Megabus (http://www.megabus.co.uk/us/) is now offering service to :

Milwaukee
St. Louis
Cleveland
Minneapolis
Columbus
Cincinnati
Detroit
Indianapolis

from it's hub @ Chicago Union Station.

Tickets starting a $1.00 + $.50 booking fee. This should get Greyhound's attention...

Could this be the beginning of UK-based low cost transport (i.e. Ryanair) coming to the States?

I went to there website, and low-and-behold, it was 2.50 for a RT MSP-CHI. Is this real?

Has anyone tried it?

Considering that the Press Release on the web site that announces the service is dated March 22, 2006, I'm guessing nobody's tried it yet.

But I can't wait to hear from the first FT'er who does! I'm near Detroit and would LOVE to hear that this is for real.

Yes, it is for real. They are a brand of Stagecoach Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagecoach_Group) a big transport operator. Their Megabus service has been running in the UK for at least 2 (if not 3) years now and seems to be doing well with it.

http://www.stagecoachplc.com/ also gives a good idea of their scope.

First scheduled service appears to be April 10. A buck for a 300-400 mile trip? This is true business insanity. The only thing I can think is that they're going ultra loss leader to build market share. Hope they have enough capital to burn through to begin with.

Looks like it could become a favorite of college students. The Minneapolis stop is at the University of Minnesota.

[QUOTE=NWA_5479]I went to there website, and low-and-behold, it was 2.50 for a RT MSP-CHI. Is this real?
[QUOTE]

For the dates I checked in April, it's $1 CHI - MSP, and either $1 or a whopping $8, depending on the departure time, for the return. I'd say a rate of $2 - $9 round trip for CHI-MSP is pretty darn good! (I also assume these fares can't possibly last.)

I sure like the change policy: "A 50¢ fee is charged for all reservations. For changes to existing reservations a 50¢ change fee and a 50¢ new reservation fee will apply." Take note all you airlines who charge $100 to change a ticket!

hmm... I am seriously thinking about taking one for the team and trying out their IND-CHI service. ($2 roundtrip...)

This is most certainly legit and real, and I'm sure the $1 fares will continue for a long time to come. The UK MegaBus service has provided plenty of 1 pound seats ever since they began. Right now, they're even offering 1000's of free seats (+ booking fee) from Scotland to London. That's at least 7 hours on a bus for $.50

That'll be the death for Amtrak and Greyhound on many of their routes.

That'll be the death for Amtrak and Greyhound on many of their routes.Since they obviously can't make any money charging those rates, they are obviously intro .... in other words, if you are looking for travel in that part of the world, book now, before the real prices take hold.

Of course it's possible that they will try to undercut Amtrak and Greyhound, but there's no way on God's green earth anyone can make a profit charging those fares :eek:

EmailKid

Since they obviously can't make any money charging those rates, they are obviously intro .... in other words, if you are looking for travel in that part of the world, book now, before the real prices take hold.

Of course it's possible that they will try to undercut Amtrak and Greyhound, but there's no way on God's green earth anyone can make a profit charging those fares :eek:

EmailKid

People said the same about Ryanair, and they are still in business, more profitable than many mainline airlines. Stagecoach is a very smart company, they obviously know exactly what they are doing.

People said the same about Ryanair, and they are still in business, more profitable than many mainline airlines. Stagecoach is a very smart company, they obviously know exactly what they are doing.

I agree that it's worth waiting to see whether Megabus sinks or swims. They're following a model very similar to the low-cost airlines, at least the ones that stay solvent in the long term: provide no-frills, low-cost service that just barely turns a profit after maintenance, gas, and the bus driver's salary. The sketchy Chinatown buses that run NYC-Washington DC have been offering similar deals for years with great success. And almost every single Megabus is near to, or is, a college town, so they have an instant clientele.

Amtrak and Greyhound are still going to attract a lot of folks who fit in these non-savvy travel categories:

1. People who are unwilling to commute to the Megabus bus stop. For example, people in Ann Arbor are already grumbling about the 50-minute drive to the Detroit Megabus stop.

2. People who think Megabus will attract a "worse crowd" than Amtrak and Greyhound. I don't think that's so, but non-savvy travelers think these sorts of things.

