NY City Bus -- competition for the MegaBus?
A new bus service between Albany and NYC started up today. The aptly-named NY City Bus is selling one-way rides to/from the city for $10.
That's cheap -- even cheaper than the MegaBus in many cases. A round trip ride on the MegaBus this week will cost you $60 if you bought now. (You can get it for as little as $18 if you book the same ride for a month from now.)
We had never heard of NY City Bus until recently, so we did a little bit of poking around -- and it looks like the bus line has a lot of similarities to the DragonDeluxe line. There are so many similarities that we wonder if it's connected to the Dragon. It shares the same pick-up (91 Colvin Avenue and 102 Central Ave in Albany) and drop-off (26 Canal Street and near Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan). And the two services seem to use one of the same operators (All State). The NY City Bus corporation was registered this past March and the listed address in Chinatown in Manhattan is different from that of the company that runs Dragon Deluxe, according to the listing on file with the state.
The Dragon Deluxe fare is roundtrip fare is more expensive -- $40 vs. $20. The NY City Bus site doesn't list the $20 fare as a promotion or sale or anything like that.
The NY City Bus lists a handful of routes around the country. Has anyone ridden it before? Anyone have the scoop?
Earlier on AOA: We broke down the travel options between Albany and NYC by price, time and ease.
image: NY City Bus
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Comments
I saw a sign for this organization offering the $20 RT last week on Madison Ave. If it is at least semi-comfortable, that mean the idea of just headed down because I am craving something only has a tax of less then a couple of beers.
I would love to know what the ride was like.
... said A Mistake on Jun 1, 2010 at 11:44 AM | link
I like the pricing, the pick-up location in Albany is very convenient for me, and I expect the ride isn't too different from the Chinatown bus I've been getting on Central Avenue...but the schedule is just too limited and wouldn't work out for my trips. A shame, though, since the price is great.
... said Paula on Jun 1, 2010 at 12:02 PM | link
Please don't think I'm a wuss, but bus drivers just...freak me out. The last time I bussed it down there was via Yankee Trails to catch a Yankee game, and the guy was driving like a crazy person. It was scary. Are they all like that?
... said Summer on Jun 1, 2010 at 4:10 PM | link
I once took the Chinatown Bus and the guy was driving like a maniac to the point where I was terrified. It was at night and we just stayed in the left lane and flew past all the other traffic. I wanted him to let me off in Paramus, NJ but he didn't understand English. Luckily there was a woman on the bus who was able to interpret my request but she told me to stand up in front and tell him when I wanted to get off because HE COULDN'T READ SIGNS. How do you get a driver's license if you can't read signs?? Anyway, he pulled over on Route 17 and dropped me off, right there on the highway. A very scary experience so I'm hoping this NY City Bus service is not similar...
... said irisheyz on Jun 2, 2010 at 9:24 AM | link
I took the bus from Albany to NY the other day, it wasn't scary, they have the big luxury Greyhound like buses with bathrooms on there. The customer service with them is really great compared with the other chinese bus companies. This is a first... they thanked me for calling to ask question!!! Usually they hang up on you before you finish asking any questions. Can't beat the price. Hope this bus company is here to stay. Can't wait for the 7:30am leaving Albany... for $20, i can spend a day in NYC and come back the same night!
... said Jack on Jun 19, 2010 at 8:07 PM | link
I live in NYC and my mother sent me the $20 round trip ad from the Albany paper. Like this article says, their website does not list the promotion so your best bet in NYC, I guess, would be to just show up at one of the scheduled times on Broadway and 34th and hope that they're there and take the coupon. Otherwise, you pay $20 for each way online. I wanted to call and find out for sure so I dialed a couple of the numbers listed on the ad......oh boy.
I called the 212 number listed - no answer. I called the 917 number and someone picked up.
"Hello is this the NYC bus service?"
"No"
"Ok is this (I repeated the number) because this number is on an ad for a bus service from NYC to Albany."
"You have to call the main office". He gave me another number, after denying that he was the bus service. Okay.... I call the main number, another 212 number NOT listed in the ad.
Next guy -
"Hello is this the NYC bus service?"
"Yes"
"Hi I have a coupon for a $20 RT ride from NYC to Albany."
"We have no coupons. We don't take coupons."
"This is nycitybus dot com right? It says right here..."
"WE DO NOT TAKE COUPONS! WE ARE NOT NYCITYBUS.WE ARE AA BUS!"
"Well AABus is the listed operator on nycitybus dot com. So why wouldn't you take the coupon if it's on the same website?
"NO COUPONS!!!! WE ARE NOT NYCITYBUS.WE ARE AA BUS"
He hung up on me.
... said Anne on Sep 4, 2010 at 11:34 AM | link