MEGA BUS

MegaBus has been providing express service between Des Moines and Iowa City and Chicago for about a month now.

It seems to be a big hit, especially for those of us who cherish low fares above all else.

I haven't talked to anyone yet who paid a dollar for a round-trip ticket to Chicago, but if you shelled out over $80, you aren't trying. Or you probably called Greyhound by mistake.

Stefanie Bodie, 30, grew up in the West Marshall school district and works in the restaurant business in Chicago. She's a big MegaBus fan.

"It isn't creepy," she says.

When it comes to bus travel, that might be the ultimate compliment. Translation:

You don't spend quite as much time looking over your shoulder wondering whether a fellow traveler is a danger to society or merely harmlessly eccentric.

Supposedly, that's because MegaBus is geared to the young, the hip, the cutting-edge computer savvy and the chronically impatient who hate to stop for fast food more than once every 500 miles.

Bodie paid $41 for her round trip. She could have paid $6 but "let a couple days go past" before placing her order. With MegaBus it pays to strike early.

While her favorite mode of transportation might not be creepy, Bodie is on the right track when she says, "It's a great thing, but you have to be ready for anything. Every person eventually has some story to tell."

Here are just a few I heard while hanging out on the curb with the rest of the luggage:

• Bus breaks down 10 miles into the trip.

• Passenger is left behind. To the objection of remaining passengers, driver spends another 2½ hours backtracking.

• Passenger is left behind. Remaining passengers cheer as driver shrugs and never looks back.
• Passenger nearly gets frostbite waiting for the bus to arrive in below-zero wind chill. There are no MegaBus stations, remember.

It helps to be someone who loves surprises. On Bodie's trip from Chicago the bus showed up two hours late. The air-conditioning system was on the blink - compressor problems, apparently.

Instead of getting in around 11 p.m., the MegaBus rolled into Fourth and Walnut streets after 1 a.m. with a bunch of hot, tired, grumpy passengers.

On the upside, Pat, the driver, was helpful, courteous, caring and professional. She even advised the passengers to call customer service and request refunds, which are often granted.

When one of the crabby passengers learned about the possible refund, she said she was mad because her refund was so small.

Reaching customer service, I learned, was like reaching the pope. Unless you're going for the longest-time-on-hold record, this is a bad thing.

Take MegaBus enough times and you will eventually experience a "never again" moment. When it's time to book the next trip, however, you will comparison shop for plane, train and traditional bus fares. If money is somewhat of an object you will compare prices and ultimately return to the fold.

Caitlin Digman, a University of Iowa senior, paid $2.50 round trip for her Des Moines-Iowa City ticket. Her friend and classmate, Eric Christensen, bought his ticket a little later and paid $9.50.

On Thursday, they read or napped or chatted and arrived at Fourth and Walnut a few minutes ahead of schedule. All considered, it was tough to beat.

At first, Digman wondered if MegaBus was doing something unethical to charge low such low fares. How are they making money? When she paid Greyhound to get back and forth between Des Moines and Iowa City, she paid $60.

Chris Hodges was coming home from Chicago, where he's a graphic design student at Robert Morris University. With two round trips under his belt, Hodges is an old MegaBus hand. His ticket cost $22 because he waited until the last minute to book a seat. Three days sooner, he says, he would have paid $3.50.

Brand X cost him $80 with a discount. And the trip lasted eight hours each way, with six stops.

"I love Megabus," he says. "Everything went fine. The driver was nice, the service was good."

The wireless Internet worked. He found an electrical outlet. The bus arrived in downtown Des Moines 10 minutes early. His ride showed up about 45 minutes late. You can't blame Megabus for that.