Go Buses

Unsafe, rude, angry drivers. Arrogant, unfriendly, and nasty. Dirty buses, no toilet paper in restroom, just terrible all around. I used to ride this bus company with no problems but I am speechless at the terrible treatment we got BOTH WAYS going and coming from New York. I thought we just got a bad driver on the way there, but then we got another bad one on the way back. I was nauseas from the constant jerky motion of short stops and swerving. They were both so hostile, too! These drivers hate their job and it shows. Horrific! Avoid at all costs!

I have ridden on this bus line many times between NYC and Boston (well Newton). I love how it didn’t make any stops between and how friendly customer service was. I’ve also been extremely pleased with buses always leaving on time. Now they are owned by academy bus who is extremely unfriendly and strict. I got to station at 5 with ticket for 6:30 bus and asked if I could switch to 6 bus space permitting… I’ve done this before. They said not unless I pay difference in ticket price which seemed stupid. Why not make the customer happy? It also freed up a spot on later bus. I had a ticket for 30 min later I wasn’t trying to cheat the system just wanted to see if they could be a little more accommodating.
Drivers are much less friendly on buses now too. The past few buses have left a little late which isn’t what used to happen with go buses before they were purchased by academy. I’ll prob start to look at other buslines or Amtrak if they continue to get more expensive.

I have been taking GoBuses for 2 years and have been unwaveringly loyal to it. But I am officially done. About a year ago now Academy bought over GoBus and it has gone completely down the drain ever since.
Even after things went downhill I continued to take GoBus because the pick up and drop off locations are so convenient. But its just not worth it anymore.
Here is a list of my most recent bad experiences with GoBus
— Last weekend on my way back to Boston, when we were ten minutes away from the Newton stop, the bus driver missed the exit because he actually didn’t know where he was going. Instead of admitting that he was lost, he just kept driving so we ended up in Allston/​brighton. A nice lady at the front of the bus patiently directed the bus driver back towards the Newton stop and then he missed it a SECOND time. We finally reached the stop 40 minutes later only because of the twice missed exit! To be clear, I am not really blaming the bus driver but the company for not providing enough training/​instructions to their drivers, or seemingly a GPS system. Are they supposed to just remember/​know how to get there?
— Every driver takes a different route to get to the New York stop once they are in — again is this because they are not instructed on the optimal routes into the city? Some drivers take the Westside Highway all the way down and we are there in a jiff while others take the most convoluted, gridlocked and non sensical routes ever which is incredibly frustrating!
— Once I got the absolute last seat on the bus (the middle seat in the back row which is the worst) and there were still people after me who weren’t able to get on despite having paid for a seat.
— On another trip from NYC to Boston, the windshield had the tiniest of cracks as a result of which we drove under 30 miles an hour through residential neighborhoods in Connecticut while the bus driver said nothing about why we were taking these routes or going so slowly. We only realized the true reason when we found ourselves switching buses at a bus depot.
In conclusion, GoBus/​Academy — update your fleet, train your bus drivers so they know to communicate with their passengers rather than making them MORE frustrated, and provide them with a GPS system please!
The only reason I have continued to take GoBus after several bad experiences is because of the convenience of the locations but even that isn’t enough anymore. I’ll go to SouthStation if I have to. Good riddance.

I was on the 3:30 pm departure from Riverside to New York City labor day. After the first bus broke down before leaving Riverside, the rescue bus broke down in Connecticut. After over an hour of waiting, our driver told us that a second rescue bus wasn’t coming and that at some undetermined point someone would come to try to fix the bus but that there was no definite timeline. I ended up having to take an UBER 30 minutes to New Haven and the metro north from there to get home.
I was also on a Go bus from New York to Boston that broke down. At this point the name Go Buses is just comical.

Awful. Woman in Newton is rude. Company overall sucks. Other bus companies allow tickets to be interchangeable as long as there is room on the bus. Not this company you have to buy a new ticket and apply for a refund which you will never get. No electrical outlets on bus either… Go Bolt instead.

