Mega Bus...threat to Amtrak?
Recently Megabus, the London based low cost firm, began offering daily service between St. Louis and Chicago and St. Louis and Kansas City. There are currently three round trips a day between Chicago and St. Louis and two between St. Louis and Kansas City. Sometimes fares are as low as a $1. Last week, my wife and I, on a whim, decided to take an overnight trip to Kansas City to shop on the Plaza and just see the sights. Normally we would book Amtrak for such a trip and have done so many times in the past. We love riding the train, but our enthusiasm has wained with the slow service on the Union Pacific line due to constant maintenance and capacity issues.
Last week MoDOT issued a press release criticizing the UP for being unable to deliver the trains on time. Amtrak was supposedly back to a normal schedule mid week, but my friend Ron McLinden was reporting Amtrak running two hours behind schedule late in the week. Bottom line, we decided to give Megabus a try which lists a 3.5 hour trip between St. Louis and Kansas City.
We booked our tickets on line and got two round trip tickets for $40. We looked at Southwest and it was going to be $300 for booking that late. We arrived at Union Station about 5:15 a.m. Saturday for a scheduled 5:35 a.m. departure. We drove where normally we would take MetroLink, but on Saturdays the trains just begin to arrive at Union Station about 5:30 a.m. and we didn't want to risk missing the bus. Megabus rolled in right on schedule and about 25 passengers got off, having started out in Chicago at 11:55 p.m. on Friday. We parked in a Union Station lot which we knew would be expensive, but hadn't figured a better alternative. Since parking downtown is free on weekends, we thought about street parking, but there are no parking signs downtown between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. It seemed most people were being dropped off by others. Megbus offers no parking suggestions on its website.
The driver was a gentleman in his mid to late 60s I guess. He looked tired was pleasant enough, but not all that welcoming. About 15 people got on the bus with us that I supposed had seats for 44. The bus was new and clean on the inside, although it would have been nice if the driver had taken a moment to go through the bus after the Chicago passengers got off, to pick any stray candy wrappers. There were a few stay peanuts between the seats as well.
The bus seats seemed too small and close together to my liking. (They are smaller than Southwest and much smaller than Amtrak.) I am tall, so that is always an issue. Had there been a person in front who had reclined the seat, it would have been too cramped. There is no arm rest between the two seats so if the bus were crowded, it would seem too close for comfort if sharing a seat with a stranger. (If I were traveling alone, I might consider buying two tickets since they are so cheap, to make sure I got two seats.)
Two ladies boarded the bus and said, like us, they were trying the bus since Amtrak was unreliable.
At 5:35 a.m. we were off to KC. I had not ridden a bus very far since making a trip on Greyhound from Vancouver to Nanaimo in Canada. I remember the seats on Greyhound being roomier. The suspension on the bus was good, and the ride fairly pleasant, although not as nice as the train. There was a restroom which I did not use on either leg of the trip.
My wife engaged the driver in conversation, she was afraid he was fatigued. I-70 was pretty clear that time of the day until we got to the Kansas City suburbs. It turns out our driver had worked as a mechanic at the CTA for 40 years and was doing this job as a substitute driver. At about Independence he called to find out directions to get to the the KCATA Bus Transfer Center at 10th and Main which is the final destination, something I thought he would have done prior to the trip.
He got directions, but misinterpreted them and got off I-70 at Indiana Street, a far cry from 13th. One of the passengers apparently from KC got him straightened out and we got to our stop at about 9:40, 25 minutes past the scheduled arrival, but at a more realistic four hours. I figure it was comparable to the time it takes to fly and two to four hours faster than Amtrak and a little longer had we driven ourselves if you consider we left home at 5 a.m. for a 5:35 a.m. departure. It also was faster by 40 minutes than Greyhound which makes stops in Columbia and Boonville on its way to KC.
From the bus transfer Center we took the KCATA 57 bus to the Plaza and we walked a couple of blocks to the hotel.
