I used to have to take Greyhound around Alberta to get to various dino digs.

While sometimes the schedule wasn't terribly convenient (I remember having to pick it up once at 3 am, ick), there were two things to love:

a) For a small fee, I could pre-purchase a seat assignment when I was getting on at Calgary (i.e. - the start of the run). While it was nice to get a seat at the front of the bus, I always thought it was nice they would ask me whether or not I wanted to sit on the primarily shady side of the bus so I didn't fry ;)

b) more importantly - when they overbooked a bus in Calgary, they would load a second bus. No scrambling and begging, just an apology and we'll have a second bus ready in about 20 minutes.

I go from DC to Phila. about once a month and I hate driving. Usually every other trip I try not to drive. Chinatown bus -$35, Amtrak - $100. It's not too long to mind. The amtrak seats aren't that much better.

I did check shuttle flights because they were occaisonally listed on eSavers. The roundtrip ticket to Philly from Dulles was $1300 (with a layover in Ohio). I drove that trip.

I've taken the bus from DC to NYC, and then on to Montreal. Changing bus lines in Montreal, I go on to Quebec. The Port Authority in NYC is a pit - completely disgusting. While I was given to believe the bus station in Montreal is in a "bad" section of the city, it's very clean. I thought that I was cheap, until I met a teacher at the hostel who had taken a bus from Saskatoon to Quebec - something like 49 hours, and they only stopped for short pit stops! Any time I've taken a bus in America, whether on Greyhound or one of the Chinatown buses, I feel that I'm taking my life in my hands. Folks bungie jump, so I'm not alone in living on the edge.

i take the greyhound to NYC constantly. ive had a couple less-than-fabulous experiences (questionable drivers, one breakdown), but nothing near as frustrating as the airline stories i could tell. also half the greyhound busses show movies when you wouldn't get one on a plane, and the air quality is better than in airline cabins.

that said, i don't think i could handle the bus to anywhere other than NYC (or any other nonstop, under 6 hours kind of location). Because after a point it takes a lot longer than flying, especially when they stop in every tiny town along the way. and i may get heat for this statement, but the civility of the ridership tends to slack off a little when you leave the DC-to-Boston corridor (I have taken buses in the OH/WV/PA area and wasn't too pleased about it).

Also I agree re:train prices, they're ridiculous, flying is usually the same price or cheaper, and amtrak isn't nearly such a convenient plan if you're travelling westward.

Last year I drove with friends to Hamilton, Ont. for an event. Afterwards, they were going on to Montreal, so I took the bus back to NYC. It involved two changes and got held up at the border by an Asian family who thought to bring huge suitcases but no current papers. As Amtrak allows 2 1/2 hours to get over the border, our one hour holdup wasn't that bad. In Buffalo I got on a Greyhound bus driven by a Trailways driver where I found out they tend to use whatever busses are available. The bus had problems right outside Buffalo and the driver called in and returned to the terminal where there would probably be no bus available. The problem resolved itself (?) so he circled the terminal and headed out again. In Rochester, people were asked to voluntarily give up their seats so some pressed-for-time passengers could board. I don't know that any incentives were offered. The bus was crowded and not that comfortable, but it was an overnight trip and saved me having to get myself to Toronto the next morning to take Amtrak, which would have taken just as many hours and got me home 12 hours later.

I've done the NYC-DC run on shuttle, Amtrak and bus, and as long as I can afford it I'll continue to take Amtrak. The bus is just not fun, but it beats flying. The ride into Manhattan effectively doubles the length of your trip - throw in the joys of the air travel system and what's the point?

I've also taken the bus and Amtrak from NYC to various points in upstate New York. Bus wins on convenience of schedule, number of destinations served, and (narrowly) on travel time; Amtrak wins on comfort. Cost is a tie.

Interestingly, I priced bus vs. Amtrak between Seattle and Portland, OR, last year, and there was practically no difference ($5 I think). Not a huge time difference either. Took Amtrak and highly recommend it, it's a beautiful trip.

I've taken a long-distance bus ride in Brazil, and if you pay a little extra for a nice one (called a leito), it's a totally different experience from Greyhound. Very plush and comfortable... I easily slept for most of my overnight trip and wasn't even sore in the morning.

American bus travel, though, let's just say I can't wait to be able to afford the train to New York instead.

I don't understand all the talk about how high Amtrak's prices are to NYC. I just took it last week and it was only $134 roundtrip. Far cheaper than my friend who took a shuttle flight and faster too. It took me less than 3 and a half hours and it took her four with the security line and a delay and getting into midtown from LaGuardia.

We're flying to NYC in a few weeks, mostly due to the cost. The bus wasn't an option this time around because we'll have lots of luggage and we didn't want to have to deal with it.

As for Amtrak vs. flying, Amtrak was somewhere around $70 each way, making it about $140 roundtrip, plus the extra travel time. The Delta flight we booked was $161 including taxes. For the extra $20 I think it's well worth it to save time flying.

In the future though I'll be busing it when I have no luggage.

This last trip back east I took this new DC2NY (dc2ny.com) express bus service from DC to New York for the weekend (saw the article online about it in the Post)and was very pleased with the bus serivce - it was a nice new bus and CLEAN, it left from Dupont Circle where I was staying with a friend and dropped me off at Penn Station - both convenient locations - but best was the free wi-fi. Being able to get online during the trip was huge for me. Never thought I would be talking about a nice bus trip....