Megabus

My first journey into the world of bus transportation. I suspect the other options are better. Both my up and my back bus featured:
— no wifi (broken? Turned off?)
— temperature challenges
— a few seats with almost no leg room (i got one of those)
On the other hand, it was safe and on time so they got the important things right.

Worst attendants ever. No announcement that bus was leaving. 5 of us left off the bus leaving to New York having to wait on standby for the next bus. Completely useless staff. Never using megabus again.

I went to Philadelphia few months ago. The price was a great deal, but I need to say that the bus was very dirty, the wifi was not working, and the driver was a bit rude. I will give them another try, but I hope that the service will be better.

While I love that it’s always been a quiet ride for me, I am disappointed that they don’t live up to their reputation of having working Wifi. Please upgrade!

Customer service at Union Station is horrible! Taken the bus several times but today will be my last. I was scheduled for the 9:30 bus the guy who checks tickets announces that the bus would be 45 minutes late without even the slightest apology. Well it was 10:30 and we were still waiting. At 10:35 they start boarding and got the 11:00 people on as well, we didn’t leave until 11:11. I always had a bad impression of customer service and the guy checking tickets is rude and definitely not friendly. He went around acting like it was ok to for them to be late, never provided an update or an apology. I understand things can happen in any business but putting the customer first and showing that you care goes a long way.

I am completely conflicted about my first Megabus experience.
I traveled from White Marsh to NYC earlier this month, with reserved seats both directions.
When «our» departure bus arrived at the White Marsh MTA pick-​up point, the driver announced it was being taken out of service due to mechanical difficulties. Another (regularly-​scheduled) bus came within half an hour and picked up passengers scheduled to be on that bus and a few of the passengers on the disabled bus ~ but there was not room for any of us who were booked to be on the earlier out-​of-​service bus.
After a total delay of about an hour (standing outside, no place except the ground to sit) we were boarded on another bus.
The drivers, both ways, were excellent. I loved that both buses were only half-​filled, so it was easy to spread out.
But «communication» was terrible, and I do not think the emergency situation was triaged well at all.
So my overall rating really reflects the dramatic difference between corporate customer service (abysmal) and onsite (e.g., drivers) customer service (excellent).
I’ll have to reeeeeeeeeeally think about ever taking another Megabus…

Heartless money-​hungry assholes.

This review is to the driver I had today on Megabus. Leaving from Hampton Va in route to Washington Dc on 12÷2÷2015 at 1630. I didn’t get his name for it was so long on his sweater and his African accent was very thick, but I did catch his unprofessionalism. Is it me or are they supposed to load the bus with your bags? This driver refused to load my stroller and this was the only thing I was putting in the undercarriage. He told me to load it myself like everyone else was doing. We went back and forth until a very nice passenger offered to load it for me. I’m not sure if he is new to the program for he was very flustered and anxious.
This is not customer service sir.
I’m calling Megabus to complain to his boss as soon as I get off of this ride!

Super annoyed by the disorganization and the ridiculously long amount of time it takes for megabus to allow customers to board. Waiting until 15 minutes past the time the bus was supposed to leave and still not allowing customers to board was a waste of time that made this bus late to reach its destination. I think that what was the worst was being told to wait in line and then not being given any more information about delays or estimated departure times. The communication is horrible. I’m usually a fan of megabus but this time it wasn’t anywhere near what I expected.

Does anybody know why Megabus is always late? Their drivers are always the slowest on the road. Sitting on the bus you see every single vehicle blowing by you like you’re standing still.
On a recent trip, the bus driver claimed «there is a computer error on this bus.» She then pulled off into a rest stop and we sat for almost 2 hours waiting for a replacement bus to show up. In the last hour of that trip, the bus was drifting between lanes and hitting the rumble strips along the roadside. Clearly the bus driver was exhausted. Why wouldn’t she be? 7 hours to go from NY to DC!
I have yet to ride a Megabus that arrived at or before the scheduled time. I actually prefer the Chinatown bus because they manage to arrive on time very often and even make a rest stop halfway between NY and DC.
2 stars instead of one because the power outlets work and the seats are decently comfortable so you can sleep.

The bus I was scheduled for left early and I was able to take the next one for $ 5 but the employees were not friendly. Also we hit bad traffic due to an accident which is not their fault but they never made any announcements about an updated eta. Busses are nice but the service isn’t great. Take boltbus regularly, I plan to stick with them in the future, a much better overall experience.

omg. the bus is like 1.30 hr Late from DC to nyc.
I m on the phone with customer service on hold for ever. I speak to this dude kept on telling me to hold. … what is happening.

