Megabus

On my way to a business trip to Indiana, I decided to visit my son in Yankton SD [he is a Mount Marty student]. I decided to fly into Omaha and rent a car to drive up to Yankton [great call on my Budget Rent A Car who suggested I upgrade to a hybrid. My gas bill was under $ 25 and drove over 300 miles].
Anyways, I need to get to Chicago where a I was getting a ride into Fort Wayne IN with one of my fellow meeting attendants. I found that the MegaBus was the cheapest way to get there. I had read a lot about the service and had once sent my son from Riverside CA to Las Vegas to catch his flight to school. For $ 20 I had a very comfortable run [I took the redeye which leaves Omaha at 10 pm and gets to Chicago at 7 am].
The ride is comfortable, there are plug ins, WiFi [although very slow] and clean bathrooms on board. The drivers were OK and I was glad I spent the extra $ 3 bucks on getting a premium down stairs seat. I actually picked a table seat so I had my iPad and iPhone hooked up and charging. Most people around me slept and snored away for most of the drive. I could not sleep but that was more me than the ride.
There were a few oddballs on board but most of them were in the cheaper upstairs seats. If I had one complaint is that the pick up area has no signage or info to let you know where to pick up the bus. Luckily, while I was returning my rental car an hour earlier, I saw another MegaBus stop at a very nondescript bench so I knew where to go. Otherwise, I could have been walking around a mall, all night long. I tried looking online but I could get anything more than the Mall. Not, the southbound side of whatever near the parking lot. They should invest in a few signs!!!
I would definitely ride this again.

Megabus offers bus transportation from Omaha to Chicago, and I decided to make the 9+ hour journey from Chicago to Omaha overnight. The bus stop is located behind the Target and across the street from a Walgreens store. Ten minutes before the scheduled departure time, Megabus sent me an email stating that the bus was running late and would be departing 20 – 30 minutes after scheduled time. Travelers were advised to remain at the bus stop. An hour passed by, and we received an email stating the bus would be arriving in 10 – 15 minutes. It was a cold and dark night in Omaha, but there was a large group of travelers and I felt safe with them. Our bus arrived after 11:00 p.m., and we departed Omaha an hour and a half post-​scheduled departure time.
The bus makes its first stop in Des Moines, then Iowa City. There are two 15-​minute and one 30-​minute breaks during the 9+hour journey. The bus stops at a Love’s convenience store/​gas station attached to a McDonald’s and Subway. You can pick up food and use the bathroom here.
The bus ride was smooth, but there was an additional 15-​minute break during the travel leg than there was going from Chicago to Omaha. And, we hit rush hour traffic. We arrived in Chicago 2 hours post-​scheduled arrival time. Megabus offered to reschedule travelers’ connections with other Megabus routes when we arrived in town. Fortunately for me, I was just late to work, but we had people connecting to Cincinnati that missed their bus.
Overall, this was an OK trip. If you can handle delays, especially ones with some upfront warning (Megabus email alerts), then this is the best value in travel from Omaha to Chicago. My other Megabus trips to and from Chicago have gone more smoothly, so I will be a repeat customer.

The bus was huge. We sat on the upper level of a double decker to and from. Our seats were front row, we actually took up the whole row. This made it comfy for us to lie down, stretch and relax. From Omaha to Chicago it was flawless. The bus had minor trouble that the bus drivers fixed quickly. However, the comfort of the bus made up for it.
From Chicago to Omaha, that was a completely different experience. To begin with when loading our luggage I took my fiancé’s bag so she could grab our seats. The attendant loading the bags challenged me in a rude way saying immediately that I could not load 2 bags that only one bag was allowed per person. I told him that my fiancé was already seated and that I was loading her bag for her. He said it just like this, «mannnnnnn! Ive been watching you and you have been standing by yourself and you have no fiancé with you.» Again, I stayed very calm and repeated my statement. He said (just like this, «well then your going to have to show me 2 tickets then or else one bag is not going to Omaha!» I said that’s not a problem and I have no reason much less effort to lie to you about a bag. So I got my fiances ticket and I said here you go. He looked at them and said (just like this,) «mannnnn these are two tickets that have the same number.» I said no way look at them closely. He goes, «I am.» I knew they were different ticket numbers but to satisfy him I said, «well let me go get my ipad that my fiancé is holding so I can show you the emails with the different confirmation numbers.» He said, (just like this;) «you know what, just forget it I’ll take the bag.» What an asshole! A complete ASSHOLE! I went up and sat with my fiancé and soon noticed him standing outside looking at us smoking a cigarette and talking on his cell. He must of been having a bad night!
On the way back to Omaha from Chicago, the bus driver was obviously tired. He was swerving in and out of his lane. He kept on running over the road bumps that make the vehicle vibrate and sound real loud. It was a little scary. Then to add when we were headed to one of our mid stops in Iowa, he ran a red light. Yep he did, no joke. My fiancé was asleep and I didn’t want to tell her about it in fear that she would panic or just be too scared. When we arrived to Omaha and were in our car headed home I told her about the bus driver and she was like… «yeah, I noticed it too. It woke me up several times.»
All in all, You get what you pay for right?

UPDATE: I’ve taken somewhere between 20 and 30 legs on Megabus. This summer, on a trip from Chicago to Omaha, the bus’ air conditioning went out, and we were about two and a half hours late getting into Omaha. Contacted Megabus and have a voucher for future travel… my ticket was only $ 1, so a refund wouldn’t have been worth it. Still keeping my four stars, because the bus driver had a great demeanor during that trip, and the rest of my trips have been without incident.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I’m on a BUS!
Well, I was, anyways. A couple weekends ago, I went up to Milwaukee, taking Megabus on the OMA — CHI route (ultimately going to MKE on Greyhound Express due to a lower last-​minute cost.)
Here are my thoughts on the Megabus on this route.
First, parking. Oh, better stated, the lack thereof. Megabus stops on the side of the road (in this case, at the Crossroads Mall in Omaha), but there’s no overnight parking close by. I ultimately went to Walmart and parked there for two nights and walked there (and took the city bus back.)
Timing-​wise, it was virtually on-​time. The bus was three minutes late coming into Omaha, but we got into Chicago about 20 minutes early (the bus driver used the toll road in.) Coming out, we left on time, but since the bus driver took the «free» road, it took a bit longer (also thanks to construction) and we got back about 5 minutes late to Omaha. Still, can’t complain about that.
Other than that, it was actually a pretty nice ride. The bus drivers seemed to have a sense of humor, which was nice. The boarding process was relatively easy, and there was a guy in Chicago helping people find their bus (which was helpful, because they never changed the sign on our bus.) The wifi never worked, but the power outlets did. In terms of seating, it was a standard charter bus, very clean.
The people that I was riding with were friendly, especially before boarding. I chatted with a few of them (as we were all just on the side of the road waiting for the bus) and they all were pleasant and friendly. Also, my ticket was 50c, since I got a promo.
⁴⁄₅ stars (lost ½ for not even suggesting parking options and ½ for no working wifi)