Advice when Thruway=Greyhound

[CeeMeck]

I live near Nashville, so to travel with Amtrak, you have to travel somewhere to get on the train.

Last year, I took a trip to California, originating in Nashville. I took the Thruway bus, which was just the regular Greyhound bus, to St. Louis, then the Missouri River Runner to KC and the SW Chief to LA. I also did some train travel in California, and one leg involved a Thruway bus that wasn't Greyhound and picked us up right at the train station when our train arrived.

So, I'm planning a trip east, and my idea is to go from Nashville to Indianapolis, catch the Cardinal to Washington DC, and then a day or two later catch another train to Boston. I'll fly back to Nashville.

I noticed that the Thruway bus part of the trip from Nashville to Indy is much pricier than just booking the Greyhound bus, and I'm 99% sure it's the same bus. Is there any advantage to booking the Thruway bus portion of your trip through Amtrak when they are just putting you on Greyhound? It seems not and I suspect I paid too much for that bus from Nashville to St. Louis last year.

 

[fairviewroad]

Booking through Amtrak would make it a guaranteed connection. That doesn't mean the train would wait for the bus (it probably wouldn't). But it would put the onus on Amtrak to rebook you and accommodate you (in theory). If you book through Greyhound, and you miss the train, then you're on your own and your train ticket would be subject to Amtrak's no-show policy.

So it just comes down to your risk tolerance.