Thinking Outside Rails and Runways, and Taking the Bus
EXPRESSWAY SHUTTLE Derrick Roberts, top left, on phone and at bottom right, setting up his “office,” takes the MegaBus from New York to Washington weekly. The express bus service attracts a younger crowd appreciative of Wi-Fi, electric outlets, direct connections to city centers and low fares.
By KEN BELSON
Published: May 5, 2010
DERRICK ROBERTS could drive, fly or ride the train on his weekly business trips to Washington from his home in Manhattan. Instead, he takes the bus, seemingly the least comfortable and most time-consuming of his commuting options.
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Only Mr. Roberts doesn’t take an ordinary bus that stops at every city along the way, but MegaBus, one of the growing number of express services that are quickly redefining the images of bus and business travel in this economy.
MegaBus’s business plan, like those of BoltBus and other rivals, is relatively simple. Most tickets are sold online and are paperless. The first passengers to reserve seats on each bus get the cheapest prices, often starting at $1. Buses connect city centers, from Midtown Manhattan to crucial depots in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and elsewhere for easy access to mass transit.
The buses make few if any intermediate stops, so travel times are often the same as driving and only slightly longer than taking the train, at a fraction of the price. Critically for business travelers, buses are outfitted with free Wi-Fi connections, electric outlets and in some cases, tables and cup holders.
“When I first heard it, I thought it was another New York scam, a $1 bus ticket,” Mr. Roberts, a lighting designer, said as he showed his $15 e-ticket on his BlackBerry to the driver before boarding a bus to Washington. “The plane can’t compete. I even have power for my computer. It’s user-friendly.”
Express bus services like the so-called Chinatown buses have been around for years. Typically, they are marketed to the most budget-conscious travelers willing to put up with spotty service and less convenient drop-off points to save money.
Some of the newer services, though, were created by established bus companies trying to cater to younger, tech-savvy travelers who might otherwise use Amtrak or a discount airline. MegaBus, a subsidiary of Coach USA, has been in business for four years, and entered the New York market in 2008, when BoltBus, a division of Greyhound, also introduced similar services.
Their timing was good. The recession was under way and travelers were looking for bargains. Airport security was being tightened and fuel prices were rising, which meant more hassles and higher prices. And while Amtrak’s Acela train service in the Northeast is praised for its speed and comfort, cost is rarely one of its selling points.
Last year, as commercial airline traffic and rail ridership dipped, intercity bus service grew 5.1 percent, according to the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University.
MegaBus has seen double-digit growth in ridership, carrying one million riders in the last eight months on its 98 double-decker buses. Nearly 200,000 riders a month use BoltBus, whose buses run about 85 percent full. The company broke even after three months, instead of at the end of the first year as expected.
There are no precise figures on how many business travelers take the bus. But the bus companies say they are a small, but growing percentage of their ridership. Over all, the largest group of riders — up to three-quarters — is between the ages of 18 and 34. Women outnumber men, and many are of college age.
More and more riders, the companies say, are working at their first jobs, either for small companies or independently. These riders often do not own a car and consider Amtrak an inconvenient luxury that provides more legroom but little Internet connectivity at far higher prices.
“We’re starting to see briefcase-carrying travelers use the buses because of their cutting-edge image and Wi-Fi,” said Joseph Schwieterman, a professor at the Chaddick Institute who has studied intercity bus companies. “We did focus groups with people in their 20s and when we brought up Amtrak, they rolled their eyes.”
For all their cachet, express buses are not for everyone. Larger travelers may have trouble negotiating the narrow aisles and seats. And because there are few tray tables, laptops must be kept in your lap, which makes it hard to spread out. Wi-Fi connection speeds can also get sluggish if too many passengers are logged on.
And while buses spend most of their time on interstate highways, they are at the mercy of traffic, particular when entering and leaving city centers like Midtown Manhattan.
“The question remains about reliability,” said Jeffrey Zupan, a senior fellow for transportation at the Regional Plan Association. “It’s a question of personal comfort, and it’s a crapshoot not just on Friday and Sunday, but many days.”
Still, for riders who need to work while they travel, start and end their journeys in city centers, and save a few dollars, express buses are the way to go.
“I am the happiest traveler once I get into my seat and start setting up my mobile office,” said Mr. Roberts, the lighting designer. “I pull up my three e-mail accounts on three separate windows and start multitasking my day away. Before you know it, I am in D.C. meeting all of my deadlines.”
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