Pet Peeve Resolved!

So, up until the last few days, Megabus had been one of the perpetrators of my huge transit geek pet peeve-- since the restoration of California service, they had identified their Riverside stop location as the "Riverside Downtown Metro Station."

Trying to be kind, as they are new to the area, I sent their customer service folks a letter:

To Whom it May Concern:

At the moment, your web site lists the Megabus stop in Riverside, CA as the "Downtown Riverside Metro Station." We southern Californians insist on being complicated, and name two local transit agencies very similar things-- Metro is the advertising name for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Agency, which serves LA County with local bus and rail service. Metrolink is a commuter rail system that provides service throughout the greater LA area. The station in Riverside is, in fact, a Metrolink station, not a Metro station. Please correct your information.

Thanks for your time.

 As of tonight, the Megabus web site shows this:

 

Every once in a while, we can get something fixed.

A Mega Review

So I posted last month about Megabus' recent triumphant return to Southern California. Last week, I had a chance to ride said bus to Las Vegas and back, and I figured I'd post a review on it.

Megabus' California/Nevada fleet is composed of VanHool double-decker TD925's, although I'm not sure yet how many. These coaches seat 81, with Megabus selling 77 revenue seats per trip. They're equipped with relatively comfortable reclining seats, a restroom (of the typical intercity bus variety), two doors and stairwells, and a rear luggage compartment. Because the bus is a double-decker, there are no overhead luggage bins-- carry-on items have to fit under your seat. Each passenger is allowed one carry-on and one checked item, although I saw the staff bend this rule a few times.

I boarded the 01:30 bus out of Riverside-- at least a little hesitant about waiting for a bus at the downtown Metrolink at 01:30 in the morning. The bus was around 10m late, but the boarding process was smooth and well-organized, with three Megabus crew members emerging from the bus and assisting passengers. One checked reservations, while the other two handled bags. I always travel with only a carry-on, and although Megabus' web site says that bags near the airline's maximum allowed carry-on size may be carried as checked luggage, I was able to fit mine under my seat without difficulty. Sitting on the upper deck, I was treated to the pleasant surprise of a full-bus sun roof. The windows in the front of the upper deck are also large, affording an excellent view of... well... I-15. And, at the time, I-15 at night. The only minor annoyance of the boarding process was a ~10m video, played after we departed, explaining safety features and how to connect to the on-board Wi-Fi. At nearly 2am, the last thing I wanted was a perky Megabus lady telling me to buckle up, but it didn't last long. I promptly reclined my seat and slept the entire ride-- I woke up to an early arrival in Las Vegas.

On the ride back, I had a little more time to actually check out the features of the bus and terminal. The South Strip Transfer Terminal, where Megabus arrives in Vegas, is the southern of RTC's two local bus terminals. It is also the platonic ideal of what a bus terminal should look like. There are snack and drink machines, transit information (including real-time arrivals) and ticket vending, clean restrooms, chairs and tables, and power outlets. Most of this was inside a large, indoor waiting room, which was really helpful when the desert chill struck. I was surprised to see this terminal in a city like Las Vegas, which isn't really known for its transit system. It may be the nicest local bus station I've ever been in.

When the time came for the Megabus, the boarding process was again well-managed. The bus arrived nearly half an hour late, which made waiting in the cold a bit unpleasant, and which was really strange, considering that Las Vegas is the terminal station on the route. When we did board the bus, it was maybe 3/4 full, and I had a row to myself. I tried out the free wi-fi, and tried to find the advertised power outlets. That's easier said than done-- they're poorly marked and in an odd location. You'll find them between the seats in the row, slightly below the seat itself. There is one for each passenger on the bus. Some rows, such as the rear ones, have the outlets overhead. Once the outlets were found, power was reliable and not enough to upset my tablet's delicate sensibilities. I also tried the free Wi-fi, which is a cellular-based system. This means exactly what you might think-- you'll get reasonably good service in populated areas, and very little out on the Interstate. It was okayish in Vegas (although sluggish with everyone connecting at once), dead from Primm to Barstow, and basically correlated with population density from there on in. I spent most of the ride reading.

We arrived in Riverside at around 7:15, around 15m behind schedule. This brings me to the next thing I love about Megabus-- at least in California, their stops integrate closely with the local transit system. In Los Angeles, the buses stop at Union station. In Riverside, they stop at the Metrolink. In Oakland, it's the West Oakland BART. In San Jose, Diridon station. In San Francisco, it's the 4th/King Caltrain station. Megabus serves car-free customers as well as they serve their automobile bretheren.

The only real downside of Megabus service in Riverside, aside from minor schedule adherence issues (which I'm sure will be fixed in their next timetable), is the limitation on destinations. From Riverside, you can only travel to Las Vegas. I understand why they limit Riverside-LA traffic, so as to avoid clogging seats with commuters, but I would love to see the possibility of through-ticketing Riverside-San Francisco via Los Angeles. (This could be because I find Vegas kind of meh and really love San Francisco.) You can, of course, take several transit options to LA (RTA/Foothill, Metrolink, Amtrak) and Megabus to SF, but through ticketing would open up more options and schedule flexibility. Oakland and San Jose are in the same place as Riverside vis-a-vis Sacramento and Reno service.

That said, if you're heading to Vegas or the Bay Area, I strongly recommend Megabus-- and, if you watch closely and book well in advance, you too might get a trip to Vegas for $2.50.

Mega good news!

I've written before about the wonders of the low-cost express bus network along the East Coast's I-95 corridor. Since the federal DOT shut down a good number of the chinatown lines, the situation isn't quite as friendly as it was when I wrote that post, but one company has been making the best of it. MegaBus, a subsidiary of British transport firm Stagecoach Group, has an extensive network of curb-to-curb buses across the eastern half of the country. They started with a New York-centered network, and now have services throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Texas. Their buses are clean, modern, and have sort-of-reliable free wi-fi and on-board power outlets. Best of all, the service is cheap, with fares as low as $1 (usually one seat on each bus) and generally in the $20 range.

Of course, since we live on the wrong coast, MegaBus is unfamiliar to most of us Californians. The company did run a Las Vegas-Los Angeles-San Francisco service for a time back in 2007, but it was poorly-marketed and soon cancelled. (I say it was poorly marketed because, as an ardent observer of all things transit, I didn't hear about it until it was facing cancellation.)

That said, there is some great news out today. MegaBus is back-- and not only back in SoCal, but they're introducing new service to Riverside! Service is available on LA-Oakland-SF, LA-San Jose-SF, LA-Riverside-Vegas, and SF-Sacramento-Reno routes. (Note that you can't buy trips for short segments, eg. SF-Oakland, SF-San Jose, or LA-Riverside.) Service will start on December 12th, and the first week's service is all just $1. Beyond that, if you book quick, you'll probably still get the coveted $1 for any travel you have planned. The new buses will serve LA Union Station and the Riverside Downtown Metrolink.

I should also note that MegaBus runs an around-the-clock schedule, with departures from Riverside at 1:30 in the morning. It appears that there are four runs daily in each direction, with every run on the LA-LV route stopping in Riverside.

So, officially, there is a good way to get to Vegas without a car. You should book now!