Megabus

Wish I could give –5 stars. The absolute worst service imaginable. Buses are 2 – 3 hours late. Customer service hasn’t a clue as to when a bus will be coming if at all. They don’t offer your money back they just keep it and offer you a ride on another destination service at a later date or later in the day like they’re doing you a favor. Spend the money and take the train to wherever you’re going.

Flew in from Cali with 7 friends spent the night in Albany then took a megabus to NY NY. Cost was around 25 a person since we book the day before. No complaints the bus was clean and smooth and the driver wasn’t a jerk about us being confused and touristy with questions. A+

Every time I take this bus it’s late. And I used to take it 2 times a month. At least one to three hours late. Drivers are rude and so is dispatch. Sent a letter about how displeased I was with the service after they were 3 hours late, driver was rude, and they gave no explanation. Their response was, «sorry.» I’m taking the Bolt bus home and from now on.

I wish I could give them more than one star but no $ 5 bus ticket (if your even lucky to get that price) is worth a bus being over 90 minutes late. This is the most inconsiderate and untimely transportation method. You might as well spend the extra money and take Amtrak because you’ll miss whatever you were hoping to attend if you rely on Megabus to get you there. Oh, and will they give you a refund for being over an hour late? Absolutely not.
If you need a cheap way to get somewhere with no care as to when you arrive it’ll get the job done, but otherwise this is not your travel method.

I went to drop off my friend at the station listed on the bus ticket and waited and waited for the bus to come only to find out that the pickup is down the street. We called Megabus and they could not tell us why we did not see the bus even though we were at the station in front of a Megabus sign. But then we were told my a random person there that you had to go down the street. There was no indication of this on the ticket– just the name of the station. The person on the phone from Megabus had no clue where the stop was. If you miss the bus, there is no refund or credit– terrible business practices and horrendous customer service. I took my friend to the Greyhound Station and the ticket was $ 1 more than the Megabus one had been. Just take the Greyhound! :)

Just got off the phone with mega bus. After getting cut off three times it seems their driver forgot to pick up at Suny Albany. They have graciously agreed to get me on a bus 7 hours from now at no extra charge. They are considering this giving me a free ticket. This is the second time this has happened. I over looked this once, but leaving over 20 people stranded this second time is enough. At least with a conventional company you aren’t left stranded outside in the cold.

Megabus gets the job done at a cheap price and that’s why I continue to rely on them to get me between NYC and Albany.
They aren’t the cleanest or coziest and half the time their staff are miserable, but for the most part, you’re paying for what you get. You can show your ticket from your smartphone, which is convenient. The wifi on the bus is extremely spotty and unreliable.
You can store one bag below the bus cabin and most of the time, they load and unload it for you. Don’t expect to store more than one bag, though.
I’ve purchased day-​of tickets from NYC to Alb at $ 40 RT. I’ve gotten tickets as low as $ 14 RT when I’ve had my act together to plan. The biggest downside is the trek to 34^th and 11^th Ave, but again, it’s what you pay for for curbside service.

Between leaving late and mid– trip needing to switch out drivers who show up xx minutes late I won’t make this mistake again. Was supposed to arrive at my destination at 710 and its 825pm– still waiting here and definitely going to miss my train (next leg of my trip) even though I arranged for an hour and 40 min buffer. Not the first time I’ve had a similar problem with them. Last time!

Seamless, going from NYC to Albany on a Saturday afternoon. The trip was a little over 3 hours, as promised.
The downside is that the wifi only actually worked for about 15 minutes, and the bathroom is basically a porter potty with no sink… but for the price I can not complain about these things. If I was traveling a further distance and had more money, I would probably take the train, but for what it is I felt it was a great deal.

I’ve taken this bus four times round trip from Albany to NYC and here’s the deal. Only take it down to NYC and take the train back from NYC. The return schedule is bad (no trains later than 6:30) and it was always late leaving Manhattan by at least an hour or more each time. The price vs comfort is a good compromise going down to NYC but Amtrak is far far better and worth the extra price on the ride back.

