Megabus expands into Texas, offering 10,000 free seats

jtk1519 · #1 Posted: **Jun 1, 2012, 3:33 PM**

Quote:

Megabus.Com Expands Service To/From Dallas, Houston, San Antonio And Five Cities

Daily express bus service offers 10,000 free seats and $1 seats to/from newest cities to celebrate launch

(May 31, 2012) – Megabus.com, the first city-to-city, express bus company with fares from $1, announced today its expansion to Texas and the southern United States. Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; and San Antonio, TX residents can now travel to five cities: Austin, TX; Norman, Okla.; Memphis, Tenn.; Little Rock, Ark.; and New Orleans, La., for as low as $1.

Service will begin June 19, and customers can begin booking travel today at www.megabus.com.

Fares always start as low as $1 and get higher as the traveling date gets closer. Customers are encouraged to book early to secure $1 fares.

...

http://us.megabus.com/Megabus%20expa...%20cities.aspx

I have some friends in NYC that use this quite a bit so I'll probably give it a try.

ardecila · #2 Posted: **Jun 1, 2012, 9:22 PM**

Yeah, I was expecting an imminent Texas expansion after they added the NOLA-ATL route.

Megabus is awesome, but for some reason they didn't like it on the West Coast. Buses between LA and SF ran virtually empty, even with the $1 teaser fares. I'm not sure if it was a failure of marketing or some kind of anti-bus sentiment by Californians.

Regardless, I hope Texans realize how freakin' awesome Megabus is.

JManc · #3 Posted: **Jun 2, 2012, 1:08 AM**

I would use this. 30 or so bucks from Houston to New Orleans? Yes please. Save gas, mileage on car and avoid paying for parking at hotel

urbanactivist · #4 Posted: **Jun 2, 2012, 2:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

I would use this. 30 or so bucks from Houston to New Orleans? Yes please. Save gas, mileage on car and avoid paying for parking at hotel

Count me in too!! I was sold the second I saw that the NOLA bus stop in IN the French Quarter. Did someone say Southern Decadence? Lol.

I'm already planning a trip to Dallas for the last weekend of June. What a great way to get there, spend one night and get to ride all of the DartRail routes and just get some photos. I'm really excited about this service.

Suspicions are that at least some of the routes will be a big hit in Texas. There's lots of people that have friends and family in the regional cities that have been squeezed big time by gas prices and can't visit like they'd like to. We'll see.

N830MH · #5 Posted: **Jun 2, 2012, 4:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

I would use this. 30 or so bucks from Houston to New Orleans? Yes please. Save gas, mileage on car and avoid paying for parking at hotel

Right, they have save the fuel. They don't want to get too extremely expensive. The gas price has already gone down.

osmo · #6 Posted: **Jun 2, 2012, 6:17 PM**

Great news. TO bad the routes don't stretch a bit farther was seeing how I could navigate from Toronto down there (it was possible but with a headache of transfers and layovers) just for fun. Regardless Megabus seems to be a healthy business. Their 'no frills' approach must save them a ton of cash versus Greyhound which has to maintain and staff a bunch of terminals and facilities.

jtk1519 · #7 Posted: **Jun 2, 2012, 10:04 PM**

I suspect this will be really popular come football season. Dallas to Austin or Norman for just a couple of bucks? I'll be all over that. And even with having to transfer, I'll be hitting up the Dallas to New Orleans early and often.

I'm curious to see how comfortable they are for long trips. I hate flying with a passion and a quick search shows with proper planning I can get from Dallas to Chicago (transfer in Memphis) in 18-19 hours give or take for less than $15. That same trip on Amtrak is almost $190 and takes over 22 hours.

osmo · #8 Posted: **Jun 3, 2012, 2:52 AM**

Its not too bad. I've done 13 hrs on Mega Bus and it wasn't that bad. The bus is a bit tight and I have some shot knees so it got a little uncomfy but they time the rest stops good enough to get a good stretch in. Traveling on the less busy routes is good too, you get a row to yourself in contrast to the Toronto - NYC bus which is jam packed like sardines. I find Greyhound stops way to much and drags out a trip since they have to stop in so many random little places.

Nowhereman1280 · #9 Posted: **Jun 3, 2012, 6:23 PM**

On MegaBus right now, their free internet is great and its cheaper than Amtrak on a weekend. It's not worth the discount on weekdays, however, when you run the risk of being snarled in traffic and seeing a 1:45 bus ride become a 3:00 one. Hope this catches on down in TX. Would be nice to see them start stringing together of of their regions. I'd love be able to Mega from Chicago to NYC for example. Just take an overnight bus and sleep. Leave at 9 pm get in at 12:00 or so the next day...