I took Go Bus with a friend to NYC on the weekend of July 17. We took the 7:30 pm bus to NYC out of Riverside on Friday, and returned on the 7:00 pm bus on Sunday evening.
We got to Riverside a little early on Friday evening. At check-​in, we were offered a bottle of water and a «boarding pass» number to get on the bus (I was number 11). They made an announcement a little while later that the bus was running 15 minutes late. Just before the bus arrived, we were told it was on its way and we were asked to line up outside according to our boarding pass numbers. When the bus arrived, we needed to wait a little while the Go Bus staff put more toilet paper in the bathroom and other stuff, and then we were able to board.
The ride itself to NYC was fine. It did get pretty cool on the bus with the AC on the entire time but I didn’t get cold enough to use my jacket. There was wifi but it was slow.
I did need to use the restroom once and it was absolutely disgusting. Though there’s a sign that tells men to sit instead of stand to pee, most men clearly ignored this since there was urine all around the seat and the floor was wet.
There was a dispenser on the wall and I used it, thinking it was hand sanitizer but it wasn’t. It was soap. In a bathroom with no sink. I had to use a bunch of toilet paper to wipe it off and I ended up going back to the bathroom later with my bottle of water to rinse off my soap-​sticky hands over the toilet. Who puts soap in a bathroom where there’s no sink?
Getting on the bus heading back to Boston on Sunday wasn’t nearly as orderly. People lined up on the sidewalk on the designated block and a man walked down the line to check people in. However, there were no boarding pass numbers given out and when the bus arrived, everyone at the back of the line pushed their way to the front. I know Go Bus can’t prevent people from being a**holes, but the boarding pass number process would have been great there.
The bus back to Boston was about 20 minutes late in arriving to pick us up and traffic getting out of NYC was pretty bad, but the driver seemed to make good time in between traffic back-​ups. We did make a stop in Connecticut at a Burger King, which was nice to get to use a real bathroom. There was wifi on the bus but it didn’t seem to work most of the time when I connected to it.
Overall, the bus itself was fairly comfortable. The restrooms are a complete mess and I wish they would clean them thoroughly in between trips, even if we have to wait a few minutes more to board. My round trip ticket was less than $ 36 thanks to an online promo code. If you’re going to NYC for fun and want to save money, Go Bus is a decent option, though I’d highly recommend you avoid drinking any liquids before so you don’t have to use the disgusting restroom during the trip. If you need to have reliable wifi to get work done, or arrive and return at a specific time, it probably won’t be a good choice for you.
I’m giving Go Bus 3 stars but only because it was so inexpensive. The boarding process in NYC and the disgusting restrooms were the major issues for me.

Just took this bus to NY and back from Newton, and had a great experience. Clean, fast bus. Loved that I didn’t have to trek to downtown Boston, a major drag.
If there’s traffic, that’s no fault of bus company.

First, bus was late. I had to be in New York in 2pm for a business meeting. The traffic is not heavy as the bus is driving out of Boston and into New York around noon. But for some reason, the trip took way longer than it should have.
I don’t understand why the driver would choose to drive through traffic heavy Manhattan as opposed to take the high way down. We wasted an hour just getting through Manhattan to Penn Station which is wholly unnecessary. I am now late to my meeting.
Though Lucky Star bus is not as clean, it usually gets to Manhattan an hour quicker. Further, the bus left from Newton which is closer to NY than Lucky Star’s departure of South Station yet somehow it still took so long.

I am a returning bus user from Newton to Manhattan, the Go Bus service is operated by Academy Bus Service. The mobile site is excellent, the service is good in the registration office. But the buses are really dirty, the seats are not cleaned at all, under the seat you will be able to find all kind of trash starting from chewing gum, tissue, paper… etc. I think the company needs to improve not only taking money, but even spending money on cleaning. I liked the service of distribution of a bottle of water, also providing trash bags, but even thru the journey they need to concern cleaning the bus. I was using the last chair to the left, just opposite to the bathroom, the chair was moving forward & back ward with the speed or deceleration. I think this is unsafe.

I booked this bus to go from New York to Boston to spend my birthday (today) with my family. The bus was supposed to leave at 10 am, but we sat on the sidewalk for an hour in manhattan and did not leave until 11 because the bus did not have an EZ pass and we had to wait for someone to bring one. Because of this, not only were we an hour late, but we hit rush hour traffic and I am now going to miss my birthday dinner. I called customer service and they refused to issue a refund or a voucher or any discount. It’s completely unacceptable.
Do not use this company. Bolt bus or Amtrak are much more reliable and boltbus will (and has for me) issued refunds for lateness that was their fault. This company has now lost all business from me.

I have been a loyal customer of Go Buses for almost ten years. Every time I get on the bus, it is always an experience. The drivers are rude as well as the support staff. Once, our driver even got into an accident. However, because this route is so convenient, I have continued to take it. Today I called customer service in realizing that I booked a trip for the wrong date. I used my points for this ticket as well. Not only did the woman on the phone tell me that there was nothing they can do, not even give me my points back, but she was also so extremely rude that I will NEVER use this service again. The company should truly learn how to treat their customers, especially the loyal ones.

