The Megabus Effect

My husband spends a great deal of time at the Pentagon these days.  Indeed, he now lives in Arlington, Virginia and rarely gets to New York, where I live. 

That means in order to see him I have to get my batookers to DC or, more exactly, to Arlington.  I tried the Delta shuttle for a while and after three trips on which my flight to New York was delayed for more than an hour, I gave up on that mode.  Besides I felt guilty about my carbon footprint and all that airplane fuel. So then I resorted to Amtrak.  May have just been my karma, but the first two train trips resulted in delays.  Long delays.  I'm told be veteran Amtrak enthusiasts that my experience as unusual.  But it soured me on Amtrak, especially because it's not cheap.  And I found myself hating the stops in Baltimore, Delaware, New Jersey.  It seemed endless.

 

And then I discovered Vamoose.  Rather, my colleague Laura Kim discovered Vamoose for me.  A good friend of mine was bragging about how much money she saved taking the bus on her frequent trips from the Albany, New York area to the Big Apple.  Much better than the plane, much more relaxed, etc.  And cheap.  Really cheap.  So when Laura came up with the Vamoose bus alternative which even has express buses that leave from Penn Station in New York and land smack dab in Arlington, Virginia, minutes from my husband's digs, I became a convert.

 

 

Wi-fi, comfy seats, time to work and to think and to, yes, converse with fellow passengers if the mood strikes, what's not to like? 

So I am fascinated with the article in The Economist talking of the "Megabus Effect."  Basically, it echoes a Bloomberg Business Week piece citing the phenomenon of bus travel surging throughout the United States, with fans who appreciate its ability to transport people easily and relatively quickly between regional destinations and at a fraction of the cost of trains or planes.

 

 

The Economist writer is concerned, however, that this interest in bus travel will render it even more unlikely that the U.S. will get serious about high speed rail which is better--in his opinion--for this kind of regional point to point travel.  He's got an argument that is persuasive.  And having been a fan of European train travel, I would like to see high speed rail happen here.  Soon.  But let's not hold our breath.  The U.S. is not future-focused in its dealing with infra-structure and let's face it, the East Coast is littered with examples of crumbling infrastructure. 

It'll be a while.  And meanwhile, I have my Vamoose bus to Arlington again this weekend.  Did I mention that after four trips you get one free?  Lots better than the shrug I used to get at the Delta counter at Washington National when I asked at 7 PM when the now delayed flight that was supposed to leave at 5 PM would finally take off for LaGuardia. 

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