While in KC, we took the cab three times for a total of $55. These were choice rides. We chose a restaurant that was off the beaten path when we had a choice of dozens of great restaurants on the Plaza and easily could have walked to one. I bring up the costs of the cab fares, because our total transportation expense for the weekend was $128 including the parking at Union Station. We chose to ride Mega Bus to avoid the pain of driving, not so much because of the cost. I might have been able to rent a car for about the same amount of money since most weekend rates are quite low.
Sunday we left KC on the 12:15 p.m. bus. This driver was younger, more engaging and looked very professional. While we were waiting to depart, three people walked up and inquired about the bus, schedules etc. One passenger was dealing with the parking problem in Kansas City. He had driven to KC from southeast Kansas to catch the bus. He ended up leaving his truck at a hotel which promised to be kind about it. He was off to Chicago. Megabus should figure something out about parking and list suggested long-term parking sites on its website and as I said earlier, a 15 minute later departure from St. Louis would enable passengers to use MetroLink to access Union Station.
We left KC right on time with 22 people on board. Passengers on both trips seemed to be of college age. There was one family. Other than one passenger on the return trip talking on his cellphone for too long (15 minutes?) everyone was well behaved, had showered recently and either slept or read.
On the return trip, the driver spent most of the trip in the left lane with cruise control set on 72 mph. He drove faster than I though necessary, but he was attentive and safe. We made the return trip in 3 hours and 45 minutes, averaging just under 70 mph.
Would I do it again? Maybe. You can't beat the price or the time. Although I would prefer the comfort, safety and amenities of the train. The state of Missouri and the federal government needs to hold UP's feet to the fire about keeping Amtrak on schedule. Missouri needs to work with the UP to increase capacity and speeds on the line from STL to KC and Amtrak needs greater frequency between Kansas City and St. Louis or else more people will learn of Megabus and cut into Amtrak's market.
Last week MoDOT issued a press release criticizing the UP for being unable to deliver the trains on time. Amtrak was supposedly back to a normal schedule mid week, but my friend Ron McLinden was reporting Amtrak running two hours behind schedule late in the week. Bottom line, we decided to give Megabus a try which lists a 3.5 hour trip between St. Louis and Kansas City.
We booked our tickets on line and got two round trip tickets for $40. We looked at Southwest and it was going to be $300 for booking that late. We arrived at Union Station about 5:15 a.m. Saturday for a scheduled 5:35 a.m. departure. We drove where normally we would take MetroLink, but on Saturdays the trains just begin to arrive at Union Station about 5:30 a.m. and we didn't want to risk missing the bus. Megabus rolled in right on schedule and about 25 passengers got off, having started out in Chicago at 11:55 p.m. on Friday. We parked in a Union Station lot which we knew would be expensive, but hadn't figured a better alternative. Since parking downtown is free on weekends, we thought about street parking, but there are no parking signs downtown between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. It seemed most people were being dropped off by others. Megbus offers no parking suggestions on its website.
The driver was a gentleman in his mid to late 60s I guess. He looked tired was pleasant enough, but not all that welcoming. About 15 people got on the bus with us that I supposed had seats for 44. The bus was new and clean on the inside, although it would have been nice if the driver had taken a moment to go through the bus after the Chicago passengers got off, to pick any stray candy wrappers. There were a few stay peanuts between the seats as well.
The bus seats seemed too small and close together to my liking. (They are smaller than Southwest and much smaller than Amtrak.) I am tall, so that is always an issue. Had there been a person in front who had reclined the seat, it would have been too cramped. There is no arm rest between the two seats so if the bus were crowded, it would seem too close for comfort if sharing a seat with a stranger. (If I were traveling alone, I might consider buying two tickets since they are so cheap, to make sure I got two seats.)
Two ladies boarded the bus and said, like us, they were trying the bus since Amtrak was unreliable.
