singwith
Train Attendant
How to book from Bakersfield, CA (BFD) to Oxnard,ca by bus and then by Surfliner to Glendale on online? It seems like Amtrak website does not have such a option.
Thanks in advance
Snuffy
Thanks in advance
Snuffy
How to book from Bakersfield, CA (BFD) to
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I wasn't able to "trick" Amtrak.com into providing it as an option by playing with the times (the only option that includes a train forces you to change at Union Station), but I had luck booking it as a Multi-City trip (BFD-OXN and then OXN-GDL). Price was $40 for the dates I picked.
singwith
Train Attendant
oh, that cost is little too high.
but I can't stand riding on bus all the way to L.A. Wish Amtrak give us more options that we can choose.
Snuffy
Well, the bus ride to Glendale is 2 hours and 40 minutes. The bus ride to OXN is 2 hours and 20 minutes, followed by a 33-minute layover and then a 1 hour 40 minute train ride. So the ride to Oxnard isn't saving much time!
However, note that you cannot book the bus directly to GDL unless you are also booking a train on the same itinerary. This is due to a state law that was lobbied for by Greyhound, which didn't like the idea of a state-subsidized service competing with a privately-owned company. To get around this, you have three choices:
-Book the bus from BFD-LAX connecting to the Surfliner LAX-GDL, although the bus ride is 3 hours and the layover is 1 hour 45 minutes (time enough for a visit to Phillipe's and Olvera Street!) followed by a 13-minute train ride)
-Schedule your return to include a train trip
-Book (on a multi-city itinerary if necessary) a short trip by train that you don't plan on using and throw that ticket away (or save for a future exchange--this is called "throwaway ticketing" and is a commonly-exploited, if not completely ethical, loophole)--an example would be Wasco (WAC)-BFD-GDL or BFD-GDL-LAX. (Interestingly, booking WAC-GDL instead of BFD-GDL reduces the price from $25 to $15!).
However, note that you cannot book the bus directly to GDL unless you are also booking a train on the same itinerary. This is due to a state law that was lobbied for by Greyhound, which didn't like the idea of a state-subsidized service competing with a privately-owned company. To get around this, you have three choices:
-Book the bus from BFD-LAX connecting to the Surfliner LAX-GDL, although the bus ride is 3 hours and the layover is 1 hour 45 minutes (time enough for a visit to Phillipe's and Olvera Street!) followed by a 13-minute train ride)
-Schedule your return to include a train trip
-Book (on a multi-city itinerary if necessary) a short trip by train that you don't plan on using and throw that ticket away (or save for a future exchange--this is called "throwaway ticketing" and is a commonly-exploited, if not completely ethical, loophole)--an example would be Wasco (WAC)-BFD-GDL or BFD-GDL-LAX. (Interestingly, booking WAC-GDL instead of BFD-GDL reduces the price from $25 to $15!).
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the_traveler
Engineer
Actually, there may be a third option!
You said you could not do it online. How about calling and talking to an agent? :huh: Amtrak doesn't have that charge to talk to a human like the airlines do!
You said you could not do it online. How about calling and talking to an agent? :huh: Amtrak doesn't have that charge to talk to a human like the airlines do!
George Harris
Engineer
I have heard that quite a few people use Wasco as their imaginary origin/destination to get around the Greyhound law. Never tried it myself or talked to someone who did, so you can take this for what it is worth.
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