I visited DC at Christmas. Drove there with my parents, and stayed a bit longer to see some friends. Since I had to get myself back to Cleveland with no car, I looked at my usual method of mass transit -- the plane -- and checked out Amtrak and bus options too. These days, I have more time than money, and I haven't had a new travel experience in a while, so I thought I'd see what else was available.
The least expensive flights were on Southwest from BWI. Southwest also sells reasonably priced one-way tickets, so I wouldn't have to buy a round-trip fare than only use half of it. That's something I've done before, but feels so wasteful.
Amtrak's prices were reasonable, and trains are comfortable. Riders are also spared in the useless indigity of having their bodies and their property pawed before boarding. But the train arrived in Cleveland at something like 4am. Not ideal.
Greyhound, on the other hand, had reasonable departure and arrival times, although the trip itself is about 10.5 hours, compared to about 6.5 hours if one drives a car. Plus the extra time it takes on each end to get to and from the bus station. Greyhound's big upside, though, is the price. And I took advantage of a special mid-week, three-week advance purchase to get my ticket for $6.50, which is less than some people pay to commute every day. So combined with wanting to try something new, Greyhound became my travel method of choice for the day.
The bus itself isn't so bad. Decent leg room (unlike ariplanes!), a toilet (several rows behind me), outlets and wifi (slow but functioning). The bus isn't full either, which makes a big difference. The windows don't have shades, but they are tinted, which helps shield my touchy eyes from the hurtful sun. The temperature is neither too hot nor too cold.
[After a long Dramamine-induced nap:] The trip continues to go fine. We stopped at my favorite Penna Turnpike rest stop (yes, I have a favorite rest stop), the North Midway Rest Stop. I'm finishing up this post from Pittsburgh, where I had a one-hour-plus layover.
Speaking of Pittsburgh, let me turn to the quality of the bus depots. Pittsburgh's is very nice. Pretty spacious, well-lit, lots of seats, clean bathrooms, a charging station for electronics. Greyhound did a good job of announcing departures at the station, and the daily schedules for all buses were prominently displayed, along with their departure gates.. I could have done without the music and the TVs all playing at the same time, but that's my only complaint, really.
Washington DC's Union Station, on the other hand, totally stinks as a bus depot. Now, from what I gather, up until a few months ago, DC's bus station was a few blocks away from Union Station itself, and I think Union Station turned an old parking garage into the bus depot. But the bus offices aren't located in Union Station. Instead, Greyhound has a little shack inside the parking garage. There were no seats and very little standing room. No bathrooms either -- you'd have to walk far back to the train terminal to find a bathroom. Everyone had to wait outside for the buses, and there were no signs or schedules to let riders know if they were waiting for the right bus.
Well, we just pulled out of Pittsburgh, just a few minutes late. Downtown Pittsburgh looks pretty cool at night, and I am reminded again that I never checked it out the way I intended. Well, it's only about 3 hours from Cleveland and I still have a very flexible schedule. Maybe I'll pay it a visit soon. I also realize, as I reach the end of this post, that I didn't take any photos. A side-by-side comparison of DC's and Pittsburgh's Greyhound stations would make you all want to catch a bus from Pittsburgh, and avoid them in DC. Instead, you'll just have to take my word for it.
The least expensive flights were on Southwest from BWI. Southwest also sells reasonably priced one-way tickets, so I wouldn't have to buy a round-trip fare than only use half of it. That's something I've done before, but feels so wasteful.
Amtrak's prices were reasonable, and trains are comfortable. Riders are also spared in the useless indigity of having their bodies and their property pawed before boarding. But the train arrived in Cleveland at something like 4am. Not ideal.
Greyhound, on the other hand, had reasonable departure and arrival times, although the trip itself is about 10.5 hours, compared to about 6.5 hours if one drives a car. Plus the extra time it takes on each end to get to and from the bus station. Greyhound's big upside, though, is the price. And I took advantage of a special mid-week, three-week advance purchase to get my ticket for $6.50, which is less than some people pay to commute every day. So combined with wanting to try something new, Greyhound became my travel method of choice for the day.
The bus itself isn't so bad. Decent leg room (unlike ariplanes!), a toilet (several rows behind me), outlets and wifi (slow but functioning). The bus isn't full either, which makes a big difference. The windows don't have shades, but they are tinted, which helps shield my touchy eyes from the hurtful sun. The temperature is neither too hot nor too cold.
[After a long Dramamine-induced nap:] The trip continues to go fine. We stopped at my favorite Penna Turnpike rest stop (yes, I have a favorite rest stop), the North Midway Rest Stop. I'm finishing up this post from Pittsburgh, where I had a one-hour-plus layover.
Speaking of Pittsburgh, let me turn to the quality of the bus depots. Pittsburgh's is very nice. Pretty spacious, well-lit, lots of seats, clean bathrooms, a charging station for electronics. Greyhound did a good job of announcing departures at the station, and the daily schedules for all buses were prominently displayed, along with their departure gates.. I could have done without the music and the TVs all playing at the same time, but that's my only complaint, really.
Washington DC's Union Station, on the other hand, totally stinks as a bus depot. Now, from what I gather, up until a few months ago, DC's bus station was a few blocks away from Union Station itself, and I think Union Station turned an old parking garage into the bus depot. But the bus offices aren't located in Union Station. Instead, Greyhound has a little shack inside the parking garage. There were no seats and very little standing room. No bathrooms either -- you'd have to walk far back to the train terminal to find a bathroom. Everyone had to wait outside for the buses, and there were no signs or schedules to let riders know if they were waiting for the right bus.
Well, we just pulled out of Pittsburgh, just a few minutes late. Downtown Pittsburgh looks pretty cool at night, and I am reminded again that I never checked it out the way I intended. Well, it's only about 3 hours from Cleveland and I still have a very flexible schedule. Maybe I'll pay it a visit soon. I also realize, as I reach the end of this post, that I didn't take any photos. A side-by-side comparison of DC's and Pittsburgh's Greyhound stations would make you all want to catch a bus from Pittsburgh, and avoid them in DC. Instead, you'll just have to take my word for it.
Very well said.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I could have handled that long a trip on a greyhound. When I was in college, I'd take the regional bus service from Madison WI to Chicago, and it was nightmareish. I'd be interested in trying an Amtrak... booze car anyone?
ReplyDeleteGino