<p>I've been looking into Megabus Service between Philly and Pittsburgh. The price seems cheap. The bus stop is at 10th and Penn and from there it seems like a short walk to city bus service to Oakland. </p>
<p>Does anyone have experience using Megabus to travel between Philly and Pittsburgh? Is the bus stop in a safe area? Is the bus service reliable?</p>
<p>Thanks for any info.</p>
<p>My daughter has taken the Megabus many times to State College and many of her Pitt friends use it to go back and forth from Philadelphia. From our experience, the bus pretty much runs on time. The most time I’ve had to wait for the bus has been 20 mintues or so. The bus stop is at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. You are correct about it being a few blocks from a bus stop to Oakland. Is it safe? Short answer - yes. However, that being said I wouldn’t want my daughter walking alone at 11:00 pm in downtown Pittsburgh to catch a bus to Oakland. When my daughter’s friends arrived after 9:00 pm on the Megabus, I would pick them up and drive them to Oakland. If they are in pairs, that’s fine. But, if having someone pick up your child late in the evening isn’t an option, the Westin hotel is directly across the street. She could call for a cab and wait there until the taxi arrives. I can’t imagine cab fare to Oakland costing much at all.</p>
<p>I also made my daughter put the Pitt Taxi number into her cell phone. That way, if she needs a taxi she has the number. It certainly costs more than the bus, which is free with a Pitt ID, but safety is worth it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips. My S will be taking their new service to Frederick, MD in the fall so it’s good to know about the safety scene.</p>
<p>good idea to have the number of a taxi service. Is there more than one? which do you recommend? Can you post the number?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I have taken the Megabus to get home to NY, and my sister has used it to come visit me at Pitt. From our experience, the service is decent. The Pittsburgh stop is excellent. It is quiet, safe, and organized. Getting on the bus in NYC is a whole other story (my sister’s bus to Pitt was two hours late…).</p>
<p>I would recommend buddying up with a friend if possible when heading to the Megabus stop. When I headed home to NY, it was early in the morning, so nobody was out except other college students heading to the Megabus stop, and I felt safe alone. However, I picked my sister up from downtown at about 11 on a Friday night. I almost headed out alone until a friend offered to come with me. Let me say I was just glad she came! The Port Authority buses don’t stop directly by the convention center, so you have to walk a couple blocks. There are people around, but it can be kind of rough.</p>
<p>With Megabus, let me just say you get what you pay for. Overall it is a pretty good service. The buses are new and clean, and it’s mostly college students on the bus (esp. around the holidays). Sometimes buses are late. My sister had little to complain about after her experience, though, because she paid $13.50 round trip. You won’t get between Pittsburgh and NY for any cheaper.</p>
<p>1-412-321-8100 is the Pitt Taxi number. I have not called it in a while, so you might give it a try.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that Pitt runs student buses to several different areas at Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break. Many students use those buses.</p>
<p>Because of the insane cost of airfare for Christmas break my son used the Pitt home For The Holidays bus to NYC - was not inexpensive, but a lot less than the flights, and was on time and convenient.</p>
<p>Yellow cab is probably the most visible taxi company in town. MDMom provided that number - 412-321-8100. I see them often waiting outside the hotels. </p>
<p>I agree with clarinetz - 11 pm isn’t the best time to be walking around downtown. It’s not like town is a high crime area, it’s just that there aren’t too many people around at that time - and why risk it if you don’t have to.</p>
<p>If you book Christmas flights in advance, they’re not too expensive because Pitt’s dates are kind of early. Thanksgiving is a killer though. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t want my daughter wandering around downtown Pittsburgh at night, especially toting luggage. She had to do it once when she took Amtrak, and I was happy when she made it back to the dorm.</p>
<p>My daughter missed the last bus after a movie and she and a friend walked back to campus from the Waterfront. I was SO happy that she shared that story long after it happened. I am the original fraidy cat, so I would not walk alone at night anywhere.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the advice. My D would actually be arriving mid-afternoon on a weekday not late at night so I’m guessing that would not pose a safety issue!</p>
<p>MDMom - that’s a looong walk from the waterfront!</p>
<p>Former cross country runner, my daughter. It was a long walk. I think it took quite a while–and it was around midnight.</p>
<p>We used the Pitt Home for the Holidays buses also and everything went very smoothly. I think that also Fullington Trailways may have bus service from Philly to Pittsburgh. I think it stops at the downtown Greyhound station.</p>
<p>Yeah i’ve taken Megabus a few times, interesting drivers, interesting people, mostly solid experiences, except the last time… I was visiting a friend in Harrisburg and was supposed to take the bus from Harrisburg back home to Pittsburgh this past Mother’s Day. Bus was supposed to arrive at like 11am and get into Pittsburgh around 3ish.</p>
<p>Anyway, bus shows up 40 min late, I get in line to board the bus, board, the bus is full, driver tells me I have to get off and wait for the next one… which wouldn’t come for another 6 hours. So yeah that was some kind of BS, especially since I booked 2 days in advance, apparently that didn’t matter since I was last in line… kinda ruined my mother’s day too, since I had plans with my mom. Luckily my friend was nice enough to pick me up and hang out with me til the next bus came.</p>
<p>So my advice? Whenever people line up to get on the bus, make sure you’re toward the front of that line…</p>
<p>My daughter uses Megabus from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg. For some reason she prefers it over Pitt’s chartered buses at breaks, but she also uses them when she wants to come home for a weekend. She finds them convenient, on time, and an aide to studying (they have wifi).</p>
<p>I’ll admit I did a search about the company before she used them, and there were more cons than pros, so I’ve been pleasantly surprised with their service. You can’t beat their prices.</p>
<p>She also used Greyhound once, and Megabus is much better.</p>
<p>Hi, </p>
<p>One thing that I want to add to all these great posts: Pitt has a shuttle service called Saferider that will come pick you up if you are stranded anywhere in the area. We really recommend students putting it into their phones as it’s a great resource to have at hand. Their number is 412-648-2255. </p>
<p>This is a more detailed information sheet: [url=<a href=“http://www.pc.pitt.edu/transportation/saferider.html]SafeRider[/url”>http://www.pc.pitt.edu/transportation/saferider.html]SafeRider[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Hail to Pitt!</p>
<p>^Thank you so much for the SafeRider info.</p>
<p>DD called Saferider on more than one occasion without luck. I prefer the taxi option even though it has a fee.</p>