Press release just posted (http://us.megabus.com/ServiceAdvisories.aspx?id=17951). 4 round trips a day, some of the times are odd but workable enough to do a day trip though a bit easier on the Philly end. Service starts March 21st.
I rode the first day of service so none of you would have to. Some observations:
- The load factors were pretty high, both buses left with full loads and I'd have said a good 70% or so of the bus were bound for Philly. Yes, Megabus is selling DC-NYC tickets on these runs for a discount vs a direct trip.
- No stop at White Marsh. Yay!
- The Independence Mall alight-only stop stays, but after 30th Street heading towards NYC.
- The routing to get into Center City is interesting: Get off 95 and take the maze of roads in South Philly to get to 76, then to 30th Street. Heading toward DC, it becomes nuts as it's a huge U-turn going around the Sports Complex. The direct 76/95 interchange can't be finished soon enough!
- The fact that these runs begin/end in NYC might cause more harm than good. Due to backups in on the NJ Turnpike, the 7:40 was an hour late because it ended up detouring via 295 to avoid more traffic. Oddly people were calm about the whole situation.
The Verdict: I think this succeeds (a lot of the line were people who took the Chinatown buses for the sake of it wasn't Greyhound), but don't be shocked if things get tweaked especially in regards to true starting point and run times. Given the load factors, I wouldn't be shocked to see Bolt hop on this route since 70% of a double decker would fill 100% of a Prevost.
This route was needed for a VERY LONG TIME! I've been ranting about it (albeit on boards, rather than to the actual companies) for years.
Outside of Megabus, the only way to get to DC was via the already overcrowded Chinatown buses that came from New York, Greyhound, or Amtrak. I just hope that these Megabuses that stop in Philly going south have plenty of space for Philly passengers, so that we don't have to worry about being left behind.
I was disappointed that TransportAzumah never worked out for this type of trip, as he would have trips originating from Philadelphia to DC. The market is here...it's just that operators didn't care to tap into it. Instead, there are like 45 (hyperbole yes, but there are at least 10 I think) different companies running from DC to NY...
Quote from: Tritransit Area on March 22, 2010, 09:24:27 PM
This route was needed for a VERY LONG TIME! I've been ranting about it (albeit on boards, rather than to the actual companies) for years.
For President's Day, I was challenged on a dare by a good friend up in NYC to meet him in Philly for the day and since Megabus was doing the free ticket promotion, I gave in. My total cost to take the overnight bus up and an NYC-Philly run: $8.50. My cost to take Greyhound from Philly to DC: $18.00.
Given how Megabus is capping the DC-Philly fares at $10, this will work very, very well.
QuoteI just hope that these Megabuses that stop in Philly going south have plenty of space for Philly passengers, so that we don't have to worry about being left behind.
What I noticed is I think they're capping the number of people who can travel thru to NYC on the route. On the way up I'd say it was 85% full, on the way back 95% full.
QuoteI was disappointed that TransportAzumah never worked out for this type of trip, as he would have trips originating from Philadelphia to DC.
I think a lot of people were disappointed that TransportAzumah backed out (though knowing its history, was anyone really surprised when he aborted the launch?). Of course, had it launched would that heavy frequent service schedule have been that sustainable, especially considering its problems in the past?
QuoteInstead, there are like 45 (hyperbole yes, but there are at least 10 I think) different companies running from DC to NY...
The Post did a count late last year: 12. And since then I think someone else entered the fray. I know the market is there to support it but at some point there has to be overkill. I've always wondered how anyone who isn't Bolt, Mega, Peter Pan/Greyhound, or a Chinatown bus still survives in this market...
While trying to find the Post's article (which I've cited before), I found this blurb from 2002 when Washington Deluxe first started service to take Peter Pan/Greyhound on (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A12997-2002Oct11¬Found=true). A Greyhound one-way then is less than a round trip today. Wow.
I didn't realize they were capping fares at $10 for Philly-DC. That makes the bus VERY affordable!
Too bad the service is still rather limited (hopefully it will pick up). If there are a few more trips in the future that would make a DC daytrip more feasible, I may take it!
Quote from: Tritransit Area on March 23, 2010, 12:30:30 PM
I didn't realize they were capping fares at $10 for Philly-DC. That makes the bus VERY affordable!
Too bad the service is still rather limited (hopefully it will pick up). If there are a few more trips in the future that would make a DC daytrip more feasible, I may take it!
I was actually surprised at how many people I noticed who boarded with me in DC who got on in Philly 5 (well, 6) hours later. For the rest of the line, I wouldn't be surprised that much of it took Amtrak up and Megabus down; the price of the two combined even at max levels is competitive with Greyhound from DC (or Silver Spring/New Carrollton)-Philly.
this is great, I can finally go to Philly by bus
and are you serious? only $1 per trip? that's less than even regular fare for most local TA's! I really will go to Philly one of these days since it's a reality now.
Quote from: NewFlyer9736BCT on March 23, 2010, 02:29:10 PM
this is great, I can finally go to Philly by bus
and are you serious? only $1 per trip? that's less than even regular fare for most local TA's! I really will go to Philly one of these days since it's a reality now.
As low as $1 a trip. I checked the next two weekends and for the most part they don't go above $10 (I saw one oddball $12 fare). The two runs at decent hours are already all sold out for this weekend, next weekend it's possible to get a round trip for under $20 still.
Aw man while thinking of how i will go to phlly this just poped up. Im really concerned about how long the trip will take and how much.
Where are you coming from? It only takes about 2.5 hours betwixt DC and Philly.
Well, Megabus's DC-Philly experiment seems to have worked as they're building a secondary hub in Philadelphia and increasing DC-Philly headways to 7 a day as of July 21st (http://us.megabus.com/newroutestwo.aspx). With it comes good news and bad news.
Good news: A substantial daytrip to Philly can be done as the late morning departure has been moved from noon to 10:25 AM and the last bus has been pushed to 8:20 PM. Also, the runs no longer begin in New York.
Bad news for DC people: All but the middle-of-the-night bus gain a stop at White Marsh. This is good for Baltimore people as they've wanted a Baltimore/Philly run for a while. There also still is no mid-morning departure in the 7:00-9:00 timeframe which even Greyhound misses out on.
Debatable News: Travel can now be booked between DC and White Marsh. I kinda can see the benefit in this (get DC shoppers up there), but how ironic that it'll be easier to get there without a car on weekends from DC than from Baltimore.
Other Philly-based runs will be Philly-Harrisburg-State College-Pittsburgh, Philly-Boston, Philly-Syracuse-Buffalo-Toronto, and Philly-Atlantic City. Outside of Syracuse-Buffalo-Toronto, I see them being successes, IMO.
Yeah, I'm really looking into checking out the State College and Boston trips sometime soon. Of course, by the time this happens, the free seat promo will be over, lol. DC just got a lot more accessible, but I dunno about having to go out to White Marsh...