Sorry about the delay in posting. I’ve spent the past week with my ass planted on the couch at my girlfriend’s apt in Manhattan. My “office” looked like this:
Anyway, I am now at home, stuck in the foot of snow that has drifted into Portland. All this traveling between DC and NYC made me think that as cheap geeks, we also have to be frugal in other parts of our lives to save money for gadgets and/or food.
A little about me: I live in DC, my GF lives in NYC. Distance is a little tricky. I'm cheap, therefore, I can't afford to take the airplane or train that often (altho I do sometimes, if the traffic sucks aka Thanksgiving 2k8).
For most of us poor/college/young folk, we have the bus. We're not talking about your parent's Greyhound. Nowadays, there is a fairly large market for bus travel. Most of these buses will take you from DC to Philly, New York, or even Boston. Even other smaller companies focus on the niche locations like Richmond Virginia and various places in upstate New York. For me, I spent a good chunk of college taking the ones from Philly to NYC/DC, but nowadays it's just DC to NYC. Here's a breakdown of most of the available transportation systems that I’ve taken.
A little about me: I live in DC, my GF lives in NYC. Distance is a little tricky. I'm cheap, therefore, I can't afford to take the airplane or train that often (altho I do sometimes, if the traffic sucks aka Thanksgiving 2k8).
For most of us poor/college/young folk, we have the bus. We're not talking about your parent's Greyhound. Nowadays, there is a fairly large market for bus travel. Most of these buses will take you from DC to Philly, New York, or even Boston. Even other smaller companies focus on the niche locations like Richmond Virginia and various places in upstate New York. For me, I spent a good chunk of college taking the ones from Philly to NYC/DC, but nowadays it's just DC to NYC. Here's a breakdown of most of the available transportation systems that I’ve taken.
Airplane: Fast but not wallet friendly
I have a friend who works in DC and she travels to NYC to see her boyfriend and she frequently takes the plane to get to NYC. Jetblue has a flight that travels between DC and New York for $150 and there are other shuttles that travel between the two cities for roughly the same price. You gotta book it way ahead obviously. Flight takes roughly an hour and a half. You can’t even get to Philly by car that quickly!
Pros: Fastest way to get to NYC, convienient from DC (Reagan or Dulles) and JFK (Long Island Rail). No worry about traffic, and if you pack light, it makes travel a cinch. Wireless on some of the beta flights.
Cons: Compared to other traveling methods, this isn’t cheap. Also, for some people, air travel might suck due to fear of flying, small seats and such. For me, I sometimes don’t plan to head to NYC until the week of, which makes booking a flight not cheap at all. And, if you stay for a while, luggage costs start to bite into that price also. No plugs for laptops. And the wireless is limited to Amazon and email, and it’s slow as all hell. Security also very annoying.
I have a friend who works in DC and she travels to NYC to see her boyfriend and she frequently takes the plane to get to NYC. Jetblue has a flight that travels between DC and New York for $150 and there are other shuttles that travel between the two cities for roughly the same price. You gotta book it way ahead obviously. Flight takes roughly an hour and a half. You can’t even get to Philly by car that quickly!
Pros: Fastest way to get to NYC, convienient from DC (Reagan or Dulles) and JFK (Long Island Rail). No worry about traffic, and if you pack light, it makes travel a cinch. Wireless on some of the beta flights.
Cons: Compared to other traveling methods, this isn’t cheap. Also, for some people, air travel might suck due to fear of flying, small seats and such. For me, I sometimes don’t plan to head to NYC until the week of, which makes booking a flight not cheap at all. And, if you stay for a while, luggage costs start to bite into that price also. No plugs for laptops. And the wireless is limited to Amazon and email, and it’s slow as all hell. Security also very annoying.
Train: Crazy train, running on the track...
