Budget Travel - Greyhound MR: NYC-TORONTO $2 R/T

MODS! If this is not the right forum, please relocate it or delete it, I didn't find a place to put it...

It might not be the right forum, but since GREYHOUND has some kind of loyalty program (see HERE (https://www.greyhound.com/roadrewards/) and TERMS AND CONDITIONS (https://www.greyhound.com/roadrewards/terms.aspx)) I decided to post the info.

Greyhound started a new bus venture called NEON which has wifi, power ports, etc and goes the New York-Toronto route. See HERE FOR MORE INFO (https://www.greyhound.com/home/microsites/neon/en/neontickets.html).

There is a $2 r/t price available for mid-week in SEP.-OCT. Play around with the dates and you will be able to find something.

If you do 16 o/w "credits" with them you can get a free r/t wherever the "fly" (somewhat like southwest), so technically speaking for 16 bucks you can get a 200 dollar "ticket" coast-to-coast.

I can't imagine taking Greyhound from Coast to Coast. I prefer not to go.

This brings back fond memories of my late teenage years when I purchased Greyhound Ameripasses and CanAM passes and spent 6 months on the bus, checking out every place I could think of in Canada and the USA.

Very uncomfortable, but cheap. I was paying around $300 for each 60 day pass of unlimited travel. Saved on hotels, too, sleeping on the bus.

I can't believe I did that.

I never did greyhound for longer than two hours intra-canada. Its horrendously uncomfortable.

I never did greyhound for longer than two hours intra-canada. Its horrendously uncomfortable.

I think when you're 18, you just don't care about comfort. But, almost a decade later, I think I've finally turned into a "comfort snob" (that or I'm now a human!):D

I used to mock my friends for flying to Mexico. "Take the bus, it's only $200!".

It is the cheapest way to travel, and you meet some...interesting...people. But, it takes nerves of steel.

I took Greyhound once and after that experience.. i've dubbed it the Convict Express.. or Convict Getaway!! :P:P

I never did greyhound for longer than two hours intra-canada. Its horrendously uncomfortable.

I travel frequently between NYC and Hartford, CT. It was so many Greyhound/Peter Pan bus rides that seriously made me examine my life goals. :rolleyes: I switched to Amtrak. Much more comfy and less hassle.

That said, sometimes I do need to take the bus, and didn't know Greyhound had a frequent rider program, so it's good to know. ^ Thanks!

16 Greyhound tickets and all they give you is more time on a greyhound?

Reminds of the joke about winning a vacation to Pittsburgh;
First prize: 1 week in Pittsburgh
Second prize: 2 weeks in Pittsburgh…

"The following trips or segments are ineligible for Destination Points under the Program:
xxxxxx* stops at intermediate cities on connecting or through trips
xxxxxx* or the purchase of multiple tickets as part of the same trip; "

WTH?? No end-on-ends? Phitttooooooi. :p


Did MIA-ATL-CLE-DTW back from spring break in '68 ... yeah, 'interesting' :D
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Surely the more discerning East Coast traveler takes the Chinatown Bus?! I've heard that engine fires and police chases are almost guaranteed, and for a few dollars more you can bribe the driver to drop you off at the end of your street. Greyhound has got nothing on that :D.

I took Greyhound once and after that experience.. i've dubbed it the Convict Express.. or Convict Getaway!! :P:P

Indeed, I took it about 12 years ago to go YYZ-NYC... on the way back into Canada, we were held up for about an hour at the Canadian border.

One of the American blokes apparently had a little bit of a dodgy history that was a concern for Citizenship & Immigration... needless to say, he was finally allowed back on the bus... we erupted in cheers!

One of the American blokes apparently had a little bit of a dodgy history
About 15 years ago (my last trip on Greyhound), coming from Vancouver to Seattle, I was strip-searched at the border because one of their dogs "took an interest" in one of my suitcases. Customs has waaaay too much power and no accountability.

They are also running NYC-WAS on the Neon brand with similar fares. And you don't have to spend 12 hours on a bus riding to Canada.

As a teen I was afraid to fly so I took cross country busses for fun trips. I would sleep for 12 hours at a time on those busses. Jesus. The longest one was ATL-Montana. Jesus.

