Cheap bus from Boston to NYC?
 

It's been a while since I took a bus from Boston to NYC. I use to take the Chinese companies. How much am I looking at now if I were to book on the day and from where?

Thx!

Depends on demand. Could be $20, could be $40

Skip the Chinese buses, they are unsafe. One crashed this week (out of NYC near Pittsburgh).

If you know your plans well in advance, book early and lock in a $10 fare (or less). If you end up not going you've only thrown away a few bucks

The Chinese buses probably aren't any less unsafe than your name brand buses. Remember, the Chinatown buses are most likely operating more trips than the competition due to the low price point.

If you book well enough in advance, you can get a ticket for a buck plus fees. There are a few companies operating out of South Station Bus Terminal. Megabus, Bolt (owned by Greyhound), Peter Pan, Greyhound, Yo! (Greyhound's Chinatown bus brand), and Lucky Star (which is a former Chinatown bus brand that decided they want to serve a bus terminal instead of a random curb).

Dropoff locations in NYC vary between the bus carriers. Megabus will drop you off at a curb near Hudson Yards. Bolt, Greyhound, and Peter Pan will drop off at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Chinese buses, Yo! and Lucky Star drop off in Flushing I think.

Bolt and Greyhound are probably your most comfortable rides, with extra legroom, wifi, and power outlets. If you travel during the off-times, you can get a ticket for a little as $10-20. Greyhound has a few red-eye buses as well.

I ride Bolt and Megabus between NYC and Phila quite frequently. They are a great bargain and slightly nicer than the chinatown buses. Either would be fine, but I prefer Bolt for it's higher ceilings and it's Grand Street stop.

Double check the NYC drop off locations as they keep wandering due to the West Side Yards construction.

Correcting above, Bolt is Greyhound owned and Megabus is Coach USA owned.

There's no correction to be made if you noticed the comma. ;)

Just an update. I took Peter Pan. It's my first time and might be my last time unless timing is an issue. I had one of the rudest bus drivers I've ever met in my life. 10 minutes before departure and some guy just wants to leave the bus to refill his water bottle and the driver goes berserk and started lecturing him on the timing. I get that the driver wants to leave on time, but the gate was close to the washroom so I'm not sure what the problem was. The driver didn't even offered to help with the luggage. He said it was everyone's responsibility to get their luggage into the bus. The guy's tone and attitude was problematic. Furthermore, the stop at Hartford was quite long and one of the passengers told him to hurry up. I'm not sure what we were waiting for as there were no new passengers between Hartford and New York. As for the ticket, it was $25.50 after tax.

Welcome to taking the bus!

It isn’t “Boston “ but if you are west of the city www.ourbus.com has non stop Worcester Union Station to Port Authority three times a day.

clean buses with nice drivers. I’ve never had to share a seat and I’m not sure how they make money on the route.

About $20 to $24 each way.

Mike

This also runs from Back Bay once (almost) daily.

Just FYI, there used to be a VIP bus company called Limo Liner that unfortunately went out of business in January.

I've never had to share a seat on an airplane, train or bus in my life (though I have been seated next to a few people I wouldn't have minded sharing a seat with). Have you ever had someone in the seat next to you? :D

Flixbus is also a new option in Boston. It leaves by the AC Hotel (about a 5 minute walk from Broadway T station) and drops you off near Penn Station. I just got a RT ticket for about $7, which included a reserved seat number and an extra seat on the return trip.(i.e., NYC -> Boston). I think their pricing is similar to some other carriers in that the first seats sold a trip are cheaper and then get more expensive as more seats are sold and days to departure approaches.

Read some bad stories about Flix on TripAdvisor, but it seems to be regional problems, mostly. Let us know how this works out for you!

It was fine. Not too crowded (may be because it is not well-known in the market yet) and the stop locations and times were convenient for me. I have also taken Greyhound and Megabus in the past, and I would say it is comparable. To me, they are all just a bus to get me from point A to point B cheaper than the train and/or flying.

I honestly missed the Chinese buses. I remember when I first took them many years ago, it was $10 per direction.

Lucky Star still operates. They use South Station Bus Terminal now instead of a random curb in Chinatown.