California - Los Angeles - San Francisco Buses

For those on a tight budget, flying between LAX and SFO when there is no bargain airfares to be had can be a strain...

But Greyhound is an awful alternitive (the depots & other passengers are scary, the busses are foul), and Amtrak is a 10+ hour journey...if they can even be bothered to keep their own schedules.

Enter the budget bus competitors...

For a while last year, MegaBus (http://www.megabus.com/us/) looked like it was going to grab up the market... Their fares were on the EU budget airline model, with a few "loss leader" $1 fares, and a sliding scale ranging from 5-40 dollars o/w depending on how early you purchased the ticket, and how full the bus was. Internet or phone advance purchase only, and they only have "bus stops" rather than depots with ticket counters. Unfortunately, it appears they were not making enough money out of their Los Angeles hub....and suspended all West Coast operations. (they still run US service out of their Chicago & New York hubs)

But that still leaves another two possible (but little known) options:

CA Shuttle Bus (http://www.cashuttlebus.com/index.asp):
which has a sliding scale $19-45 (with a few $5 loss-leaders). They require a 48 advance purchase via internet or phone. They are not quite as rapid as other services as they hit 4 stops in the SFO area (inc. Bart, CalTrain, & Muni) and 5 in Los Angles (inc. a few hostels, Union Station, and the Red/Orange Line)...they will even pick-up/drop-off at your doorstep in the Santa Monica, Marina Del Ray and Venice Beach areas for $5 additional.

There is also a "Chinatown Bus" from Montery Park to San Francisco & Oakland....which I have not been able to pin down details on.

The Vietnamese bus was $35 each way last time I checked, and usually includes water and a sandwich. Drops off/pick up include both Little Saigon districts of Orange County and San Jose, as well as SF, LA, and Oakland.

http://www.xedohoang.com/english.html

The Chinatown bus is $60 each way (with a $15 roundtrip discount) but goes from LA to San Francisco.

http://www.chinatown-bus.org/

I'd rather be bludgeoned to death than take a bus from LA to SF.

I'd rather be bludgeoned to death than take a bus from LA to SF.

Totally agree with this statement. Did an LA-SF bus trip on Greyhound once (15yrs ago) and will never do it again! Absolutely no redeeming value to the trip. Had a seatmate who told me his life stiry in the first half hour. Turned out he was an ex-con who was now a "courier". Got off the bus feeling like I had walked the distance!

I would suggest looking for the weekend deals from the airlines. I know I have seen them on UA for $59 (not sure if it is O/w or RT) or so. Your body will thank you for not taking the bus!

Did an LA-SF bus trip on Greyhound once (15yrs ago) and will never do it again! Absolutely no redeeming value to the trip.

I'm not sure I'd disagree...as long as your discussion is limited to Greyhound (they don't call it "flogging the dog" for nothing).

On the other hand, having ridden the late, lamented Megabus for 5 LAX-SFO overnight roundtrips last winter, and never paid more than $26.50 ROUNDTRIP (my best was $2.50)... the service was pretty damn good. The busses were clean, the other passengers were mostly college kids and tourists rather than riff-raff, and we arrived ahead of schedule every time. And I got a decent night's sleep in the reclining seat.

Most of the internet booking busses avoid the Greyhound riff-raff passengers by requiring advanced booking via a credit card. No reservation means no ride...which cuts down on the bums & cons & illegals riding, since they are all rather short on credit.