Taking a Ride on the Megabus

Riding a bus has taken quite a few hits from seasoned travelers over the years. Of course, for a very long time the only way to travel via bus, without chartering a bus, was Greyhound. Let's face it, riding on Greyhound sucks. The buses are old and dirty and cramped just like the bus stations and the bus makes 5,000,000,000,000,000,000 stops between your starting point and your destination.

Well, the folks at CoachUSA, the charter bus company, have created an alternative that you should really consider, especially when you are taking short jaunts. This service is known as Megabus and I just took one of the routes, between Chicago and St. Louis, and have to say it was a very pleasant overall experience.

The first thing you need to know is that the price is just about perfect. If you go to the Megabus website, and search for tickets enough in advance, you might be able to find a price as low as $1, plus taxes. I ordered roundtrip tickets to and from St. Louis and my grand total was $23. The cost to fill up my car these days is over $50 and I would have to fill up at least four times if I had driven myself. Even Amtrak was more expensive.

Megabus manages to do this by saving on any overhead. There are no frills when you ride on Megabus, at least when it comes to any actual terminal. There are no bus terminals. There is just a spot on the street where you stand, much like waiting for a city bus. I have no idea what it must be like if it is freezing cold, snowing, raining or blazing hot. Maybe this helps weed out the unwanted and the week via exposure or dehydration. I just know that you stand on the street, without a roof over your head, exposed to the elements, and wait for your colorful yellow and blue-colored bus to arrive.

The trip to and from St. Louis involved a large double-decker bus. The key seats here are the top level seats at the very front. Those go fast, however, and if you have bags you need to check then you are likely out of luck from those who only carry-on. Those seats offer a great, if bug-splattered, view of the road. Should and accident be imminent, the folks here will know before anyone else and should get a great view if the driver didn't estimate the height of that overpass correctly.

The buses themselves are actually very nice. I could use a tad more leg room, but it's a small complaint. Compared to the seats I have been on riding Greyhound, these are luxurious. They have a slot for a headset if someone watches a movie, which will then be shown on overhead monitors. I would recommend the Megabus folks invest in XM radio or something so people could plug into those slots and listen to music, news, etc. while riding, but again, it's a small quibble.

The ride is direct. This is the best part. It is a five hour drive between Chicago and St. Louis and you don't really save any time via Megabus, but you also don't stop every two feet like on Greyhound. There was one 30-minute rest stop halfway between Bloomington/Normal and Springfield for food and restroom breaks and that was it. We left a tad late and still got the 30-minute break and still managed to arrive in St. Louis 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

On the way back, there was a 30-minute break and a short stop in Normal. Again, we left St. Louis slightly late, had both stops, and arrived in Chicago 10 minutes ahead of schedule. I have no idea what time-warping abilities these Megabus drivers have, but I am impressed with them.

The service was like nothing I had ever seen. The drivers were friendly and polite. The woman who was checking in passengers in Chicago was friendly, funny and welcoming. These folks must be on happy-pills of some kind. They were even willing to hold up the bus in Chicago to wait for a passenger who was connecting from a bus from Milwaukee.

I am not saying that Megabus is the best way to travel if you have a long distance to go. Planes and trains are still probably the best for long hauls. At the same time, their number of routes is limited at the moment. However, for short runs, such as Chicago to Milwaukee or Chicago to St. Louis, this is a great alternative. The seats are comfortable and the ride as smooth as the road allows. Most of your passengers sleep the entire time, so it's quiet.

So, if you are looking to travel and have no desire to spend the outrageous amounts currently charged for gas or you have a fear of flying or a dread for trains, you need to check out CoachUSA's Megabus service. Be prepared to wait on the street for your bus, but that seems a small price to pay for the affordable tickets, kind service and generally pleasant experience all the way around.