Megabus returns to CA! Will Amtrak California suffer?

[thully]

I've never seen reserved seating on any Greyhound route I've looked at taking (including recently) - from what I've seen on their website, they only offer this in a few markets (mostly East Coast). I admit I've never taken it myself (though I have considered/looked it on a few occasions) - though I have heard the Greyhound horror stories (and even if these are exaggerated, they *do* impact people's perception of it). Figure I may try some day, though the whole "scramble for a seat" and stations that aren't as convenient/in sketchy areas have me a bit hesitant. Now if Megabus (or Greyhound, for that matter) were to introduce a cheap, no (or limited) stop, reserved route from San Diego to LA Union Station, I may end up using it at least sometimes instead of the Surfliner - particularly if the time/price was right. I'd *definitely* take it if they offered a midnightish southbound departure from LA - that would be nice for evening events. For now, I'll just wait and see how this goes - though if I get the itch to go to SF for cheap, I may try a Surfliner+Megabus connection.

(In all fairness, I know the Surfliner is unreserved - though in that case the risk of going without a seat it pretty low unless you're boarding at a peak travel time - in which case there's always BC)

No man! Greyhound is far from that bad! They even have reserved seating now on all runs so you are guarenteeed a seat. Their buses are always better than Megabus equipment and their stations are hit-or-miss, but not a big issue. Sure, you're hearing this from a Greyhound fan, but then again, if Greyhound was that bad I would not be a fan!

Megabus has some better equipment around CHI so that may be what you rode. Still no match for Greyhound's upgraded buses that'll kick any Van Hool down the drain!

 

[johnny.menhennet]

If you are unlucky enough to not get a seat, do you seriously have to get off and wait for the next one an hour or ten later?

 

[thully]

If you're talking about Greyhound, that's my understanding of how they do things - or at least they used to do it that way. That's probably my biggest concern with Greyhound - having to show up 1hr+ early to make sure you get a seat sucks! (particularly since I can just walk over to the Amtrak station and hop on a train a couple minutes before it leaves...) I saw they (technically Crucero - whom they contract with...) offer some really low fares SD-LA (like $15 each way), but I'll never do that except maybe once to try it given the seat policy and the LA station being out of the way in some sketchy location. Now if Megabus came along and offered the same or lower fares direct to LA Union Station with reserved seating, I'd probably use them on occasion (particularly if they happen to be more convenient for a particular trip time) - though I'd probably still use the Surfliner most of the time.

If you are unlucky enough to not get a seat, do you seriously have to get off and wait for the next one an hour or ten later?

 

[calwatch]

On the non-rail transportation forum I posted an announcement made to Greyhound ticket agents that Greyhound was going reserved seating effective November 1. Not sure if all the drivers got the memo. As far as the West Oakland BART station West Oakland is not the same place it was even ten years ago. Arriving West Oakland is easy since you pass through the BART fare gates and are in a secured area. Departing West Oakland on Megabus, if the connection was made during the day it would be fine. However I question the safety of that midnight West Oakland BART departure.

Looking at the trips offered, one untapped market that Megabus should have considered is stopping at Dublin/Pleasanton station. With the exception of a three-vehicle connection on the San Joaquin, there is no intercity bus or rail from the Tri Valley. It would connect to frequent BART access, and also has plenty of long term parking. It would serve a similar role to the Riverside stop on the LA-Las Vegas run, which in my opinion is of dubious merit unless they think there are a lot of UCR students who will use the bus, as it makes the trip go out of direction.

 

[cirdan]

No I don't! It's hard to post a detailed reply on my iPad, but look at the NEC - Amtrak and Megabus both operate. Amtrak is still full!

Maybe it's even good for Amtrak. Look at it this way. The more alternatives there are to driving, the less people will be forced to drive. Once people get out of the habit of assuming they have no choice but to drive, but look at both Megabus and Amtrak first and only drive when there's no other way, the overall size of the pie is going to grow, even if the pie is being shared, Surely that is good for Amtrak in the long run.

 

[jis]

Besides if things go like they did in the UK, and we ever get our act together to bring true competition to passenger rail operations, eventually many of the passenger train operating companies could land up sharing owners with bus and airline companies anyway, and many of them will probably do an excellent job running trains. First Great Western and First Scotrail come to mind.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Seriously guys, Greyhound just changed their policies in November. See this: http://www.greyhound.com/en/ticketsandtravel/travelingbybus.aspx

 

[jebr]

Seriously guys, Greyhound just changed their policies in November. See this: http://www.greyhound...elingbybus.aspx

Its codeshare carriers often do not share that policy (which is important for many, as many tickets Greyhound sells involve other carriers.) Plus, I don't know if that's even universal with Greyhound...their Facebook page yesterday seemed to infer that at least Canada routes are not reserved.