3. People who think it's too good to be true and would rather pay more for an established service.

I agree that it's worth waiting to see whether Megabus sinks or swims. They're following a model very similar to the low-cost airlines, at least the ones that stay solvent in the long term: provide no-frills, low-cost service that just barely turns a profit after maintenance, gas, and the bus driver's salary. The sketchy Chinatown buses that run NYC-Washington DC have been offering similar deals for years with great success. And almost every single Megabus is near to, or is, a college town, so they have an instant clientele.

Amtrak and Greyhound are still going to attract a lot of folks who fit in these non-savvy travel categories:

1. People who are unwilling to commute to the Megabus bus stop. For example, people in Ann Arbor are already grumbling about the 50-minute drive to the Detroit Megabus stop.

2. People who think Megabus will attract a "worse crowd" than Amtrak and Greyhound. I don't think that's so, but non-savvy travelers think these sorts of things.

3. People who think it's too good to be true and would rather pay more for an established service.

Some already heavilly subsidized lines like the Amtrak Chicago-Milwaukee line can't last long... That trip is $21 each way, and service is spotty at best. Stations are outdated and services very limited.

This is most certainly legit and real, and I'm sure the $1 fares will continue for a long time to come.

I guess...if you have starting capital to burn through. Simple math. 55-seat bus, $1 per pax, 100% occupancy, provides $55 in revenue for a 300-mile trip.

Driver, at minimum wage plus benefits, is $12/hour for 7 hours, or $84. You're in the red already.

Gas, at $2.50/gallon and 5 MPG, is $180 for the trip. A quick check of the web shows these buses getting closer to 3 PMG.

I haven't included the daily cost of the bus lease itself, insurance, cleaning costs, maintenance (tires, oil, scheduled service, required safety service, government regulations, etc.), costs of the website (not zero), marketing and advertising, the cost to procure and apply the giant mylar labels to the buses, storage costs, costs incurred when the bus uses a toll road, uniforms and food for the drivers, licenses and permits, and on and on.

I guess...if you have starting capital to burn through. Simple math. 55-seat bus, $1 per pax, 100% occupancy, provides $55 in revenue for a 300-mile trip.

Driver, at minimum wage plus benefits, is $12/hour for 7 hours, or $84. You're in the red already.

Gas, at $2.50/gallon and 5 MPG, is $180 for the trip. A quick check of the web shows these buses getting closer to 3 PMG.

I haven't included the daily cost of the bus lease itself, insurance, cleaning costs, maintenance (tires, oil, scheduled service, required safety service, government regulations, etc.), costs of the website (not zero), marketing and advertising, the cost to procure and apply the giant mylar labels to the buses, storage costs, costs incurred when the bus uses a toll road, uniforms and food for the drivers, licenses and permits, and on and on.

This might have been an interesting financial analysis if everyone on the bus really paid just $1, which is not true.

The lowest possible fare is actually $1.50 if you account for the "reservation fee," and it appears that the $1 fares only occur with advance booking and on somewhat undesirable routes. The fare from Detroit to Chicago in early April, for example, is already up to $8 ($8.50 with the reservation fee) on the most desirable morning itinerary. So the current upper extrema for revenue may actually be 55 seats * 8.50 = $467 per trip. It's not likely that they'll make the upper OR lower extrema, obviously, but $200-$300 per trip isn't too shabby if you've got some startup capital to go through. It's certainly not bad for a pilot program that's designed to get the word out and build a loyal customer base.

Also, if you read the press carefully, Megabus is limiting itself to single-decker buses for the pilot period of their US service but will consider bringing in 97-person double decker buses if its service proves successful. With 97 people on board, now we're talking $145.50-$845.50 per bus.

I've taken the Greyhound from Vancouver to Seattle and Portland and did not encounter any undesirable passengers. But I've gotten the impression that there can be rather unsavory sorts on at least some Greyhound routes. How do long-haul bus drivers handle possible security issues?

This might have been an interesting financial analysis if everyone on the bus really paid just $1, which is not true.

My assumptions were based on...
This is most certainly legit and real, and I'm sure the $1 fares will continue for a long time to come.

