RSS FeedHowto: Getting To New York For One Dollar (Boltbus)
The beauty of living downtown is its proximity to the nerve centers of Washington DC’s transportation networks be it subway, bus, highway or airport. This writer knows many downtown residents who have ditched their car and its associated responsibilities and replaced it with a good daily workout, a Metro Smartrip card, a grocery cart, more time and additional financial freedom. We told you how to get to Dulles Airport for three dollars. Now, it’s New York for one dollar…intrigued? Read on!
Enter Boltbus, Greyhound’s new discount bus service, that runs between Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. One way ticket prices between city pairs range from $1 to $22. That is not a typo. One buck will get you to New York and we did find tickets available at that price, if booked far enough into the future (two months). More commonly we found $7, $10 and $15 tickets with a high of $22 (plus a 50 cent transaction fee). DC-New York service runs eight times daily with a travel time of four hours, just over an hour slower than the Acela Express, Amtrak’s relatively higher speed and significantly more expensive rail service.
Other cool features of the service include the Bolt Reward program for frequent Bolters, free Wi-Fi on the bus, 110 volt AC outlets, A/C, onboard restroom, wheelchair accessibility and drop off at two New York locations (33rd and 7th or 6th between Canal and Grand). Pick up/drop off in DC is at 11th and G Streets, NW.
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Comments
Having just come back from NYC this weekend on the 3 am train, I can tell you I would have gladly paid $22 to ride on this bus rather than the overcrowed (Mrs Columbo & I assumed no one but an idiot would ride the 3 am train… in many ways we were right) early morning train. Wish I had known about this option before I had already booked my amtrak ticket.
Not so convenient for PQ residents and also more expensive, but I have had several great experiences with Vamoose. The closest stop is Rosslyn (used to be Tenleytown).
I haven’t ridden it myself but would consider breaking my moratorium on long-distance bus rides for it.
A frequent dc-to-ny traveler friend of mine paid something around that $1 price for one of their inaugural trips and used the onboard wi-fi to give me a play-by-play over gtalk and sing Boltbus’s praises.
I took a cheap bus to NYC once (not this one.) Had to catch the bus outside. Just hope it’s not raining.
The restroom had an unbelievable stench. I never even went in it, but had to sit next to it. The door was broken so it kept swinging open. Other passengers started breathing through their shirts.
Next time I took the train. Covered station, more legroom, no stench and best of all, I could stick my bag right over my seat.
But hey, this $1 bus may be better.
#5, there is a lot of covered waiting area at 11 & G, that’s a huge Metro Center entrance.
Which brings to mind another question: Is it legal for this bus and the other chinatown buses to use the street as a loading zone?
I’m not much of a bus person unless it’s short hops (i.e. the Circulator to Trader Joe’s or Georgetown) but I will be trying this the next time I go to NYC.
the Boltbus FAQ even tells you the bus model…the Prevost X3-45…which looks like a nice ride.
Omari: apparently the BoltBus does not have a restroom, so you won’t face this issue. In fact, maybe that’s how the business got its name. After the 4+ hour nonstop trip, you’ll have to “bolt” for the nearest restroom.
Columbo: No.
dave – the Boltbus does have a restroom…first sentence, last paragraph of the post. but your joke still made me laugh. 
I took the Asian-operated Chinatown bus once…. None of the operators spoke English, the guy sitting next to me was slurping some type of blood broth soup filled with funky smelling fish for about an hour, the two seater on the other side of the aisle was occupied by a couple that had about 4 large bags each on the bus with them filling up the seats and the aisle, and the bus made one unannounced stop at a rest area on the Jersey turnpike. No one said what time the bus was to depart and I didn’t see anyone do a headcount before the bus pulled away. In fact, the only announcement I heard was the driver once screamed out in Chinese at a customer near the front who was blasting music from a stereo without headphones. The experience was lovely.
oh ok pqresident, my bad. Marc Fisher blogged about his Boltbus adventure. He liked it among other things because because it doesn’t stop for a “potty break” like the other buses. Now I realize why!
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2008/04/bolting_to_new_york_for_one_lo.html
I’ve taken BoltBus and my friend used it to get here from NY this weekend. A civilized boarding process, more leg room, the WiFi and NEW busses )with new bus smell). Its a winner!!
I’ve taken the Chinatown buses with no real issue. Yes, it takes longer than the train but it costs SO MUCH LESS it’s worth the hour extra time. In the end, flying to NYC is cheaper than the train if we’re just talking price (and ignoring taxi charges to/from airport).
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I don’t know if I would actually use it, but a legit bus company with WiFi for 20 bucks sounds like a pretty good deal. Its interesting that after years of fighting the “Chinatown” busses Greyhound seems to have given up and decided to join them.
I remember about a year ago at one of the Downtown Neighborhood Association meetings they had a guest speaker who was an activist against the Chinatown busses and went through a long list of all the reasons the busses were illegal and viloating various regulations, how evil they were etc.
I asked him how he had become so knowledgable about these issues and what had prompted him to take up this crusade. He said “Oh, I work for Greyhound….”