 

[Braniff747SP]

I have a feeling impact will be limited. People who take the train (as opposed to their own car) take it because they like it; it'll take a lot to make them switch. It'll hurt Greyhound much more than anyone else.

 

[pebbleworm]

Veering off topic. what cars did the X Train guys buy? Various press releases say "bi-level" and "first class" so I can only assume ex-Santa Fe High Levels, unless all those old Chicago gallery cars were really gussied up. Just curious.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

I believe they bought 16 former C&NW Chicago commuter rail cars. I believe they were gallery-type, but not sure.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Veering off topic. what cars did the X Train guys buy? Various press releases say "bi-level" and "first class" so I can only assume ex-Santa Fe High Levels, unless all those old Chicago gallery cars were really gussied up. Just curious.

Former commuter cars that will be rebuilt. I'm not sure if they are former C&NW or SP cars. Plenty of both types available.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Seriously guys, Greyhound just changed their policies in November. See this: http://www.greyhound...elingbybus.aspx

Its codeshare carriers often do not share that policy (which is important for many, as many tickets Greyhound sells involve other carriers.) Plus, I don't know if that's even universal with Greyhound...their Facebook page yesterday seemed to infer that at least Canada routes are not reserved.

You're right on that one, but Greyhound Canada is really a separate operation with a separate fleet. Even the seats differ. They were just both owned by Laidlaw, now First.

It's not on many codeshares, either, but you can see which company operates the bus when you book your ticket. You can also look it up on their Extranet.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

As far as for the bus equipment, Megabus has some MCI J4500's in their fleet. I would love to ride that over the Van Hool's.

Megabus Accidents that I know of so far.

1. A driver slid off of the New York Thruway in 2009. Driver and some passengers injured.

2. Feb 2010, a driver struck and killed a pedestrian in Chicago.

3. September 2010, a driver missed the exit for the Syracuse bus terminal, and crashed into a railway overpass railing. Four passengers killed, all on the upper deck in the front. *why I dont like those double deckers*

4. A Chicago driver was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving in Oct. 2011.

5. Aug. 2 2012. A megabus slammed into a bridge in Litchfield, Illinois. One passenger killed.

6. August 7 2012, A driver hit and killed another pedestrian in Chicago.

7.Aug 8, 2012 A megabus caught fire out of Atlanta.

In Syracuse, Megabus uses the Greyhound/Amtrak terminal at the Regional Transportation Center. They pull up curbside. While waiting for the LSL, I watched the Megabuses come and go, I counted 4 at one time. I spent most of my layover watching Megabuses lol.

As far as for the Greyhound equipment, their new Prevost and MCI buses are nice. Although from a comfort standpoint, Id rather Amtrak. Ive crossed the country a few times on Greyhound and my back just cant handle that long of a trip anymore. Short distance runs, fine, but anything over 10 hours is a no go for me. unless its the only option.

 

[afigg]

Veering off topic. what cars did the X Train guys buy? Various press releases say "bi-level" and "first class" so I can only assume ex-Santa Fe High Levels, unless all those old Chicago gallery cars were really gussied up. Just curious.

Former commuter cars that will be rebuilt. I'm not sure if they are former C&NW or SP cars. Plenty of both types available.

There is a topic on the X-Train in the General Rail Discussion forum which is where further queries about that should go.

As for Megabus in California, the subject of Megabus & Boltbus competition in the east has been discussed multiple times before. With Amtrak ridership numbers on the increase in most corridors, if there has been any substantial loss of business to the curb side buses, it is not obvious. I suspect Megabus & Boltbus are taking much of their market from Greyhound, the smaller curb side bus operators, people who would otherwise drive, and people who are only making the trip because there were cheap tickets available.

 

[railiner]

Seriously guys, Greyhound just changed their policies in November. See this: http://www.greyhound...elingbybus.aspx

Its codeshare carriers often do not share that policy (which is important for many, as many tickets Greyhound sells involve other carriers.) Plus, I don't know if that's even universal with Greyhound...their Facebook page yesterday seemed to infer that at least Canada routes are not reserved.

That is correct....New York State, and New York/Canada are exempted from Greyhounds new 'all reserved' policy. The reason is that Greyhound's "code-share partner", does not want to put a "cap" on capacity......that is, they will continue the old policy of adding as many extra sections as necessary to accommodate all who show up to ride.....