Alas, it was still uninteresting to you. :D :D :D But, if you need to alleviate your boredom, feel free to plug in your own numbers. I'm guessing a breakeven won't occur until fares are in the $20-30 range, one way.

There is an article about the new Megabus service in the Detroit Free Press today. The $1 fare sounds great, but the only station is in downtown Detroit. With poor public transportation around here, parking costs downtown also need to be considered.

And at over 5 hours nonstop to Chicago, I hope there is a restroom on that bus! :)

Could the bus be transporting mail or someother cargo as well to bring in some more $$? I could see how transporting critical packages a la FedEx could be profitable, as some of the busses run overnight.

Does anyone know what their ancillary revenue strategy is...either in the UK or US?

Are they selling food onboard? Other items? Checked luggage fee, etc. etc.?

Stagecoach presumably already has fleets or bases in each of those cities.

Stagecoach/FirstBus - terrible, unethical shoddy companies.

I travelled on MegaBus quite a bit in the UK, where they charge 1 pound for a trip (plus 50p booking charge). I actually managed to go to London from Leeds quite a few times using the 1quid fare. The buses were old double deckers, but they began replacing them with new ones.

I think Megabus more than makes a profit. The rebooking fees and all the other fees they charge, plus the number of times the bus makes that run per day, almost always at 100% capacity...it just has to be making money somehow. Otherwise they wouldn't be expanding so rapidly.

And in the US, gas prices are cheaper, so I can see Megabus thriving on $1 deals.

I seem to recall the UK Megabus fleet consisting of old HK city buses. Utterly unbearable for any more than half an hour if you're over 6'!

Megabus in the UK have also recently started Megatrain, reselling off-peak capacity on (Stagecoach-run) trains. £1 London-Exeter (over 150 miles) is rather good!

I seem to recall the UK Megabus fleet consisting of old HK city buses. Utterly unbearable for any more than half an hour if you're over 6'!

I think they've taken most of these off the long Megabus routes now though.

So have any FT'ers actually ridden the Megabus yet? I saw one yesterday westbound from Detroit to Chicago, so at least we know the service is operating...

From the title, I thought this was a thread about the A-380! :D

Another spotting:

I saw one on Washington Ave. in Minneapolis yesterday, and it looked nice. I have been thinking about trying it out, and seeing a nicely painted and normal looking bus was reassuring!

i'm in Cleveland and me and a friend are booked to chicago for this weekend. This was last minute, so we got stuck with the $15/each way tickets. still only 30 bucks round trip each (60 bucks total), which is cheaper than driving (gas and toll), and definitely cheaper than flying.

the only thing I don't understand is that it takes 5 hours to get there, but 7 hours to get back? from what I can tell, it's a straight shot, no stops to pick people up between cleveland and chicago. so why the time difference? And this is for any time on the schedule, so it can't be rush hour or anything.

plus, one more story about the first megabus to leave cleveland.

thought it was kinda funny: http://www.newsnet5.com/news/8615298/detail.html

the only thing I don't understand is that it takes 5 hours to get there, but 7 hours to get back? from what I can tell, it's a straight shot, no stops to pick people up between cleveland and chicago. so why the time difference? And this is for any time on the schedule, so it can't be rush hour or anything.


Isn't that a time zone issue? Chicago is in the Central zone, and Ohio in the Eastern zone, so it's actually six hours each way.

you know what? i feel like the BIGGEST freakin idiot in the world right now..

yes i do know about the time difference, but no it didn't register in my head.

:crawls into corner:

Hey, we've all been there, don't worry about it :)

The important thing is a TRIP REPORT. That will remove all sins @:-)

I for one am dying to read one.

Off to somewhere in Latin America in a couple of weeks (thanks Skyauction.com). Hoping for miles to post :rolleyes:

EmailKid

you know what? i feel like the BIGGEST freakin idiot in the world right now..

yes i do know about the time difference, but no it didn't register in my head.

:crawls into corner:

Welcome to my world. :D

I've taken the Greyhound from Vancouver to Seattle and Portland and did not encounter any undesirable passengers. But I've gotten the impression that there can be rather unsavory sorts on at least some Greyhound routes. How do long-haul bus drivers handle possible security issues?

