I don’t think I’m overstating the situation when I say that this is going to change all of our lives for the better for the rest of eternity, unless you’re one of those dirty, sniveling Socialists. Huh? Is that what you are? A Socialist? You make me sick. Now get out of my face and go enjoy your universal free healthcare. However, those of you in the banking industry are obviously welcome to hang around, drive our banks into ruin and wait for your bailout and reward – but everyone else has to go back to Canada where you belong.
Actually, this really is huge news for the car-free lifestyle people – or those that would rather eat raw bird ca-ca rather than drive long distance through Wisconsin.
Meagabus, which has been a growing ground transport option in the northeast US since 2006, has finally started service to Minneapolis. So far, they only go direct from Minneapolis to Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee, but if you’ve got the ass-fortitude, there’s connections onward to Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Memphis, St Louis and more.
I’m finding tickets from Minneapolis to Chicago for as little as $10. No taxes, but there’s a whopping $0.50 reservation fee, so that’s one less pack of gum out of your trip budget.
Now why on earth would you choose to take a bus like a hobo or a Norwegian backpacker rather than a car, train or plane? Well, flying is obviously far more expensive, punishing to the environment and increasingly demoralizing – and that’s assuming your flight leaves on time and they manage to deliver your luggage to your actual destination.
Admittedly the train would be a more comfortable ride, but even that’s going to cost anywhere from two to five times as much as Megabus and the travel time is virtually the same (about 7 and 1/2 hours from Minneapolis to Chicago, which I find rather weird – shouldn’t the train blow past a bus, what with all the stop lights and traffic jams and getting stuck behind people in Wisconsin that drive their cars like they drive their combines?).
Apart from the drastically reduced price, here’s the true deal-maker for me: wi-fi. That’s right haters, Megabus has free wi-fi on all its buses and the new fleet of double-decker buses will also have power points, so you can spend the entire ride working, playing poker, and watching all those YouPorn videos you’ve been putting off.
I have yet to actually ride on a Megabus, but it looks as if I’ll be heading back to St Louis next month, so I’ll duly post a review when that happens. Including the two hour layover in Chicago, it’s almost a 16-hour trip, one way. Not an easy day, certainly. However, let’s look at driving to St Louis in a private car: takes about nine hours (10 hours if you get jacked-up lost outside St Louis like I did), the gas bill for a one-way run is about $75 (whereas roundtrip on Megabus starts at about $43), you arrive brain-dead from constantly scanning the horizon for the fuzz, your ass hurts just about the same and you didn’t get to watch Hulu videos and flirt with Norwegian backpackers the entire time.
Megabus stops both at Parking Ramp C in downtown Minneapolis on 3rd Street and 3rd Ave North (which is totally accessible from my building through the Skyway – no big deal, I’m just saying how rad that’ll be in the winter) and on University Avenue, across from Williams Arena by the U of M. Get there early to get the coveted second-level front seat, so you can enjoy panoramic views of the Wisconsin countryside (or sit about three rows back, if you actually want to see your laptop screen).
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Car-free lifestyle | 20.10.2008 11:11 | 15 Comments
As far as I know, Minneapolis has been serviced by Megabus since 2006.
20.10.2008 11:40
Megabus is gret, but you DO get what you pay for, meaning they’re regularly behind schedule, and it’s a bumpy ride on the top. However, if you’re flexible, both with dates and times, there are great deals to be had.
It’s also a FAR less traumatic experience than some things I have dealt with on the Greyhound.
20.10.2008 11:45
Ahh, the megabus! I’m pretty sure it has been around for at least a year… I just took it over Labor Day weekend to go to Chicago – overall it was a pretty good experience, but I’ve heard some wild stories from others who have taken it!
20.10.2008 12:29
Arg! You guys are absolutely right! Megabus has been around Minneapolis for a while now. I made the leaping assumption that they had just arrived since I only saw my first Megabus in Minneapolis last week and, by bizarre coincidence, the very next day I was contacted by their PR people, gently suggesting that I blog about it. Thanks for the correction!