OfCourse · #10 Posted: **Jun 4, 2012, 12:52 AM**

Nice. I like MegaBus and take it all the time between DC, Philly, and NYC.

ardecila · #11 Posted: **Jun 4, 2012, 2:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

On MegaBus right now, their free internet is great and its cheaper than Amtrak on a weekend. It's not worth the discount on weekdays, however, when you run the risk of being snarled in traffic and seeing a 1:45 bus ride become a 3:00 one. Hope this catches on down in TX. Would be nice to see them start stringing together of of their regions. I'd love be able to Mega from Chicago to NYC for example. Just take an overnight bus and sleep. Leave at 9 pm get in at 12:00 or so the next day...

You're correct, but there is no real Amtrak service in Texas to compete with. The Dallas-Austin-SA corridor has one train daily, and the Houston-SA corridor has three trains a week. There is no train service on the Dallas-Houston corridor.

To contrast, Megabus will provide eight daily roundtrips between Houston and Dallas, with two Houston-area stops. They're really rolling this out aggressively... hopefully it pays off. With enough frequency, the bus should be just as convenient and fast as flying without the hassles of security. Most supersized Texas freeways have carpool lanes so the bus should be able to breeze past a lot of traffic jams.

Southwest is gonna throw a fit when they find out about this...

Via Chicago · #12 Posted: **Jun 4, 2012, 5:12 PM**

Megabus is OK. Like said above, it gets pretty uncomfortable for longer hauls...the seating is tight. Also, I dont know how far in advance you need to buy to get $1 fares, but I've always paid around $15-30 for Chicago to St. Louis. And yea...traffic is a wild card.

arkitekte · #13 Posted: **Jun 4, 2012, 5:54 PM**

I was considering taking Megabus to Chicago back last fall, but scheduling conflicts didn't allow me to...I wound up flying up on AirTran for a cheap price, but nothing like the $30 or so that I would have gotten on Megabus. I'll definitely have to try it in the future though.

Centropolis · #14 Posted: **Jun 4, 2012, 10:43 PM**

I took Megabus when it first opened between Chi and StL and it was riddled with problems everytime I rode (maybe bad luck) but I'd imagine the have the kinks worked out by now.

iheartthed · #15 Posted: **Jun 4, 2012, 11:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

On MegaBus right now, their free internet is great and its cheaper than Amtrak on a weekend. It's not worth the discount on weekdays, however, when you run the risk of being snarled in traffic and seeing a 1:45 bus ride become a 3:00 one. Hope this catches on down in TX. Would be nice to see them start stringing together of of their regions. I'd love be able to Mega from Chicago to NYC for example. Just take an overnight bus and sleep. Leave at 9 pm get in at 12:00 or so the next day...

Well, technically, you can MegaBus it from Chicago to NYC, but you have to buy multiple tickets since there is no direct route. But you can buy a ticket from Chicago to Detroit or Cleveland. Then buy a ticket from Detroit or Cleveland to Pittsburgh. Finally, buy a ticket from Pittsburgh to NYC.

iheartthed · #16 Posted: **Jun 4, 2012, 11:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centropolis

I took Megabus when it first opened between Chi and StL and it was riddled with problems everytime I rode (maybe bad luck) but I'd imagine the have the kinks worked out by now.

What problems did you have? I've had nothing but good experiences with it both in the Northeast (NY to DC) and Midwest (Chi to Det).

Political_R · #17 Posted: **Jun 5, 2012, 7:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Southwest is gonna throw a fit when they find out about this...

I somehow doubt that. MegaBus is going to draw an induced demand from those who would not have made the trip anyways, those who might have taken their cars, and price conscious consumers. Short-haul flights for airlines do not make them money or not much money.

urbanactivist · #18 Posted: **Jun 5, 2012, 5:29 PM**

I think time and money will be the factors here. Flights get you to your destination when you need to go quick, or when it's a super-long distance. But if you have a little time and don't (can't) want to fool with the car, this is perfect.

Many people like us on this forum probably love weekend trips that are of shorter distances. I always say "I'm going to take a weekend and see what's up in Dallas, but I never do b/c I don't feel like driving. With Megabus I can take a nap, and be there.