Amtrak trains are my personal fave when I want to spoil myself. From Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC, it puts me literally at the door of my gf’s apt and I live on the red line metro, so it’s no biggie to Union. Also, you can carry nearly as much crap as you want onto the train, as long as you’re willing to haul it. Very straight forward, and regardless of weather or traffic, the regular regional rail trains take just about 3.5 hours to get to NYC. Oh, and you can plug in your laptop, which is nice. The prices range from $67 for the off peak, late at night trains to the $200 or so for the Accela trains, which are terribly overpriced and stupid to save 15 minutes. Average price for an afternoon or so is roughly just over 100 bucks, and cheaper if you have a student advantage card.
Pros: Pretty fast, no traffic concerns. Price reasonable for the service you get. Comfortable seats, plug ins for your laptop or whatever gadget you got, space to stretch out, fairly smooth ride. If you don’t live near midtown, you’re smack at Penn Station, so you can use it to get anywhere else in NYC.
Cons: You can still do better than $100 if you’re scrapping by on cash. No wireless. Honestly, I like the trains, I just think the price is still a bit much. I guess, if you try to get DC late night, the metro doesn’t run after 12…oh, and don't ever get Accela.
The BUS SECTION
The buses are pretty much the way I travel. Cheapest way to go. There are several bus companies, but they all have their nuances, which I would like to discuss here. As a method of transportation, here are the Pros and Cons, with each bus service’s pros and cons listed in their sections. (Note: I have not taken Megabus before so therefore I did not review it this time around. I will update this again at a later date.)
Pros: Cheapest way to go. Depending on the company, you can get the same amenities found in other modes of transportation. 4.5 hours on a bus is just a full nap to some people like me. They take off all over DC and at almost any time of the day.
Cons: Slowest way to go. Depending on traffic and time of year, it could take anywhere from 4 hours for an off peak trip to even 8 hours on the day before Thanksgiving.
Amtrak trains are my personal fave when I want to spoil myself. From Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC, it puts me literally at the door of my gf’s apt and I live on the red line metro, so it’s no biggie to Union. Also, you can carry nearly as much crap as you want onto the train, as long as you’re willing to haul it. Very straight forward, and regardless of weather or traffic, the regular regional rail trains take just about 3.5 hours to get to NYC. Oh, and you can plug in your laptop, which is nice. The prices range from $67 for the off peak, late at night trains to the $200 or so for the Accela trains, which are terribly overpriced and stupid to save 15 minutes. Average price for an afternoon or so is roughly just over 100 bucks, and cheaper if you have a student advantage card.
Pros: Pretty fast, no traffic concerns. Price reasonable for the service you get. Comfortable seats, plug ins for your laptop or whatever gadget you got, space to stretch out, fairly smooth ride. If you don’t live near midtown, you’re smack at Penn Station, so you can use it to get anywhere else in NYC.
Cons: You can still do better than $100 if you’re scrapping by on cash. No wireless. Honestly, I like the trains, I just think the price is still a bit much. I guess, if you try to get DC late night, the metro doesn’t run after 12…oh, and don't ever get Accela.
The BUS SECTION
The buses are pretty much the way I travel. Cheapest way to go. There are several bus companies, but they all have their nuances, which I would like to discuss here. As a method of transportation, here are the Pros and Cons, with each bus service’s pros and cons listed in their sections. (Note: I have not taken Megabus before so therefore I did not review it this time around. I will update this again at a later date.)
Pros: Cheapest way to go. Depending on the company, you can get the same amenities found in other modes of transportation. 4.5 hours on a bus is just a full nap to some people like me. They take off all over DC and at almost any time of the day.
Cons: Slowest way to go. Depending on traffic and time of year, it could take anywhere from 4 hours for an off peak trip to even 8 hours on the day before Thanksgiving.
BOLTBUS- what Greyhound should be
Boltbus was started by Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines (No Joke!) to try to get a piece of the DC- NYC route pie. The buses are very clean, and they have wireless on the buses with fairly decent speeds, depending on how many people are on. Also, they have power plugs, which is huge when you’re spending a couple hours of the road and need juice. Picks you up near Metro Center in DC and drops you off right near Penn Station. Also, if you get the seats early enough, you can have a seat for a buck (Good luck on that...it sometimes takes two months ahead to book a buck seat, and most buses only have two dollar seats...)! But usually, the price is about $25 bucks one way, though the prices go up from a buck until they fill up.