20.10.2008 12:35
I would avoid Megabus at all costs and would gladly pay the extra money to fly or drive my car. My girlfriend has taken it twice and had bad experiences both times. I’ll sum up the problems:
The first time, the bus broke down in Tomah. The passengers had to wait for hours until the next scheduled bus came by, extending the length of their trip by about 8 hours. It would have been much shorter had I just driven there and picked her up. Oh, and he driver disappeared after the breakdown. The passengers had to call megabus to figure out what was going on.
The second time around wasn’t as dire, but again, they were hours late. This time the delays were caused by the flooding in Wisconsin and closing of I94, but Megabus did nothing to plan for an alternate route. Additionally, the driver was apparently very rude and did not care about adjusting the air conditioning when the passengers were complaining of the frigid temps on the second level of the bus.
In review: Megabus sucks. Travel any other way if you can.
20.10.2008 13:12
The Megabus has been around for a while. It was a nerve-wracking experience on our way out of Minneapolis to Chicago (we took the 11pm bus, the driver was falling asleep at the wheel, bus was careening to the sides, almost running into semis.. people yelling and calling 911 in the back. insane). We did make it to Chicago just a few minutes late after the driver was pulled over by a state trooper. He wasn’t drunk though, just really tired (he had picked up extra shifts that day, I think).
Anyway, our trip back was extremely smooth (it was a day trip). Much better and cleaner bus this time.
I wouldn’t dare ride it on the evening shift any more, but the day trip was redeeming enough for a second shot. Can’t beat the price, though. Even a last minute ticket costs just $50.
20.10.2008 16:26
Yep, Megabus has been around for awhile. I can’t think of any reason I’d ever ride it, though, with the horror stories I’ve heard and even just the tangental annoyance I’ve witnessed when picking up/dropping off friends coming from Chicago. It is the best illustration of “you get what you pay for” I’ve ever seen, I think.
21.10.2008 0:52
Well, I have no doubt there are plenty of Megabus disaster or near-disaster stories, but really, I’ve had all those things (and worse) happen to me after paying $300-500 for a plane ticket. Shrugging off an eight (or 24!) hour delay after paying only $15 is far easier than when I paid 30 times that amount. Still, I’ll have to wait until I have first-hand experience to really speak with authority on this.
21.10.2008 13:18
My wife and I have used Megabus several times to visit our son in Chicago. For the most part our experiences have been positive. We always have taken the overnight, as we like to maximize our time there. Our one challenging experience came at the hands of a substitute driver, who had never done the route before, and even that one wasn’t terrible. I’ve had far worse experiences flying.
22.10.2008 10:08
I’ve heard such heavy stories about people taking the greyhound saying its the LAST mode of transpot they’de use because of noise and rowdy loud people and kids running everywhere, etc. So I think I’d rather drive, unless my car was not working, then I’d have to do it. But since I know nobody in Chicago, I’m gonna be okay on that.
23.10.2008 22:17
I’ve done Megabus a couple times and had no problems. One slightly late departure but otherwise, I loved the cheapness. If you stay at a Motel 6, expect a Motel 6 and not the Westin. I’d use Megabus again.
24.10.2008 12:49
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30.10.2008 10:24
Megabus has definitely been around for a while and though it’s occasionally a little weird– buses do break down, and things do get behind schedule– I have taken the megabus for $4 roundtrip to Cincinnati. As long as you plan far enough ahead you can usually get one of the three $1 tickets on each bus. Really, I don’t care what the transport is like if it’s literally 50x cheaper than flying.
9.11.2008 19:13
Two words: Motion sickness!
People who suffer from motion sickness find it very hard and unpleasant to travel by bus (as well as by car). Moreover, reading (or even looking at a map) becomes impossible!
Trains are the best option because they run smoothly on their tracks, and I have never become sick from reading on a train (I am European, and back home trains go everywhere).
Planes are slightly worse, but not as bad as most motorized vehicles on wheels.
30.11.2008 9:27
If you like Megabus, you should check out BusJunction. It’s a cheapo bus ticket search engine and includes all the major lines like Megabus and Bolt Bus.
10.08.2009 15:55