Although I must say that if you haven't been through the mid-west on a bus, you haven't seen America. That was really special. Especially at night.

if you haven't been through the mid-west on a bus, you haven't seen America.
I prefer flying a taildragger at 3,000 feet AGL...

Seems like somebody ain't too happy with this "mileage run"...

The View from the wing blog (gleff) has been APPALLED by this mileage run... (HERE (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/2008/06/15/omg-a-greyhound-mileage-run/))

Wow, this one almost makes me cring to post. A couple of years ago I wrote about Greyhound introducing a loyalty program.

At the time I declared I had no interest in joining. And I still haven’t. After all, 16 Greyhound trips and you get… a free Greyhound trip. Ouch. And I cringe at the prospect of flying over 1000 miles in coach. When I come back from Asia, I even huff and puff at 5 hours in domestic first class, having gotten used to the charms of international premium cabin travel for similar stage lengths.

Yet it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a Greyhound mileage run. I’m appalled.

...

One of the few times I throw my lot in with the refrain of conservatives, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should….”

Surely the more discerning East Coast traveler takes the Chinatown Bus?! I've heard that engine fires and police chases are almost guaranteed, and for a few dollars more you can bribe the driver to drop you off at the end of your street. Greyhound has got nothing on that :D.
It actually appears that NeOn is Greyhound's answer to the Chinatown Bus. (Note the curbside pickup and dropoff.)

So perhaps it will compete not only in price and in the advertisied amenities, but in the UNadvertised "extras" as well!

BTW, is the $2 fare a mistake fare or a promo fare?

It actually appears that NeOn is Greyhound's answer to the Chinatown Bus. (Note the curbside pickup and dropoff.)

So perhaps it will compete not only in price and in the advertisied amenities, but in the UNadvertised "extras" as well!

BTW, is the $2 fare a mistake fare or a promo fare?

seems like a promo fare.

Jesus. The longest one was ATL-Montana. Jesus.

Although I must say that if you haven't been through the mid-west on a bus, you haven't seen America. That was really special. Especially at night.
PHL-YYC took me though the midwest as well as the Prairie Provinces in Canada :eek:

Did a few other longhauls in my younger days as well as DAL-NYC with a connection the Connecticut Limo that took me to Watertown.

Oh, and I look forward to following this discussion in the Budget Travel Forum :D

EmailKid

Thanks OP for highlighting this. My brother needed a trip to ON from Manhattan and is in on the deal b/c of you. And coincidentally, my mother just got back today from visiting him on Neon and couldn't stop talking about the service tonight. I know most of us are spoiled by flying everywhere in F, but I'm even willing to try Neon in the near future (for all my free BRG NYC hotel stays).

They are also running NYC-WAS on the Neon brand with similar fares.


I'm not seeing this on the Greyhound site or via Google. Can you please provide a link? Thanks!

I prefer flying a taildragger at 3,000 feet AGL...

I'm with you.

Seems like somebody ain't too happy with this "mileage run"...

The View from the wing blog (gleff) has been APPALLED by this mileage run... (HERE (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/2008/06/15/omg-a-greyhound-mileage-run/))

Funny reading that from a blogger. I see it as a good creative writing opportunity.. assuming you had a lot of time to burn.

A buddy of mine took greyhound recently from seattle to san diego (one way). He was flat broke, but scraped the money together to purchase bus fare. The ultimate irony was, not only was the bus fare absolutely ridiculous, the entire trip took an excessive amount of time, and significant money was required to buy junk food on the way...and really it was where ever the bus stopped. and if the driver wanted to take a break, well, you stopped. During that time, AS was selling o/w for $99 SEA-SAN. :eek: which he far exceeded.

Anyway, he kept a blog during this journey. Its quite a good read.

I took Greyhound once and after that experience.. i've dubbed it the Convict Express.. or Convict Getaway!! :P:P

The characters he met on the bus were people I really wouldnt want to meet on the street -- let alone sit multiple hours next to them with my valuables. The stories were endless.

... BUT ...

hats off to anyone up for the extremely cheap and rewarding greyhound travel. You will meet interesting people, see places nobody wants to visit on your way (which can be an enlightening experience actually), and really understand the vast distances involved when you fly on a plane for a couple hours....