Disappointed to see so many negative 1 – 2 star reviews for Megabus. This is one time I am glad I did not check the Unilocal reviews prior to riding. I had a great experience this past week. I compared MegaBus Reserved seats to Amtrak and found that Megabus was $ 45 per person whereas Amtrak wanted $ 190 per person DC to NY (Round-​trip). You cannot beat the price and the bus was actually quiet and comfortable (aka amble leg room and head space).
I was glad I reserved seats as I noticed most couples were split up due to no seats together (people love the window seats).
Where the bus stops in NY is really «up and coming» and it is nice to get off the bus and head down 9^th St and get a real NY bagel.
The alert system for changes to the schedule worked as our bus to NY had to change it’s drop-​off point due to road closures for UN and Pope. The bus stopped a few streets from it’s usual location and it was still on time.
I love that each seat has a power outlet. I gave 4 stars as I’d say the internet is «questionable» as it either works or it does not work. On the ride from DC to NY, only one hotspot appeared and it was named Hot Potato. Hot Potato was password secured and no one was able to use the internet the entire ride. On the ride from NY to DC, the internet works and was listed as Megabus as described. The bandwidth was very poor (worse than airline WiFi), don’t plan on uploading those photos to FB on the trip home.
I found the bathroom on the bus to be clean and satisfactory. The other passengers were quiet and seemed non-​threatening (no giggles, snores, farts or long convoy’s on the cell).
All considered, I’d ride Megabus again. You absolutely cannot beat the price and you will get there on time.

This is the worst service I’ve ever gotten from any company, ever. On the way to Boston from NYC the seat that I paid extra for was taken, and nobody offered to help me make the person in it move, so I had to give up the better seat that I paid extra money for. Then when we were halfway to Boston, our bus got a flat, causing me to be late for what I was traveling there for making the entire trip pointless. Then, arriving an hour and a half (possibly more) late, I book a return trip for 7:30 only to be told that the driver is late and then when he gets there that he wants to take a break so we won’t be leaving until 8:30. Now, being an hour late to return to New York, and only 20 minutes away from being home, we have to sit in a rest stop because they have to switch drivers.
I understand the law, I understand legally not being able to drive after a certain number of hours, but after being an hour late to leave, I don’t think we should be sitting here while the bus drivers chat. This is absolutely ridiculous. I paid 40 bucks both ways, and next time I’ll dish out the extra cash for Amtrak so I actually get there on time.

Wow. Look, I really think these bad reviews are a result of the classic Unilocal conundrum with things like buses: when all goes well, people forget about it. The 10% of the time it does not go well, they run to Unilocal to vent. Megabus is the best way to get to Philly or NYC, hands down. If you have a better way, tell me.
Their prices are FANTASTIC. They typically get me from NYC to DC or vice versa for around $ 10 on average (off peak hours). Sometimes I get tickets for $ 3!!!
If I’m early or late, they usually seem to be able to put me on a different bus. They leave every hour most days, which makes it really convenient.
The buses are perfectly comfortable. No complaints.
The other day, I had my first ever bad experience, the bus was an hour late, then had a mechanical problem, we got to NYC about an hour and a half late. Grumble grumble. Two days later, unprompted, I get an email that I’m getting a full refund!
If you hate the $ 10-​$ 15 Megabus, please, be my guest, pay fifteen times as much for Amtrak. Nothing ever goes wrong there…

**Please do not torture yourself*
This was the bus ride from Hell. There should be a zero star option on Unilocal.This was my first experience taking a bus and will definitely be my last with Megabus for sure. My trip from DC to NYC was suppose to be short and sweet. There was no A/​C in the month of July really? Not only was our ride hot and sweaty, but our bus broke down after dropping off passengers in Baltimore at 10 o clock at night! No announcements were made as to why we were stopped for such a long period. It wasn’t until we saw other passengers running off the bus and realized there was something wrong.
Some passengers were lucky enough to get an available seat on another bus that was also doing a drop off and headed to DC. (we found out this is why they were running) The unlucky ones, like myself and couple of friends were left to find our own way home. We negotiated with a Taxi driver on a flat rate fare and included other passengers that was interested in chipping in. We were scheduled to arrive in DC at 9:30, but I did not make it until close to midnight. I called customer service and was told there was no incident reported and they do not issue refunds over the phone. Really MegaBus? You will NEVER EVER get my services again. %$#@&*^ (I wish curse words were allowed on Unilocal.but my symbols will do for now.)

