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Bolt Bus is the best. Cheap tickets, wifi, and a plug... you can't go wrong. I've also used mega-bus operated by Coach USA is really good too, they are usually more on time than bolt bus who doesnt run as much buses throughout the day. Mega bus has a couple of double decker buses that provide a sweet ride if you score the seat in the front row upstairs and they usually play a good movie. Bottom line you cant go wrong with either one but if your really impatient you may want to use mega-bus.

i did roundtrip to DC for $23. it was mostly fine. they tend to show up almost at departure time. the drivers are uniformed, they say the bathroom has a flush toilet (like trains and planes). the legroom is comfy.

in fact, i took two kids with me on part of my trip and though it was a pretty full ride, it was comfortable enough to keep them from going insane when our trip went 2.5 hours longer than scheduled (Sunday pm - DC to NYC).

Thank you for posting this, I've been wondering how the ride is and the bus stop to DC is right outside my office (that's my office, pictured above!), so the convenient location can't be beat. Plus the stop is just off the Holland Tunnel exit, so there's no long, traffic-filled drive to Chinatown (a drive that can take over an hour on any given Sunday, ugh).

awesome. thanks for posting this.

I've taken various Chinatown buses to DC a couple times, and although it's always been fine, it's never been so luxurious to have electrical outlets and wifi.

My boyfriend and I just tried the Bolt Bus in July. We did not get the $1 rate (we booked a week ahead), but for $70 roundtrip for the two of us from BOS to NYC, it was a STEAL versus driving down on our own or the train. And while I've bussed it to NYC before this was my bf's first time on any bus; he thought it was great.

And since we bought our tickets in advance, we were put in the queue to board first and had our pick of seats...versus the same day purchase riders.

The WIFI, outlets just made the trip all the better. We watched a movie on our laptop. I can confirm no chickens. :)

I took the Bolt Bus down to DC a few months ago. It was HORRENDOUS. Wifi was not working. The trip took something like 8 hours (including the bus arriving over an hour late for our departure). No apologies. No explanations. Never again.

i've taken three round trips (nyc to boston) on bolt bus.
i've paid between $10-18.

on the first two trips there were about 15 people on each bus.
the last time (two weeks ago) the buses were full.

and the outlets aren't on every seat. i think they're on one seat every-other row.

I took the Bolt Bus round trip DC/NYC in May. Yes, there were some short delays, but nothing that I hadn't experienced with regular Greyhound or Amtrak. There were maybe 20 people on each ride, and the buses were super clean and a smooth ride. Didn't use the WiFi, but saw plenty of people using it. While not as quiet as I would have liked (they specifically request that conversation and phone calls are kept to a minimum and that ringers and noisy electronics are turned low), still was much quieter than a Chinatown bus. I bought the tix about a week before and paid about $70 for two. I would use it again any time.

I've taken the nyc chinatown buses to philly and it was pretty fast and quiet ride but I wouldn't mind the wifi!

I wont ride Greyhound from Boston to NY. Remember when Greyhound bought out PeterPan? They had a monopoly on the Boston-NY corridor and they started charging between $90 to $110 RT. The only thing that forced Greyhound to lower their prices was serious competition from Chinatown buses.

This is an attempt by Greyhound to so undercut the Chinatown buses that they are driven out of business. I am not going to support Greyhound and their attempts to re-establish their monopoly. So there wont be any Bolt Bus for me.

Am I the only one who finds the "no live chickens" comment racist and offensive? Come on people, why is it ok to make jokes at the expense of Chinese people? Because there is no
Chinese Al Sharpton to call you on your crap?

Hey baba yaga, did you order the flied lice?

Oh, scandalous! I am so shocked!
You have topped your own scathingly witty "shoot the girlscouts" comment, so here is the attention you so keenly want. {all pay attention to tylerdurden here}.
Oh, and is that Tyler Durden in the Chicago area?
Can we maybe get an angry Chinese mob to throw
flaming dumplings into your windows?

baba yaga, I agree with you. I found that "no live chickens" comment very offensive and very racist. Could all AT bloggers keep their posts free of racism please? Take the racism somewhere else and keep this place clean. Shame on you Boston blogger!

Thanks, mariasangria!
It's not only racist, but terribly classist too.
Just embarrassing.

shoot the girlscouts, heh heh

In defense of live chickens and other live animals, I first found out about the Fung Wah because my friend had to transport her cat from Boston to NYC, and it was the only option other than renting a car and driving.

The "live chicken" comment was not cool and offensive.

Jen--
The two have nothing to do with each other!
Letting someone bring a caged cat only shows that the Fung Wah line is less rule and restriction driven (a fact that gets them into trouble at times!).
The comment about the live chicken was a not so
subtle snide swipe at Chinese people that hints at low class, unsophisticated peasant ways.
So Boston... I'm sad to say I live there, too.
We have a long history of racism.

I think this bus is overrated. I did DC to NY. It took 5 hours, there are no middle armrests, so the guy next to me and I were bumping arms the whole time both trying to work on our laptops. I don't know, not the most comfortable thing in the world, even if it is cheap. More typical prices for the times you'll actually be able to travel is $40 for a two-way ticket.

Folks, folks, folks on the chicken thing:

Out of respect for some readers who found Jeanine's text offensive, we've taken out the offending words, but DO wish to point out that Jeanine was not being random and certainly not making a careless joke. She is a tasteful person, albeit one with a healthy sense of humor.

Our staff has actually been on the other (awesome) bus line numerous times WITH live chickens and that is absolutely FINE, but it can be a bit noisy.

Neither I nor my friends have EVER seen live chickens on the Chinese-run bus lines on any of our numerous trips one these buses.
Way to minimize the fact that the story was offensive and
inaccurate.
And nice job of REPEATING the insult.
What an arrogant puck you are.
Wonder in the Bolt bus/Greyhound people paid you to badmouth the Chinese lines.

Sorry to offend you more, BY.

Oy Vey! So, YES in fact there were chickens. Once that I personally experienced... like 10 years ago. Back when the buses weren't buses but weird vans and no one knew about them except for some musicians, artists and the obvious residents. They terrified my ex as they were often beyond capacity and sometimes you'd be forced to stand. I never minded them.... like an extension of the subway at rush hour but much more interesting. The live chickens would come from the poultry shop. It wasn't racist.... it was just reality. You do your shopping and take it back home on the bus. It is what it is.