Bus travel for a buck
Travelers on a budget will want to know about Megabus, which will take you from Pittsburgh to Chicago for as little as $1.
Is that a misprint?
No, the company says it can charge less for several reasons, including the fact it uses online ticketing and sidewalk stops instead of ticket counters and bus terminals. Passengers do not buy tickets, but instead give drivers reservation numbers they receive when booking online.
The Chicago-based company, which began operating in a number of Midwestern cities last year, plans to launch new service April 2 in Pittsburgh; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Mo., and Louisville It already offers service between Chicago and Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Toledo.
“We’re really trying to get people out of their car,” said Dale Moser, president and chief operating officer of Coach USA, the domestic subsidiary of Scotland-based Stagecoach Group PLC, which runs Megabus.
The low-cost model was imported from the United Kingdom, where Stagecoach introduced a similar service nearly four years ago.
“The demand for this type of service has been outstanding,” Mr Moser said before a news conference on a street corner in downtown Pittsburgh, reported the AP.
“I don’t have a terminal, so I don’t have bricks-and-mortar,” he said.
“I don’t have the staff that maintains it. Everything’s back room — it’s all computer sales. I have nobody handling cash. I have nobody handling any kind of transactions at the bus. The bus driver is focused on taking care of the customers and driving safely.”
Advance planning leads to the lowest fares.
A limited number of seats are priced at $1, and the fares increase incrementally based on the time between the booking and departure dates, a pricing scheme used by discount airlines.
“But I will tell you that the highest-price seat is still cheaper than all the alternatives to get from Pittsburgh to Chicago,” Moser said. The most expensive ticket for such a trip, booked 24 hours in advance, would be $43.50, he said.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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