Going Places

I went to Boston this weekend and here's a synopsis of my travel methods. Instead of driving, this time I took the train up, and the bus on the return trip.

The train’s a lot faster and roomier than I remember. The last time I took an Amtrak train in the US must have been at least five years ago, and internationally, I rode the shinkansen about three years ago. So I was fairly surprised by the short ETA and few stops on the New York – Boston Metroliner. There was a ton of space for my seat, but it was all “business class” so I guess that’s why. It was nice to have an outlet available while I tset my clunky laptop on the tiny tray table. The train was a little late overall, but only by about 10-15 minutes.

I couldn’t help but think that I had overpaid slightly in order to get to Boston, considering that my return trip was $15 on the bus.

The bus was another story. I definitely got what I paid for – no frills, but you get there. I’ve taken the NY – Boston bus two times in the past, and once it was Greyhound (about ten years ago) and the other time was Chinatown. The Greyhound rates have really plummeted since Fung Wah and co. started their routine trips between the two cities.

As the Greyhound bus pulled out, I was surprised to see Fung Wah buses also leaving South Station (they don’t leave from Chinatown anymore), but the Greyhound’s competitive $15 rate, less-shady background, and final destination (the Port Authority is more convenient to my place) made it the best choice for me. Overall, the trip was fine, but I realized riding the bus is pretty much lost time for me. I can’t read on the bus since I get carsick, and I can’t use my laptop since the battery doesn’t have enough juice. So it’s 4 1/2 hours of tunes on the iPod and sleeping.

The only other major negative about the bus is that it took about an hour to get to the port authority once we were in Manhattan. I guess the driver had a sense of the traffic issues, but I couldn't help thinking, "why didn't we take either of the highways?"

The “bus one-way, train the other” strategy worked out about as I had expected. I was exhausted for the bus return trip, so even though sleeping was the only thing I could do, it was also necessary. On the train, I was more functional and able to get some work done. Total for the trip was about $50 each way, so it works out to a little more expensive than the bus and a little cheaper than the train.

ADDENDUM - 5/9/05 - 9:15am
It was nice of Greyhound to send me my trip confirmation email TWO DAYS AFTER I returned from Boston! That's really useful!