At 5:35 a.m. we were off to KC. I had not ridden a bus very far since making a trip on Greyhound from Vancouver to Nanaimo in Canada. I remember the seats on Greyhound being roomier. The suspension on the bus was good, and the ride fairly pleasant, although not as nice as the train. There was a restroom which I did not use on either leg of the trip.
My wife engaged the driver in conversation, she was afraid he was fatigued. I-70 was pretty clear that time of the day until we got to the Kansas City suburbs. It turns out our driver had worked as a mechanic at the CTA for 40 years and was doing this job as a substitute driver. At about Independence he called to find out directions to get to the the KCATA Bus Transfer Center at 10th and Main which is the final destination, something I thought he would have done prior to the trip.
He got directions, but misinterpreted them and got off I-70 at Indiana Street, a far cry from 13th. One of the passengers apparently from KC got him straightened out and we got to our stop at about 9:40, 25 minutes past the scheduled arrival, but at a more realistic four hours. I figure it was comparable to the time it takes to fly and two to four hours faster than Amtrak and a little longer had we driven ourselves if you consider we left home at 5 a.m. for a 5:35 a.m. departure. It also was faster by 40 minutes than Greyhound which makes stops in Columbia and Boonville on its way to KC.
From the bus transfer Center we took the KCATA 57 bus to the Plaza and we walked a couple of blocks to the hotel.
While in KC, we took the cab three times for a total of $55. These were choice rides. We chose a restaurant that was off the beaten path when we had a choice of dozens of great restaurants on the Plaza and easily could have walked to one. I bring up the costs of the cab fares, because our total transportation expense for the weekend was $128 including the parking at Union Station. We chose to ride Mega Bus to avoid the pain of driving, not so much because of the cost. I might have been able to rent a car for about the same amount of money since most weekend rates are quite low.
Sunday we left KC on the 12:15 p.m. bus. This driver was younger, more engaging and looked very professional. While we were waiting to depart, three people walked up and inquired about the bus, schedules etc. One passenger was dealing with the parking problem in Kansas City. He had driven to KC from southeast Kansas to catch the bus. He ended up leaving his truck at a hotel which promised to be kind about it. He was off to Chicago. Megabus should figure something out about parking and list suggested long-term parking sites on its website and as I said earlier, a 15 minute later departure from St. Louis would enable passengers to use MetroLink to access Union Station.
We left KC right on time with 22 people on board. Passengers on both trips seemed to be of college age. There was one family. Other than one passenger on the return trip talking on his cellphone for too long (15 minutes?) everyone was well behaved, had showered recently and either slept or read.
On the return trip, the driver spent most of the trip in the left lane with cruise control set on 72 mph. He drove faster than I though necessary, but he was attentive and safe. We made the return trip in 3 hours and 45 minutes, averaging just under 70 mph.
Would I do it again? Maybe. You can't beat the price or the time. Although I would prefer the comfort, safety and amenities of the train. The state of Missouri and the federal government needs to hold UP's feet to the fire about keeping Amtrak on schedule. Missouri needs to work with the UP to increase capacity and speeds on the line from STL to KC and Amtrak needs greater frequency between Kansas City and St. Louis or else more people will learn of Megabus and cut into Amtrak's market.
posted by CMT at 11:11 AM
2 Comments:
Thanks for sharing your experience, I've been meaning to give them a try. I recently had a last minute trip to KC and didn't even think about them --- although the airfare was not that bad.
Taking a cab to/from home to Union Station would have been an option for you and your wife --- likely no more costly than leaving your car in the lot. Granted, having your car there when you arrived back in St. Louis is more convenient than getting a cab --- although in front of Union Station that is pretty easy to do.
I like that MegaBus doesn't spend their time worrying about people's parking issues --- helps keep the price lower. Does Amtrak offer suggestions on where to park long-term?
Amtrak offers free parking at both the downtown and Kirkwood Stations. I don't expect Megabus to do that, but offering a suggested parking location would have helped the young man in KC.
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