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Boutique Bus Service Between DC and NYC - Andy Seligman Launches New Upscale Transportation


DonRocks

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"DC Restaurateur Wants To Treat You Like Royalty On Your Bus Trip To NYC" by Jeff Clabaugh in Washington Business Journal

If you can recline and sleep, I would certainly consider it. With only 8 seats per bus, I don't know how they're going to be able to maintain a $180 round-trip fare for very long. With a full bus, that's only $1,440 in total revenue per 10-hour round trip. These buses cost $120,000 each, the company has to pay for refreshments, gas, tolls, and the driver, not to mention maintenance and upkeep - does anyone think this is sustainable? At this price, I would think the total profit would be under $1,000 for each round trip, and that doesn't include insurance, liability, etc.

Amtrak is certainly their chief rival, and will keep the price down. Not many people want to fly the WAS-NYC route anymore - I know I don't.

This is a Mercedes Sprinter bus, btw, which is what Mr. Seligman has purchased and modified. At least there are only four tires to maintain - I suspect the tires will only last for about 100 round trips:

Bus_Mercedes-Benz_Sprinter_z_boku.jpg

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I don't see the appeal.

If I think Amtrak is too expensive, I'll take Bolt. It's cheap, there are bathrooms, power outlets, and wifi. Sure, I might get stuck in traffic, and it lets you off in NYC in front of a porno shop, but whatevs.

If I'm in a hurry, I'll take Amtrak. No traffic worries, again: bathrooms, and you get let off at Penn Station. (And you can drink on the train! Just don't drink all of their 90 minute IPAs no matter how well priced they are, otherwise you might not remember how you got home from Union Station, not that something like that happened to me last time.)

But unless you rented out the whole "bus" with your friends, why take it?

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The last time I visited NYC was to take my daughter up to check out some colleges.  We were on an Amtrak Metroliner that was supposed to arrive at Penn Station at 7 pm -- in time to have dinner.  Somewhere outside of Baltimore there was a sudden bang and the train lurched to a halt.  Some punks had put tires on the track and when our train hit them the hydraulic lines that operated the brakes were ruptured.  We were stuck there for hours until some kind of commuter train came down from Philadelphia on a parallel track and we clambored over to it -- no mean feat with our luggage, and we were taken to Philly where a NJ Transit train took us to Penn Station arriving after Midnight.  So much for reliability.   When my bother-in-law, who lives in Queens comes down to visit he always takes the bus from Chinatown -- he's never been more than an hour late.

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The last time I visited NYC was to take my daughter up to check out some colleges.  We were on an Amtrak Metroliner that was supposed to arrive at Penn Station at 7 pm -- in time to have dinner.  Somewhere outside of Baltimore there was a sudden bang and the train lurched to a halt.  Some punks had put tires on the track and when our train hit them the hydraulic lines that operated the brakes were ruptured.  We were stuck there for hours until some kind of commuter train came down from Philadelphia on a parallel track and we clambored over to it -- no mean feat with our luggage, and we were taken to Philly where a NJ Transit train took us to Penn Station arriving after Midnight.  So much for reliability.   When my bother-in-law, who lives in Queens comes down to visit he always takes the bus from Chinatown -- he's never been more than an hour late.

 

Well now, I wouldn't compare Amtrak's reliability vs. *any* highway vehicle; traffic is just too unpredictable.

 

That said, when I went from Seattle to Vancouver last summer, it took *eight hours* due to a track closure - it got to the point where the dining car was giving out free food and drinks to a crowd that was beginning to grow hostile. To Amtrak's credit, they mailed us full travel credit vouchers (all of $43, but still, they did it). 

 

As soon as Amtrak instituted WiFi - unreliable as it may be - they went up another notch in my eyes.

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Gosh.   there are no guarantees on driving between here and NYC and at various off hours including red eye hours....and I've done it for decades.  Something may occur and frankly there are quite a few opportunities and areas where traffic can be bad and slow, let alone some accident that shuts down lanes.  That holds for the buses and autos.  It holds for discount buses or luxury buses.

Think of driving between here and Richmond on 95.  I view it as a potential traffic trap at odd hours during the day.

I personally like the train, as I don't have to do anything.  Of course that vandalism outside of Baltimore will mess up anything.  Biggest issue with planes is one is landing essentially in Long Island or Newark and its still a trek into the city or where ever one is heading.

hmmm...I think I'll stay here and have a cocktail.

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