This is my first experience taking a bus from Boston to NYC and my first experience with GoBus, and it was a completely positive experience.
I arrived Saturday morning at the Riverside station at 7 am for my 7:30, checked in with the very pleasant woman at the desk, and received my boarding pass and bottle of water. The bus arrived around 7:15, we boarded according to number, and the bus left at 7:30. The trip was smooth and I never felt unsafe. The bus pulled over once for about 1 minute so the driver could use the restroom. We arrived in NYC and I was off the bus at exactly 11:30.
I arrived at the NYC stop around 1:10 for the return trip at 1:30 and boarded as soon as I checked in. Again, the bus left promptly at 1:30 and arrived at Riverside at 5:30. Same enjoyable ride.
The locations in both Boston and NYC are very convenient, especially with the NYC one being right next to Penn station. No problem with purchasing tickets or the condition of the bus.
My only complaint, if I had to give one, was slow Wi-Fi…but that is nothing to worry about compared to everything else.

UPDATE: 8−17−15: Just when you think it couldn’t get worse… the 8am GoBus from Cambridge to Manhattan lost the air conditioning in CT near Bridgeport. The driver then decided to try and find a replacement bus and drove around the Bridgeport hood until he decided to go back on Rt.95 after wasting 20 minutes driving around town. Then on average about 50 mph while the full bus steamed and with minimal traffic took his time getting through Manhattan and wasting at least another 20 minutes. Take another bus line until further notice.
UPDATE: 08−15−15: Service is slipping. Just took an early 8am bus from Manhattan to Cambridge, and the trip took 6 hours with minimal traffic. Bus driver took an unexpected 20 minute break just outside of New Haven for no reason at all, and constantly found a traffic jam instead of using GPS to go around it. When I called customer service to complain, the excuse was he was a Hoboken driver. What’s the difference?! Just tell him not to stop as it’s a non-​stop trip!
UPDATE: 03−30−15: the line is operating on a much more efficient clip and trip time is back to a more consistent time of 4.5 hours on average.
update: Academy Bus/11−02−14: Service has actually improved. Travel times are more in line with a proper bus trip not a sojurn to the West Coast in a plane (5.5−6hours). Hope it continues…
UPDATE/​GOBUS NYC-​BOSTON RUN: 09/​07/​2014: Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse… the computer online system didn’t accept any of my CREDIT CARD information, thus, had to book with some other service. Yup, and I left over ten messages with Academy (the new operator) about this, and other items. Did anyone call back? Nope
UPDATE: 08/​23/​2014: It’s getting worse. Each trip is taking at least five hours with no traffic and the driver routinely take a long break in between which easily adds 30 minutes to the trip. Not to mention most drivers pick the longest route possible, this is easily the worst this service has ever been. Nice going Academy. Hey, and some power outlets would be nice.
Academy Bus headquartered in NJ/​NY now runs this service and it’s poor at best. The NYC-​BOS bus has been consistently late and the breaks in between easily add 15 – 30 minute delays to a trip that should take 4.5 at most with basic traffic. In addition the seats on these buses are cramped and uncomfortable. I miss the days when this line was WorldWide. It was quick and on time.

I have taken this route in the past, when it was WorldWide Bus, and many of my friends have taken it as Go Bus. We all had pleasant experiences. However, as other reviewers have noted, they have been taken over by Academy Bus, and there are major problems.
My bus yesterday ran the heat for two hours (in August), and the driver didn’t fix it until multiple passengers complained, at which point he stopped on the side of I-​84 for twenty minutes to try to fix it. It took over 5 hours to get to New York, and it wasn’t only traffic.
Today, the bus took an odd (slow) route out of Manhattan. Then, the driver forgot to exit for Newton, turned around in Waltham, circled back on a standstill I-​95S. It will have taken well over 6 hours to get to Cambridge, and again, traffic is not the main culprit. A friend of mine was on the earlier bus and said passengers had to direct the driver to get to Newton because he didn’t know how.
Suffice to say, I will never take this bus again until they get their act together. Not enough outlets, poor quality wifi, and most of all, drivers who don’t know where to go. It’s called GPS, and every smart phone has it. Get it together, it’s 2014.

