From Boston: "King of the bill: BoltBus can get you to New York for $1," by Chad Berndtson

This story originally appeared on PatriotLedger.com at this address: http://www.patriotledger.com/lifestyle/x514713284. This link no longer exists. A copy of the original story appears below.


I’m not a "bus guy.'' It could be that my past experiences with Greyhound, Fung Wah and other Boston/New York corridor coaches consistently left my neck in a merciless crick if I dared to doze off, and my knees in various stages of tweak having been jammed in seat gaps or overstretched into an aisle.

If you’re 6 feet or taller, you know what I’m talking about.

But I’m charmed by the BoltBus, a new venture launched by Greyhound Lines and Peter Pan Bus Lines Inc. that began Boston/New York service last Thursday. The hook: a roomier, comfier bus with free wireless Internet and $1 seats if you book far enough in advance. The rest of the seats can be as much as $20.


My first thought, upon boarding in semi-chaotic fashion near Penn Station, was that, well, it’s still a bus, and no such travel solution can account for bumpy roads, traffic, wafting fast food smells and cell phone yakkers with zero regard for close-quarters etiquette.

The seats are nothing special but they are roomier than standard Greyhound fare, the 110-volt outlets on the backs of seats are easy to manage, and the WiFi works well despite a dearth of surfaces on which to place laptops or food.

The demographics on both my trips veer toward collegiate looking twentysomethings and young professionals, with the stray family and older businessperson thrown in. Each ride I take is nominally sold out.

In fact, maybe some enterprising thesis candidate will pen his or her degree-maker using this as a sociology experiment – as in, how much are people willing to put up with because they only paid a Washington or close to it? 
While gas is creeping toward $4, the choices are few, even if it means hours in I-95 traffic.

The BoltBus offers daily 12 trips between Boston and New York.

On the return trip to New York last Sunday, my fiancée and I were surprised at the number of bedraggled looking folks queueing at South Station’s Gate 3 – out of where the "regular'' Greyhound and Peter Pan NYC buses operate – or hustling to make a Fung Wah or Lucky Star bus, also apparently oversold.

Translation: the secret isn’t really out yet, so you might want to book your BoltBus tickets now.

For reservations and  more information, log on to www.boltbus.com.
 It’s pretty nice.

On the Cheap is a weekly column that features free or dirt cheap entertainment options. E-mail us at features@ledger.com.