How to Travel Cheap & Green: Take the $1 Bus!

This summer I traveled from Boston to New York, and back again, for $3. That’s $1.50 each way: $1 for the ticket and 50¢ in booking fees.

How did I do it? Baby, I took the Megabus.

Megabus bills itself as “America’s first low-cost inter-city bus service,” but it’s oh so much more. Its buses are brand-new, double-decker behemoths—practically limousines compared to Greyhound’s rusty clunkers—and what’s more, they offer wi-fi en route.

Megabus isn’t the only bus company offering dirt-cheap fares: $1 bus fares are popping up everywhere following Megabus’ success. Greyhound itself has launched a competing service, BoltBus, covering essentially the same service area at the same cost.

What’s the catch?

First, these cheap bus lines don’t go everywhere (yet). Megabus can take you throughout the Northeast and the Midwest, but travel between those two regions (say, Chicago to New York) is a no-go. And although a West Coast service was launched in 2006 to offer $1 rides between SF and LA, it’s mysteriously disappeared now.

Second, those $1 fares are limited to early bookings. As the bus fills up, ticket prices rise; last-minute bookings can cost more like $20.

But overall, it beats other bus companies hands-down. Megabus really delivers what they promise, and you know I wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t true.

PROTIP: Get there early!

Double-decker buses have four excellent seats at the front of the top level. Nothing in front of you but a window, you get the tour-bus experience for free. But you’ll have to be first in line to snag those seats, which can mean showing up over an hour early for your bus.

Note: the tour-bus experience in New York looks mostly like this

How do they do it?

Well, I ain’t no business major, but my educated guess is this: by traveling only where traffic is heavy, Megabus can count on filling up their vehicles every time. They keep their overhead low by having a skeleton staff (one driver, one guy to stand at the stop) and by not having any costly bus stations to maintain. And by having a price scale that rises as the bus fills, they reward people for reserving—and paying—early.

Megabus started out in the UK, where it’s been hugely successful; apparently their business model works just fine in the US and Canada, too.

Why are cheap buses eco-friendly?

For the same reason as other forms of public transportation: full vehicles. It’s the same concept as carpooling: each bus can carry 55 passengers (more on a double-decker bus), taking 55 cars off the road. Even though buses pollute more and get lower gas mileage than cars, the overall environmental effect of a full-capacity bus is considerably less than driving.

Megabus isn’t the country’s greenest bus service: Peter Pan Bus has that covered with their biodiesel coaches, no-idling policy and low-emission technology. However, Megabus’ full coaches trump Peter Pan’s half-empty ones—and the price of a ticket can be $50-100 cheaper. Plus they’ve eliminated paper tickets, a nice touch that probably saves a few trees.

How do I catch that dollar bus?

Simple. Go to megabus.com and see if your travel route is covered. If there isn’t a bus going your way, check out BoltBus, Tripper Bus, NeON, or GoToBus.

Make a reservation, write down your confirmation number (remember, no paper tickets and no station means ya gotta be self-reliant!), locate your bus stop and hop on. Yes, you can bring a reasonable amount of luggage. Now go travel!