Ode to Megabus; I love you, I Iove you not, I love you, I love you not.
I took a roundtrip bus within 16 hours from DC to NYC. The reason I chose Megabus is because it has the most frequent departures and the latest departure times of any of the bus companies or other modes of transportation. Their latest NYC departure is at 1:15 am!
Booking:
The prices are lowest at the first booking and increase upwards to $ 30 for the later bookings. Both buses I was on were completely full and standby passengers were denied. Even the 1:15 am bus travelling on a Wednesday night was filled to capacity.
Go to the «Save Trip» feature on the app and manually add your trip. That helped with directions, updates, and instructions about delays, where to load, etc. It came in handy!
All you need to board is show the confirmation number written on a piece of paper. They do not check IDs.
Parking:
I parked at Union Station. There are apparently over 2,000 parking spots. A representative at Union Station said the garage never gets full, but when I arrived at 1:00 pm on a weekday, the entrances were closed and said Valet Only. I departed the garage and the attendant said to just go into the Valet Only and find a spot. There were only a few spots left. The parking cost for 24 hours is $ 24. It appears that others park at the Ballston Mall and take the metro to Union Station if they are concerned about parking issues. I imagine if you waited it out you could get a spot at Union Station. Just give yourself enough time.
Catching the bus from Union Station:
The buses leave from the lower level of the Union Station garage. If facing the front of Union Station, the entrance ramp (if driving) is to the right. The Megabus line is behind the Greyhound and Peter Ban Bus Center, in Lot 35.
Twenty minutes prior to departure the line was 40 people deep. If you reserve a specific seat, you can stand in a separate line that gets priority boarding. There are only 10 seats that are able to be reserved (the top level front 4 seats, the top level 2 seats near the stairs, and the four table seats on the bottom level, left hand side. The ceiling is quite low here. Also there is less legroom). The top 4 reserve-​able seats go VERY quickly ($ 7 up-​charge). All other seats are first come first served.
The parking garage will protect you from rain, but not hot and cold weather.
The ride:
The ride was mostly smooth, with the majority of the bumpiness being in NYC and on BW Parkway. I can get carsick but the motion was not enough to make me feel ill (I sat on the bottom level near the front at a table seat facing forward). The AC takes a while to kick in and it can be a bit claustrophobic in the beginning but it seems to get roomier as the trip continues. The bathroom smells like antiseptic and it can get overwhelming at times on the lower level.
Clientele:
All kinds of people ride the bus. You will need to get used to being around the general population. You may witness things that are not part of your everyday life. For instance at a pickup point, the bus driver pulled out a prayer rug and prayed to Islam during the obligatory prayer time.
Things to bring:
If you are going to sleep at night, bring a jacket to lie on or wear, and a baseball hat that you can lower to cover your eyes from the bright green alien overhead lights and the brightness of the lights during the stops.
Bring water and snacks! The signs say no eating, but everyone was eating.
Earphones are a must. OMG, people are so chatty! The people behind me never stopped talking for one second the entire 6 hour ride.
Bring a charger. There are power receptacles available at most, but not all seats. Some are located on the ceiling, but they were falling out and bumping people on the head.
Catching the bus from NYC:
The pickup location is different from the drop off location. It’s near the Javits Center (large convention center) — 34^th street between 11^th and 12^th. The Convention Center is huge so you want to make sure to get dropped at the correct side of the building if taking a cab. There are no bathrooms and no cover in case of rain. You basically stand in line on the sidewalk. There are two outdoor food vendors (hot dogs, gyros).
This location is not organized. There is a line but the bus parks far away from the line and when it’s time to board; it’s a free for all. Experienced riders know this and sit in strategic locations so they can rush the line.
Reliability:
Reliability is a concern. On both legs of my trip, there were people trying to board the bus because their bus broke down or because the AC was out and the bus had to be taken out of service.
Note:
The bus times on the website always indicate the same arrival time regardless of time of day. They do not account for typical traffic patterns during that time of day. Expect a 4.5 hour trip to take 6 hours.

If I could give negative stars, I would.
I have waited 2 hours for the megabus to arrive. Meanwhile, the employees have either been clueless as to what was going on and did not inform any of the passengers on how long the wait would be. Also, the employees have been nothing but rude to us– when politely asking a question, they would respond rudely and aggressively. My sister accidentally pushed and rolled her suitcase to one of the employees and he pushed it back to her and demanded with a demeaning point of a finger, «you come over here and give it to me.»
The employees lack professionalism and do not understand the slightest ounce of what customer service even means.
I am absolutely furious because this has not even been the first time. I advise you to employ more professional staff members and to act quickly in the case of delays.

I would leave zero stars if I could.
I’ve been riding the megabus for 10 years in different parts of the country. The experiences has varied a lot. Some have been timely and smooth while others have been chaotic and delayed. This current trip, each way has been a 2 hour delay time. When traveling New York-​DC, the megabus staff had no information and no idea as to what was going on. Returning, we were in more of an organized fashion than New York, but zero info as well.
I choose megabus because it’s affordable and familiar, but I am definitely going to be checking alternative bus companies first. Megabus will be the last option.

Nope.
Booked a 7pm bus from NYC to DC. When I arrived at the NYC pickup location, the line inexplicably wrapped around the entire block. (I later found out it was because the 5pm bus hadn’t even arrived to pick up its passengers, this delaying everyone else.) We finally departed at 7:50, and the driver announced this was approximately a 4 hour drive. For whatever reason, the bus didn’t arrive in DC until 1:15 in the morning. No apologies, explanations, nothing.
Even before the bus left the pickup spot the bathroom smelled like a mixture of urine, vomit and port-​a-​potty cleaning solution, which should give you a good idea of the cleanliness factor of it. (You can never unknow this, and I’m sorry.)
Staff was rude, unhelpful and completely apathetic of the delays.
Bottom Line: DON’T DO IT! RUUUUUUN!