Pros: Solid Wireless, Powerplugs, fairly accessible pickup point for most people, clean, and decent price, with the chance of getting a really cheap seat. Get 8 one ways or 4 round trips and get a free one way!
Cons: Probably the first of the bus companies to sell out if you try to get a seat the same week. Those dollar seats go weeks ahead of time.
Boltbus was started by Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines (No Joke!) to try to get a piece of the DC- NYC route pie. The buses are very clean, and they have wireless on the buses with fairly decent speeds, depending on how many people are on. Also, they have power plugs, which is huge when you’re spending a couple hours of the road and need juice. Picks you up near Metro Center in DC and drops you off right near Penn Station. Also, if you get the seats early enough, you can have a seat for a buck (Good luck on that...it sometimes takes two months ahead to book a buck seat, and most buses only have two dollar seats...)! But usually, the price is about $25 bucks one way, though the prices go up from a buck until they fill up.
Pros: Solid Wireless, Powerplugs, fairly accessible pickup point for most people, clean, and decent price, with the chance of getting a really cheap seat. Get 8 one ways or 4 round trips and get a free one way!
Cons: Probably the first of the bus companies to sell out if you try to get a seat the same week. Those dollar seats go weeks ahead of time.
DC2NY – The Upscale Way to Travel
DC2NY is owned and run by a small group of guys. I don’t know specifics of the ownership, but I know if you want a solid bus, they offer what I think is the standard. Bus picks you up from DuPont Circle and drops you off at Penn Station NYC. They have wireless, play a movie during the trip (everyone gets to vote), prices are good and they offer a discount if you are a member, which only involves signing up with your email address. Every 6 one way trips you get a free one. The people are really nice and very helpful. Oh, you also get a free bottle of water.
Pros: I live two stops away from Dupont, so it’s a quick jump over. Wireless is decent, water bottle comes handy when you forget, I like the movies they show, and I’ve gotten to know the people pretty well. Vasily is a hoot. Member and frequent traveler program is a nice little plus.
Cons: Seats go pretty quick here also. Not the fastest bus, but not the slowest. These guys are my fave. (Update: Plugs now too!)
DC2NY is owned and run by a small group of guys. I don’t know specifics of the ownership, but I know if you want a solid bus, they offer what I think is the standard. Bus picks you up from DuPont Circle and drops you off at Penn Station NYC. They have wireless, play a movie during the trip (everyone gets to vote), prices are good and they offer a discount if you are a member, which only involves signing up with your email address. Every 6 one way trips you get a free one. The people are really nice and very helpful. Oh, you also get a free bottle of water.
Pros: I live two stops away from Dupont, so it’s a quick jump over. Wireless is decent, water bottle comes handy when you forget, I like the movies they show, and I’ve gotten to know the people pretty well. Vasily is a hoot. Member and frequent traveler program is a nice little plus.
Cons: Seats go pretty quick here also. Not the fastest bus, but not the slowest. These guys are my fave. (Update: Plugs now too!)
VAMOOSE- The Kosher way to go.
Vamoose is also very convienent, and for a while, was run by a group of Hasidic Jews (My Jewish friends refer to this as the Jewbus), but l think they may have been either bought out by someone else or management changed or just had more help. 25 one way, but every four trips you get a free trip with the coupons from the tickets. Picks you up in either Bethesda or Rosslyn and drops you off near Penn Station. The most barebones of all the buses, but works quite well.
Pros: Price-wise, this is probably the way to go. Very convienent if you live on the outskirts of DC and need a ride. If you take it from Bethesda, it puts you on the edge of DC, which makes the ride a bit quicker. With the coupons, makes traveling VERY cheap.
Cons: Bethesda and Rosslyn are a bit far if you actually live inside of the city, no wireless, no plugs, no movies even.
Vamoose is also very convienent, and for a while, was run by a group of Hasidic Jews (My Jewish friends refer to this as the Jewbus), but l think they may have been either bought out by someone else or management changed or just had more help. 25 one way, but every four trips you get a free trip with the coupons from the tickets. Picks you up in either Bethesda or Rosslyn and drops you off near Penn Station. The most barebones of all the buses, but works quite well.