They are also running NYC-WAS on the Neon brand with similar fares. And you don't have to spend 12 hours on a bus riding to Canada.

It ain't the NEON brand, rather it is the BOLTBUS brand which is a branch of GREYHOUND but has its own "loyalty program". The info is here:

http://www.boltbus.com


They also had a $1 each-way fare when they started.

All these are an answer to MEGABUS (http://www.megabus.com) which started service along those routes, and has the price of $1 per way. So GREYHOUND invented BOLTBUS for the upper east-coast travel, and it had $1 promo fare in the beginning (you can get today at $7 o/w to baltimore or washington, dc). Now, GREYHOUND introduced NEON for the nyc-toronto route which is also covered by MEGABUS.

Well, there it is. I tried YYZ - NYC from Sep 9 to 11. If I pay 6 days in advance, the fare is $1. And there's no fuel surcharge either. :D By comparison, the cheapest fare on AC is $409.

It is the cheapest way to travel, and you meet some...interesting...people. But, it takes nerves of steel.

That, or a Brit accent - even the scariest-seeming folk I met on Greyhound seemed to turn nice as soon as I opened my mouth :D)

I had some amazing trips in my early 20s (including SFO-LAX-FLG-MSY-AUS-BNA-TYS-DTT-YYZ-BOS-NYC in a month, hooking up with friends on email lists and a telnet chat - which probably dates me ;))

15 years on, with a wife and toddler, I seriously doubt I'd do it again - although I'd probably try Megabus/Boltbus if I was going somewhere on my own and the schedule worked.

Do you need to use the tickets or you can just buy them in order to get the credit with Greyhound program. I doubt they scan them in :)

I took several trips on greyhound fort collins-LAS just over 10 years ago. On one trip met a few youngins like myself and we almost got kicked off the bus twice for talking too much(?). One of these fellas taught me the art of making orangemen. http://www.ttora-hawaii.com/OldWebFiles/OldSiteFiles/orangeman/index.html

They're anatomically correct.

Good or bad...there are definitely some interesting types aboard greyhound...

Last week, I took Megabus from NYC to Atlantic City (service operated by Academy Bus Lines) for $1.50 roundtrip ($1.00 roundtrip fare plus 50-cent booking fee). Fares range from a low of $1.00 to a high of $35.00, roundtrip. Academy provides service to the Atlantic City casinos. When I got off the bus at the A.C. Hilton, I got my $19.00 cash casino bonus, and a $5.00 food voucher. At some of the other casinos, I think the bonus is upwards of $25.00, all cash. The return trip to NYC is valid for four days from day of departure.

Reminds of the joke about winning a vacation to Pittsburgh;
First prize: 1 week in Pittsburgh
Second prize: 2 weeks in Pittsburgh…


Hey, I once spend a week in Pittsburgh one night!










(well it seemed like a week)

Last week, I took Megabus from NYC to Atlantic City (service operated by Academy Bus Lines) for $1.50 roundtrip ($1.00 roundtrip fare plus 50-cent booking fee). Fares range from a low of $1.00 to a high of $35.00, roundtrip. Academy provides service to the Atlantic City casinos. When I got off the bus at the A.C. Hilton, I got my $19.00 cash casino bonus, and a $5.00 food voucher. At some of the other casinos, I think the bonus is upwards of $25.00, all cash. The return trip to NYC is valid for four days from day of departure.

Thanks for the tip.
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It seems many north americans hate taking the bus. Probabley they associate it with being poor. But in many countries traveling by bus is perfectly safe and a great way to see the place, and get to know the "locals". Also, in NYC I think it is much more common for people to take the bus then anywhere else in NA. And the chinatown "chicken bus" is popular. There is one that leaves from the UES so no need for me to get down to china town for it. last time I took it, it was actually a van...

All these are an answer to MEGABUS (http://www.megabus.com) which started service along those routes, and has the price of $1 per way. So GREYHOUND invented BOLTBUS for the upper east-coast travel, and it had $1 promo fare in the beginning (you can get today at $7 o/w to baltimore or washington, dc). Now, GREYHOUND introduced NEON for the nyc-toronto route which is also covered by MEGABUS.

You can still find some $1 fares on BOLTBUS. eg philly to canal street in July (is that a new service?)