A typical approach seems to be to phone up the cops in the next town and drop off the offending passenger. That said, there seem to be many more stories about sort of odd or "interesting" passengers than criminal ones. The guy who carried a big tv on his lap from New Mexico to Iowa because, wrapped in a trash bag, they wouldn't let him put it under the bus. My friend who awoke on an overnight bus to find her seatmate having sex with the Army guy from across the aisle (ok, that was in Peru)--and the next day, her seatmate and the Army guy got off the bus as if nothing had happened, didn't even look at one another. Or a guy on the bus coming home from University in Iran, and in the middle of the night, his seatmate tells him he had fallen overboard in the Persian Gulf and was going to drown, except this dolphin came up to him and took him all night until he got to a beach in Kuwait. Now, this guy says, he doesn't worry about anything.

Pardon the somewhat off-topic anecdotes. Please let me know if I should delete them.

-Hayden

2. People who think Megabus will attract a "worse crowd" than Amtrak and Greyhound. I don't think that's so, but non-savvy travelers think these sorts of things.



Well, I'm a very savvy traveler, but I do have to wonder what kind of crowd a $1 fare from St. Louis to Chicago would draw.

RynAir gets a substantial profit from advertising on the back seats, i'm assuming that Megabus will get most of its profit from advertising as well.

Ok, got back from my trip sunday night.

here was my itinerary:

Outbound:
Leave Cleveland (tower city) 4:45PM Friday.
Arrive Chicago (union station) 10:00PM Friday.

Return:
Leave Chicago 3:30PM Sunday
Arrive Cleveland 10:45PM Sunday

The trip to chicago was FAR better than the return trip. The driver on the outbound trip was very nice, took our luggage and put it under the bus for us. There was a half hour break half way through the trip at a rest stop. We actually made it to Chicago 5 minutes before scheduled. As for the bus though, it was a little dumpy. The outside looks nice, but the inside was a totally different story.

The seats were comfortable, but you can tell that it was an old bus. Some of the personal lights didn't work, some of the TV's were a little off, and you could just tell that it was "well used". For some reason the rows of seats on the right side of the bus were nice and far apart, but on the left side, they were very close. This wasn't a problem though, as there were only 10 people on my trip, so we got to spread out.

The return trip was much worse. First the bus was 2 hours late... And it wasn't just the Cleveland one. At the Chicago stop, there were hundreds of people waiting for the bus to almost all mega bus locations. All of the buses were running late... And the Cleveland bus was originally mislabled as going to Detroit, so that caused considerable confusion. The bus driver on the return trip was a complete moron...

First instead of letting everyone sit, and then checking their tickets, he checked our tickets at the entrance to the bus. This might not have been a huge problem, but everyone was VERY antsy by this point, and shoving and grumbling. And to top it all off, it was raining lightly, so we had to stand in the rain (it was just a mist though).

The bus driver was rude when people asked him questions and didn't even give an answer when people asked why they were so late. He didn't play a movie (which was fine by me, but this upset some other passengers). We didn't get into Cleveland Until 12:30AM, which was VERY inconvinient, because I took the local bus home, and at that point, only the REALLY scary bus with the crazy night people was running...

I'm being a little overly nasty though. It was fine. Especially for the price (we got the $30 round trip tickets). I'm definitely planning on doing it again (already have my tickets for late may). hopefully they're still around and doing the Cleveland route.

(oh, and as for the advertising, no advertising anywhere on the bus. except for megabus of course)

Ok, got back from my trip sunday night.

here was my itinerary:


Thank you, Trp3p3 for the report!

Yeah thanks for the report... looking to do a similar trip soon and the more information i can gather the less likely my wife and I are to come up against surprises..

Here's a USA Today article on Megabus:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2006-05-23-midwest-buses_x.htm

I drive by the Megabus stop on my way to work, and occasionally pass one of them which has stopped to pick up passengers. Not my cup of tea, and some of their timings are horrid. But 3 hours 45 minutes for Chicago-Indy has a fair amount of rush hour slack built into it; if their timings match yours, it's only $38 RT compared to $85-$170 flying Southwest for about the same total travel time.