I took this bus I stead of the train, based on Megabus’ claims of free wifi! Well let’s just say that it was free. But air is free, and at least air works! This is the biggest false advertising claim I have ever encountered. I swear if us working folk, I.e. megabus’ customer base, had any spare time, I could see a class action law suit in their future. Imagine I HAD to get some work done on the way back to the city, and my career was counting on it. What a shame MB.
Now on another, more positive note, the employees have always been very accommodating, the drivers are ALWAYS on time, the buses are clean as are their bathrooms, and yes, their ticket prices can’t be beat. God they came so close. I probably should have left a four star review but the Internet fiasco pissed me off so bad I just couldnt. Come on MB just get your I T guy to fix up the god damn broadband. It is 2013, and more importantly, YOU BRAD ABOUT IT IN YOUR ADVERTISING, AND YOUR IN BUS INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO FOR F#*K SAKE!

It’s a great bus. But they lose a star for not having a station. Most of the time, that’s fine. Megabus doesn’t feel nearly as sketchy as the Chinatown bus services. In fact it’s very professional. I love that I can just wave my the confirmation on my smart-​phone to the driver and get on board.
What I don’t love is the intermittent wi-​fi. But that’s fine provided you plan for it. Don’t expect that you’ll be able to access your GoogleDocs for the length of the drive. Still, they have plenty of power outlets, so you can arrive at your destination with a full charge on your laptop and phone.
On my last trip back from NYC however, the location of the pickup spot was directly in the hot hot sun. There was no shade, and there was no relief. And those who wanted one of the coveted seats in the front row of the upper deck, or who wanted to be guaranteed to sit next to their travel companion bravely suffered through.
I found a shady spot, and waited until the line snaked around and joined me in my patch of comfort around the corner.
These have been the only problems. Generally, the bus has been clean, comfortable and safe. The other people on the bus have been largely pleasant and unobtrusive. Plus Megabus has been very reasonable, efficient, and timely way to get from Albany down to the city.
I’m glad they service the area.

Price: 5 star
Comfort: 3 star
Cleanliness: 5 star
Convenience: 5 star
Friendliness: 3 star
The price is the overwhelming factor here and gets a higher weight in the overall rating process.

Megabus will never rise above three stars because they have such a half assed commitment to customer satisfaction. They are understaffed (some complain about the surly drivers, but the problem is that they are doing 2 or 3 peoples’ job), the seats are really uncomfortable, there’s no tray for your laptop, the wireless often fails, and they make you wait in really sketchy third worldly locations like 40^th at 10^th Ave in Manhatten, or the Racino in Saratoga.
But Megabus will never fall below three stars because it’s so much cheaper than the train. If you can make reservations far ahead you really can score $ 1 and $ 3 tickets, and even with short notice I just paid $ 15 for a same day NY-​Albany ticket.
One tip: if you aren’t absolutely sure of your plans and you’ve missed the super cheap tickets, consider waiting till close to your travel date because the tickets are totally nonrefundable. That $ 15 same day ticket replaces another $ 15 ticket purchased 3 weeks ago that I was unable to use. Still, $ 30 (plus 50 cents per ticket service charge) beats the train any day.

I took a trip to NYC for a few days this past weekend. And I chose the Megabus because, as far as I know, its the cheapest transportation from Albany to NYC (roughly 20 $ each way, but it can be much cheaper depending on what time you go). I found that the saying «you get what you pay for» does NOT apply to the Megabus. You get more.
I was pleasantly suprised. On the trip down I had a very comfortable ride. Nice driver, and my fellow travelers were polite and respectful. Left on time, and arrived on time. The driver quickly checked my reservation #.
On the way back, the bus left right on time. I showed the driver my handwritten res. #, and I don’t think he even took a look at it before he let me on the bus.
The reason I say you get more than you pay for is because I am used to taking buses from the Albany bus terminal which charges AT LEAST double what megabus does. And often times you have to deal with rude passengers, rude drivers, not as nice of buses… etc. Megabus is a very nice two level bus, FREE WIFI. and supposedly there are power outlets on megabus, BUT the outlets did not work for either part of my round trip. I think that is my only complaint. but of course that is not a huge deal. Based on this one and only round trip experience with megabus, I would definitely recommend it as THE cheapest and best means of transportation from Albany to NYC.