Worth Every Dollar - Budget Travel with Megabus
Megabus is a well-known express bus brand as it pioneered low-cost intercity bus services as early as 2003. You may refer to our earlier entry on how their effectively adopted strategies and business models brought them a huge success across Europe and North America. The growth of these low-cost buses had great impacts on the way of travel, especially for the younger generation. Let's have a look on how they work.
Back in October, I had an opportunity to have an express bus ride between San Francisco and Sacramento in California, USA. Both Megabus and Greyhound Bus Lines operate the route, with 4 round-trip and 11 round-trip daily services respectively. Eventually, I went for Megabus and made a round-trip reservation at US$11.5 - which was totally a worth of money!
Route and Schedule
San Francisco and Sacramento, the capital city of California, are about 90 miles (about 140km) far apart, which takes less than 2 hours by car.
I eventually chosen the earliest Megabus' departure, which left San Francisco Caltrain Station at 9 am and arrived University/65th Street Light Rail Station in Sacramento at around 11 am.
The carrier also operated other three departures between the two cities:
San Francisco 12:30 - 14:20 Sacramento San Francisco 17:40 - 19:30 Sacramento San Francisco 20:45 - 22:30 Sacramento
Reservations
As mentioned in the previous entry, to save cost, Megabus only accepted online or phone reservation. I made my reservation on megabus.com a week prior to my trips. I was lucky enough to get a US$3 ticket for my return trip. It costed me a sum of US$13.5 for the round-trip ticket, including the reservation charge.
Having successfully completed the reservation, the company sent a confirmation to my email. It was most important not to lose this as presenting the reservation number was the ONLY way for me to board the bus. On-site crew members or drivers did not have the records of our names or email addresses. So NEVER ever trash the confirmation!
One more little thing to note - administration fee was charge per reservation. So it was always wise to book the return trip in the same reservation and in groups - in case you had travel companions.
Pick-up and Drop-off
Unlike traditional bus companies, Megabus did not stop at large-scale terminus. They picked up and dropped off passengers on curbside which was similar to the Chinatown buses.
As Megabus stopped at street-side, there were road signs painted in the signature blue and logos for passengers to identify the locations. Uniformed crew would also be helping riders to make check-ins.
Upon arrival to the bus stop, I just had to show my reservation number to board the bus. Similar to travelling with low-cost airlines, I didn't have assigned seat unless I paid extra. After boarding, I just had to pick any seat I wanted, except for the numbered ones which had been booked.
Bus Type
Megabus operates the largest fleet of Van Hool TD925 Astromega double-deckers across America. They enable the company to carry more passengers on each departure and to make larger profits, in spite of the ultra low bus fares.
One of the Van Hool TD925 double-decked coaches based in Los Angeles was taking me to Sacramento.
The coach featured 81 Van Hool Body Line Recliner Seats with three-point seat belts (59 on upper deck, 23 on lower deck). Numbered seats were reserved for pre-booked passengers.
Basic amenities were available on-board, including a lavatory at the rear on the lower deck, free Wi-Fi connections and 110-volt outlets on each seat. One breathtaking feature I liked most was the sunroof on the upper deck. It made the journey across the Californian desert more enjoyable!
Powered by the Cummins ISX12 six-cylinder diesel engine, the Van Hool TD925 Astromega was coincident with the EPA 2010 emissions regulations and came fitted with ZF Astronic 12-speed automated transmission system.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the ride was fairly bumpy due to the poor suspension of the Van Hool, I would describe the trip to be rather pleasant. The coach was new and tidy. The crew was polite, and the driver was awesome! The driver on-duty, William, was so passionate that he made great effort to make the boring onboard safety briefing to be a more entertaining one. Passengers around me were so impressed.
It was definitely a worth of money to get a return trip ticket at US$13.5 with such service standard. Of course, the fare wouldn't be always so low. So do compare the price with Greyhound first before you make the decision.