe.
You might save a couple dollars with another company, but you’ll end up paying in other ways.