<p>Isnt the Bolt bus the one that randomly gives one rider a free ticket when they register each day? Also, AAA gives a 10% discount on Amtrak</p>
<p>It’s not $10 for every trip. I think Megabus has a fairly sophisticated pricing methodology.</p>
<p>(By the way, I just looked up a round trip NYC-Pittsburgh-NYC travelling on Thursday and Monday this coming week. It wasn’t going to be $10. It was going to be $4. Round trip. But I think that subsequent customers would wind up paying more.)</p>
<p>S2 and GF are heading to NYC on Bolt Bus for $15 each in early June. DH takes Amtrak regularly for business trips to NYC, having been grounded on the tarmac one too many times, aand has a bunch of frequent tip points. We’ll use those for S2 when he comes home in crummy weather. Southwest is cheap and very convenient, and with both kids going to schools convenient to Southwest-served airports, we can even switch tickets and fare credits if needed.</p>
<p>Bolt and Mega Bus are new buses; some have wi-fi. They seem to be making a profit and folks we know have used those two services were happy. Now, if there were a decent way to get from Ithaca to Boston, all would be right in the universe. ;)</p>
<p>JHS is right. The pricing on Megabus fluctuates depending on when you buy your tickets (the further out the better), your destination, and the date (Easter weekend was more expensive than usual.) We’ve paid $25 round trip from Chicago to Michigan and we’ve paid $45. And again, the bus is almost always on time.</p>
<p>Yes, Megabus varies a lot depending on when you buy your ticket. It’s the same in the UK (where Megabus orignated). They advertise tickets starting at 1 pound there, just like they advertise tickets starting at $1 here in the US. But there are only like 2 of those tickets and they’re only on sale super super in advance. Then they’re gone and they gradually increase the pricing until it’s pretty much the same as what every other bus company charges for that route. </p>
<p>Bolt and Mega bus are both great, safe bus lines. Bolt Bus is probbaly the preferred line for DC to NY now.</p>