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Boltbus isnt taking anything from Greyhound because Boltbus is jointly owned by Greyhound/Peter Pan.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Seriously guys, Greyhound just changed their policies in November. See this: http://www.greyhound...elingbybus.aspx

Its codeshare carriers often do not share that policy (which is important for many, as many tickets Greyhound sells involve other carriers.) Plus, I don't know if that's even universal with Greyhound...their Facebook page yesterday seemed to infer that at least Canada routes are not reserved.

That is correct....New York State, and New York/Canada are exempted from Greyhounds new 'all reserved' policy. The reason is that Greyhound's "code-share partner", does not want to put a "cap" on capacity......that is, they will continue the old policy of adding as many extra sections as necessary to accommodate all who show up to ride.....

But this thread is about California, so this does not apply.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Boltbus isnt taking anything from Greyhound because Boltbus is jointly owned by Greyhound/Peter Pan.

They have the good buses, too, so I'm fine with them. Maybe Greyhound should get some X3-45s to California as BoltBus and try to use them to beat the new Megabus threat.

 

[calwatch]

First Greyhound needs to get out of that awful, awful Los Angeles location. In the pre-"Greyhound Express" era they had fast trips that would also stop in North Hollywood or Hollywood, near walking distance to the Red Line. Now with Greyhound Express, there are no more local stops in the LA basin. So you have to wait in the scuzzy LA Greyhound location, and heaven forbid you actually wait for a city bus on 7th St. Although there are the occasional homeless person in the bus plaza on the east side of Union Station it is a much more convenient location. Also the $6 parking helps.

 

[afigg]

Boltbus isnt taking anything from Greyhound because Boltbus is jointly owned by Greyhound/Peter Pan.

Boltbus may be a subsidiary of Greyhound/Peter Pan, but Boltbus as a separate low cost operation can certainly take business away from the Greyhound business line.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

First Greyhound needs to get out of that awful, awful Los Angeles location. In the pre-"Greyhound Express" era they had fast trips that would also stop in North Hollywood or Hollywood, near walking distance to the Red Line. Now with Greyhound Express, there are no more local stops in the LA basin. So you have to wait in the scuzzy LA Greyhound location, and heaven forbid you actually wait for a city bus on 7th St. Although there are the occasional homeless person in the bus plaza on the east side of Union Station it is a much more convenient location. Also the $6 parking helps.

You can still take a Greyhound run from North Hollywood. I do admit that the station itself is kinda bad, but at least it's right by their maintainence facility.

Boltbus isnt taking anything from Greyhound because Boltbus is jointly owned by Greyhound/Peter Pan.

Boltbus may be a subsidiary of Greyhound/Peter Pan, but Boltbus as a separate low cost operation can certainly take business away from the Greyhound business line.

They still get the money, so I don't see the problem.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Boltbus isnt taking anything from Greyhound because Boltbus is jointly owned by Greyhound/Peter Pan.

They have the good buses, too, so I'm fine with them. Maybe Greyhound should get some X3-45s to California as BoltBus and try to use them to beat the new Megabus threat.

That would be a neat idea. The one X3 that I rode was pretty nice. I dont know if they will use BoltBus colors or the normal Blue/Sliver scheme, but either way, its an X3 lol.

I also read that Greyhound is slowly expanding the Express markets, so that could become a possibility sooner than you think Swadian.

Although, Ive always wondered what a J4500 would look like either in the blue/silver scheme or Boltbus scheme haha.

Calwatch: Yeah, I hated going through Los Angeles on Greyhound, I was at the terminal when a passenger who couldnt get a ticket made threats against the workers there, and said he was going to come back with his "crew". I was like "omg, I hope my bus boards soon!"

 

[Blackwolf]

Had my first Megabus sighting today. I had to do a double-take as I drove into Old Town Sacramento to take care of a bit of business at the railroad museum, there behind the museum next to the employee parking lot was a double-decker Megabus. It was backed in against the fence, and was loading up passengers!

DId I miss something about where Megabus is supposed to be having their Sacramento stop located? It just seemed kind of sleezy to be doing it beneath the I-5, on the backside of the railroad museum and beside UP's tracks, and in the shadow of Amtrak's depot.

Also, am I the only one seriously creeped out by Megabus' sunburnt obese driver logo? :wacko:

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

No, that logo creeps me out too. It doesnt inspire much confidence with Megabus.

Megabus tends to piggyback other services. When I was in Syracuse waiting for the LSL, I watched scores of Megabuses come into the transit center. I saw like 4 at one time.