Megabus

Two stars for being on time and cheap. Also, the bus driver is very nice. Currently en route to Chicago from Milwaukee. Over crowded, sketchy people, WiFi doesn’t work, I’m on the second floor and getting consistently dripped on from the roof — as are many other people. In the past, I had great experiences with Megabus, but I guess it’s gone downhill. You get what you pay for. I won’t be riding again, despite the low price.

I took Megabus roundtrip to Chicago. The bus was suppose to get to Milwaukee around 12:45 but didn’t show up until after 1:00, though I think it did get to downtown Chicago on time. Then on the bus back to Milwaukee the driver got lost and ended up on Layton instead of St. Paul. He actually had to ask the passengers for directions. Somehow, he still managed to arrive on time.
Other than all that, my experience with Megabus was okay. It’s only half the price of Amtrak, which is the only reason I’d take it again.

Two stars for being on-​time about half the time, general smelliness and kinda crabby drivers. After each trip, declare I will never ride the Megabus again, but usually enough time passes between trips that I forget about how generally unpleasant the experience is. You get what you pay for.

Trip: June 8^th, 2012
I had this written up and never posted it. Alas,
On a warm Friday night, Megabus came one hour late to the pick up site in Milwaukee. The mechanism to keep passengers cool was cranked up on high. The people of the bus bundled in what little clothes were on their backs to survive this freezing environment. Everyone survived, but their faith in Megabus diminished.
2 stars for cheap price and getting me to where I needed to be safely.

On time.
Relatively clean.
Too hot.
No outlets!
Short ride from Milwaukee to Chicago for cheap!

10 or 12 bucks from Chicago to Milwaukee (half the cost of Amtrak) and it doesn’t smell like a Greyhound Get on early & you might score a front, upper-​deck seat. Doesn’t run as often as Amtrak, though, and takes ½ hour longer. The sidewalk stop at both ends is a block from the train station. (No formal station for this discount carrier.) I was once there in the cold, and they had a warm bus to wait in until the real bus came.

Ohhhh, Megabus. I read all of the terrible reviews, but, of course, I ignored them because I needed a way to get to Ann Arbor to visit my boyfriend. Let’s just say, I was surprised that I made it to Michigan. The bus got a flat tire less than halfway to Chicago, and we had to stop at a sketchy gas station and wait for over an hour for the dispatcher to drive all the way from Chicago with the new tire. Well, at least I made a friend while I was waiting. A nice dude en route to visit his girlfriend in Minnesota with a plethora of stories to tell about his past experiences with Megabus. He laughed, remembering an icy, December ride where the bus crashed into the highway’s median barrier and almost tipped over completely. Lovely. So, after a couple of hours, the dispatcher finally came, and we were on our way to Chicago. I thought I was going to miss my connecting bus, and considered buying an Amtrak ticket last minute. Luckily, I just barely made it. Yay!
The ride back was much better. The bus arrived on time, and the driver was a cute, friendly, old man who seemed to genuinely care about the welfare of his bus riders. When we made a rest stop at a gas station, he walked around to make sure that he didn’t leave anyone behind. I appreciated that. Many would argue that «you get what you pay for» with Megabus, but I didn’t luck out with the super cheap tickets, and had to pay around $ 100 for a round trip, Milwaukee to Ann Arbor and back. Megabus usually beats Amtrak in terms of price, but I think it’s worth it to pay a little more for a much better experience. Or, take a gamble and ride the Megabus. It’s definitely an adventure.

Megabus may not be the most efficient way to get to Chicago (esp with construction on I94), but the price alone makes up for it. As others mentioned, you get what you pay for with Megabus.
Most of the times I used Megabus my tickets were less than $ 8.00 each way. The bus has been late twice during my Megabus experiences, but never more than 20 minutes. I never found the bus to be cold, but then again I usually wear many layers. The seats were comfortable and the free wi-​fi (not on all busses) was an unexpected suprise.
If you’re wealthy enough to shell out $ 48.00 each time you want to take a trip to Chicago (via Amtrak) more power to you. Most of us don’t have that dough, so we are very happy that Megabus is still up and running!

You get what you pay for… I’ve used Megabus three times and two of the three were complete disasters. The worst was taking a bus from Cleveland to Milwaukee. Bus was 2 – 3 hours late getting to Cleveland, which means you get to wait with the fellow citizens of Downtown Cleveland at 2am in the morning. You call their number and you get a dispatcher in Chicago who doesn’t know much. Ruined everything that was planned; so use this service if you are flexible with time and just need to get from point A to B.
Also, the seating is the most uncomfortable I’ve ever experienced. They are molded metal seats that do not move or adjust. Sleep is nearly impossible unless you enjoy neck pain or work in a circus. Price is obviously the attraction, but don’t expect any type of service to accommodate the low price. I’d recommend Greyhound or Amtrak.

I think the blue bus is kinda pretty… in a way.

Dear Megabus,
We have been together for a while now, and I have been faithful to you. I’ve ridden you about 12 times in the last year, from Chicago to Detroit and I’ve been grateful for your low fares, especially the much rumored, rarely experienced $ 1 fares that I was lucky enough to get twice.
But your cost is the only good thing I can say about you anymore. And my list of complaints grows longer with each ride. From Chicago to Detroit I have experienced delays of up to 90 minutes, random bus stop location changes, rude bus drivers (in answer to the reasonable question of where this bus is going I got «well where does it say on the front? you need to pay attention!»), idiotic/​possibly insane bus drivers (like the one who told us using cell phones or laptops would make the bus break down) and a bus that stalled every 45 minutes.
But this last ride from Chicago to Milwaukee for a day trip has made me reconsider this relationship of ours. The ride there was relatively uneventful (minus a 30 minute delay due to traffic) but the ride home was asburd. It’s not enough that you were over an hour late (and when asked why the driver replied with «just how it is») but was BLASTING Mariah Carey’s greatest hits out of the speakers for the last hour really neccesary? You’ve gone from unreliable to downright abusive.
I think next time I’d rather just take the train.

I only gave 1 star off because of lateness every once in a while.
All in all you get what you pay for, and it’s much cheaper than driving.
I am a regular megabus rider b/​c my bf lives in Milwaukee and I’m in Chicago. The most I have ever paid round trip was $ 15. Luckily the bus between Chi and Mil-​town is less busy than the routes from Chicago to Minneapolis, which contributes to lower prices.
If you are a bargin hunter and know your dates early you might be the lucky rider to only pay $ 1.50 for a one way trip. I have been that rider many times, and my mom still can never believe it.
Tips:
–You don’t watch movies on all rides, in fact I have only seen a movie once.
–The bus is often cold, so it is good to bring a blanket.
–I’ve also found sitting at the front of the bus usually guarantees I can sit by myself.
–You don’t even have to print out your reservation, you can even just write it on a slip of paper. They don’t care.
–I heard a few weeks back they were going to be sticklers about allowing only one piece of luggage below and one on your lap. I don’t think they are really enforcing this, but watch out.
— Last week my bus didn’t even say Megabus, but instead was a regular coach bus with a megabus sign in the window.
–Lastly the stop in Milwaukee often seems to change between 5^th and 4^th. Check the website regularly for changes, or just keep an eye out when being dropped off.

I love Megabus! It is sooooo cheap. You can get a bus ride to Chicago or many other midwest cities for a couple dollars. The farther in advance you book it, the cheaper it is…