Pros: Price-wise, this is probably the way to go. Very convienent if you live on the outskirts of DC and need a ride. If you take it from Bethesda, it puts you on the edge of DC, which makes the ride a bit quicker. With the coupons, makes traveling VERY cheap.
Cons: Bethesda and Rosslyn are a bit far if you actually live inside of the city, no wireless, no plugs, no movies even.
NEW CENTURY TRAVEL, and the other Chinatown Buses – ehhhh……
So here is the breakdown with the Chinatown buses. They pick you up in Chinatown DC, and they drop you off in the Chinatown in NYC. No wireless, no plugs, they pick you up, take your ticket, drop you off. The original DC/NYC/Philly bus companies and were the ones that started the price war between all the other bus companies. Fung Wa, Shung Fa, New Century, etc, etc. (Update: Warning to everyone: DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE TO BUY TICKETS. YOU WILL ENCOUNTER NO HELP IF THE TICKETS ARE BAD)
Pros: I guess if you are near Chinatown, it might be nice. I’m convinced you can go to Chinatown NYC/Philly/DC in the dead of night and there’s still a bus to DC at like 2am. The drivers are mad fast, which is both a good and bad I guess. I once got to NYC in under 4 hours using New Century…
Cons: The people are sometimes rude, the buses never really come on time, sometimes not even come at all. Occasionally you make a stop in Philly or a shady stop in Baltimore. No frills trip, this is the way to go if you decide to go on the same day all of a sudden, and everyone else is booked up.
Conclusion:
So here is the breakdown with the Chinatown buses. They pick you up in Chinatown DC, and they drop you off in the Chinatown in NYC. No wireless, no plugs, they pick you up, take your ticket, drop you off. The original DC/NYC/Philly bus companies and were the ones that started the price war between all the other bus companies. Fung Wa, Shung Fa, New Century, etc, etc. (Update: Warning to everyone: DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE TO BUY TICKETS. YOU WILL ENCOUNTER NO HELP IF THE TICKETS ARE BAD)
Pros: I guess if you are near Chinatown, it might be nice. I’m convinced you can go to Chinatown NYC/Philly/DC in the dead of night and there’s still a bus to DC at like 2am. The drivers are mad fast, which is both a good and bad I guess. I once got to NYC in under 4 hours using New Century…
Cons: The people are sometimes rude, the buses never really come on time, sometimes not even come at all. Occasionally you make a stop in Philly or a shady stop in Baltimore. No frills trip, this is the way to go if you decide to go on the same day all of a sudden, and everyone else is booked up.
Conclusion:
These different modes of transportation just show you the variety of available modes of transportation there are between these two cities. Always research and look into the locations for these places to find out what is best for you. Different people have different priorities, so look these places up if you want and plan appropriately. Even if you live in the boonies and want a cheap way of getting into the city, look some of these companies up and give em a shot. You might save a good deal of cash and time.
So there you have it. Pretty much all of the conventional means of getting to NYC. If I missed any other than Megabus, let me know and I will update. I may add the Philly ones later as well. As a college student for either of those places (or even Philly and Boston), you can see friends in those places with little effort. It helped me keep in touch with friends all over the East Coast during college, and keeps me sane with my girlfriend now. So remember, travel smart, travel cheap.
Uber fast conclusion: DO NOT USE NON BOLTBUS GREYHOUND.
Appendix:
Pricing Breakdown (for one way unless otherwise indicated):
Jetblue: $150
Amtrak: $67-200 depending on time of day
Boltbus: $1-25 depending on when you get it. Free trip after 8 one ways or one round trip.
DC2NY: $28 nonmember/ $25 member. There is also a break on round trips. Free trip after 6 one ways.
Vamoose: $25 one way. Free trip after 4 one ways.
New Century: $20 one way. I think $35 round trip. Been a while. Don't use unless you're stupid
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I wish my office had GTA4 on a 42" screen.
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