Have to agree with some other reviews — HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Especially with the booking supervisor in Newton, MA to whom I was transferred to after speaking with the general representatives. I have never encountered such rude people working in customer service that are by definition supposed to be at the bare minimum polite.
I’ll give one extra star just for some good bus drivers that I have had in the past…

Some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I tried canceling my reservation because my plans changed. On their website they offered ²⁴⁄₇ customer service, not true. Called back the next morning at 11 am and the offices still had no one in answering the phone. I ended up waiting on hold for 25 minutes before getting disconnected. I called back again and someone from another office said they were not in try yet again. What business doesn’t have anyone in the office at 11 am?
The only reason they are receiving some stars is because the one time I have ridden it before was uneventful and got me to NY onetime.
However if your plans are tentative and might require changes DO NOT expect customer service to be helpful in the least.

AVOID AVOID AVOID!!! This is absolutely the worst Boston to NYC bus company experience I’ve had, much worse than Bolt, much worse than Megabus, and even worse than the Chinatown buses.
I arrived 20 minutes early at the bus station based on the advice of the e-​ticket I was issued when I purchased my ticket weeks ago, and waited in front of the bus station with a crowd of people also waiting for the bus to arrive. There was no clear designated line and no instructions from the Go employees. When the buses pulled up (already 5 minutes late) it was pure madness. The drivers had no idea who was supposed to go on which bus and no one knew where they were even supposed to form a line. When anyone tried to ask, they were yelled at to get in line. What line?!
Finally one of the bus drivers went into the station to get a Go employee, who came outside and proceeded to call numbers for people to board. Apparently upon arrival at the bus station I was supposed to go inside to check-​in at which point I would have been given a pink number card. I read my e-​ticket thoroughly and not one mention of this was made, nor was there any mention that more than my e-​ticket was required for boarding. In addition, these instructions were not posted anywhere in front of the station or in the outdoor waiting area.
When I went inside to get a pink number card, there was no one behind the counter and Go employees were sitting around in the waiting area. When I inquired with one of them, instead of checking me in, I was told to go back outside and stand in the back of the line and that my e-​ticket should be enough. When it became clear that I would not be allowed on the bus without a pink number card, I went back inside, along with a few other confused passengers. I spoke to a third employee who said that I was late for my bus and therefore I’m now considered standby. When I tried to tell her that I’ve been waiting at the station for 30 minutes now and there was absolutely no instructions in my e-​ticket or posted outside that we are required to check-​in to board, she interrupted me, yelled at me not to argue with her, and insisted that I was late. I was completely shocked at this horrendous customer service. At that point I’d spoken to 3 employees with 3 different sets of instructions — clearly they themselves don’t even know what procedure they’re supposed to follow. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s incompetence. So which is it supposed to be: a line system or a check-​in and roll call system? Each negates the necessity of the other.
After I and the rest of the group of confused passengers sans pink cards were finally able to board, I was yelled at by yet another Go employee for putting my luggage into the luggage compartment myself instead of leaving it next to the bus, even though all the other luggage had already been put on the bus and there was no one manning the luggage area. Yeah, after seeing how they could care less whether my person makes it onto the bus there was no way I was going to trust them to make sure my luggage makes it on.
We departed 40 minutes late due to the general lack of organization, including the spectacles of one Go employee berating another for putting a couple on the wrong bus, and a yelling match (yes, more yelling) between a Go employee and one of the bus drivers. The ride itself was uneventful. The bus was more rickety than Bolt or Megabus, but no more rickety than a Chinatown bus. It was a little stuffy in the bus but nothing unbearable. We arrived in NYC about 4 hours after our departure as expected. We were not dropped off in the arrival location specified on our tickets but still within the general vicinity of Penn Station.
I booked with Go because their ticket was a good $ 20 cheaper than Megabus and Bolt. Boy, have I learned my lesson. My sanity is worth so much more than $ 20 saved. Next time I’ll stick to a reputable bus company.

I live very close from Riverside station. Two days ago, I left my purse on the bus. I reached them, but they located bus in CT. Then, today, the Go Buses employee rang a bell on my apartment. This was a super nice surprise. They found my driver’s license in the purse, and even brought it to me by walking 10 min roundtrip. Everything was in there, including grocery giftcard and metropass!!!
I love their service on the ride too. Free bottle of water, and clean seat. The person to check in at Manhattan was also very nice. He was more than willing to help to move baggage of a senior lady. I am so glad that I used Go Buses! Highly recommend!

You get what you pay for… and I think it was a good deal. A little disorganized check in procedure especially with luggage. WiFi a little spotty. Everything else spot on.

Love this bus!!! Riverside station to Manhattan and back on the cheap with free wifi and a bottle of complimentary water to boot. Fabulous and easier than the plane, train, or your own car.