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Comments (21)
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Save/ShareBoltBus, a new discount express service operated by Greyhound, launched yesterday, and I took one of the first trips on the NYC to DC route. (Routes to Boston and Philly are in the offing.)
Starting prices are $3 round trip, after fees and taxes. (The first bunch of seats sell at this low rate. Last-minute bookings cost more. See prices at boltbus.com.)
I liked the trip and would definitely recommend the service.
Because BoltBus is run by Greyhound, I felt that my bus was being operated safely. And the pick-up and drop off locations were ideal for someone planning to use subways in each city. (The buses start and stop at the doors of major subway stations.)
There are still some kinks to be worked out, though...
In NYC, I had trouble finding the bus stop. There was no street marker or sign, and the reservation receipt that I had printed out only said "33rd St. and 7th Ave." A couple that was similarly lost and I wandered around looking for the bus. Eventually we saw a tourist-coach-style bus with an electronic sign saying BoltBus in front of 421 33rd St.
Supposedly, passengers board each BoltBus in three groups, similar to a Southwest plane. My reservation printout said I was in group B, to which I was assigned because I hadn't booked my ticket either early or at the last-minute. But the driver let us board in any order. Conclusion: Arrive at least 15 minutes early to be sure you'll have a choice of seat, and even earlier if you are traveling at a peak time or on a popular day.
For my 5:30 Thursday evening departure, the bus was nearly full--mostly with middle-class-looking families with young children. The interiors of the spanking new coach were shades of grey. There were no live chickens or other, developing-world distractions.
The free movie that was promised by BoltBus.com to be shown on the drop down screens never appeared.
The free WiFi network was operating, but I couldn't get the 26-character password (which the driver gave me) to let me log in.
The bus departed on time but arrived about 20 minutes past its ETA of 9:30 (for a four-hour trip), partly because the bus had a stopover at a weight station in Maryland.
The bathroom was clean but had no sink or dry paper towels, only a bottle of anti-bacterial soap.
Did I mention that my round-trip ticket only cost $3? At that price, or even somewhat higher, BoltBus offers a more comfortable, convenient, and cost-effective service than Greyhound's standard service and the "Chinatown buses," such as Eastern Transport. It is about as good, and often cheaper than, other express shuttles, such as DC2NY.
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Does this bus stops at Baltimore?
I tried to contact them but there is no reply.
Posted By Kinjal on March 28, 2008, 11:32 AM
Kinjal, most of these busses are point to point non-stop (some do a rest stop on the highway). I'm fairly confident that this bus doesn't stop in Baltimore.
Take a look at the NYC/Baltimore options at:
http://www.staticleap.com/chinatownbus/
Per that site ApexBus seems to be the company serving Baltimore the best:
https://www.apexbus.com/BuyTicket.aspx?from=13&to=2
Posted By Iolaire McFadden on March 28, 2008, 11:44 AM
I think you will get alot of use out of it , beautiful.
Posted By Kelly on March 31, 2008, 12:38 PM
First Paragraph, second sentence is:
(Routes to Boston and Philly are in the offing.)
My dictionary disagrees with this use of "offing". I think you may have meant "offering" and your editor should have caught it. Spell checkers would not since "offing" is a good spelling but it doesn't make sense that way.
Posted By Dick McCurdy on March 31, 2008, 4:46 PM
Hi, Mr. McCurdy,
I'm not sure what your dictionary says. When I look at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/offing and scroll down for the use of the phrase "in the offing" it seems to apply to how I used it. Am I missing something?
Thanks,
Sean
Posted By Blog Editor on March 31, 2008, 5:35 PM
"Offing" according to Webster means - some vague time in the future: as in the phrase "in the offing."
Therefore, the blog editor is correct.
Posted By Mia on April 3, 2008, 10:21 PM
The American Heritage Dictionary uses it in a secondary. idiomatic sense. It is an old nautical term and you are right in a technical way. I would argue that using it as written borders on pretentiousness. My first impression came from an old Webster's Pocket Edition dictionary and did not list it. I think the average reader would prefer the traditional expression, offering.
To each his own,
Dick McCurdy
Posted By Dick McCurdy on April 4, 2008, 10:06 AM
Dear Mr. McCurdy,
You are correct that "offing" was originally a nautical term. In that sense, it means "the distant part of the sea as seen from the shore." So if you were waiting for a ship, seeing it in the offing would be good, because it would mean that the ship would arrive soon.
The phrase "in the offing," meaning "coming in the near future," is only a slight metaphoric extension of the original meaning, and that use is a century old at this point. So the phrase is used correctly above, and I would not call it "technically" correct or "pretentious."
I don't have a copy of the American Heritage Dictionary at hand, but I believe the meanings are given chronologically; i.e., the nautical sense of "offing" is given first not because it is more common but because it is older.
Best wishes,
Thomas Berger
Copy Chief
Budget Travel
Posted By Thomas Berger on April 4, 2008, 10:40 AM
Thank you Budget Travel for your timely and creative articles for saving travel dollars.
In reference to Mr. McCurdy's comments, "in the offering" would be absolutely incorrect English usage. English is a dynamic language which is ever-changing. "Offing" was an excellent choice to convey that Greyhound is currently working on "offering" other routes before too long.
Keep up the good work!
Lori O
Posted By Lori O on April 4, 2008, 11:26 AM
Thank you for your note. I think that it is just a matter of taste and not one of education or background. I will keep using "offering" and you may use "offing." At one time, spelling was just a matter of taste and varied from writer to writer. Even today, texting on cellphones is becoming varied in the abbrevations used for common words. So American English has become a stewpot of adopted words and transmorgified expressions from other languages.
Posted By Dick McCurdy on April 7, 2008, 10:51 AM
BusZoo.com offers $1.00 tickets between New York, Baltimore, Philly and DC.
Posted By Kevin on April 24, 2008, 7:51 AM
By the way, when did this become a grammar blog? I was looking for travel information.
Posted By Andy on May 26, 2008, 10:47 AM
A major problem with this and other bus services that pick up and drop off on the street is the impact they have on regular bus service as they sit in bus stops. In NYC, there is a bus loading on 8th Avre & 34th St in the NYCT bus stop. This means NYCT passengers with disabilities for example wheelchairs can't get on NYCT buses. These buses should not be in regular bus stops! It was the same in DC, where Boltbus drops and picks up in a Metro bus stop! I realize people like the ease and cheapness of buses that don't pay to use the bus terminal but theses companies cannot be allowed to disrupt the mass transit system.
Posted By emprentiss on June 16, 2008, 6:33 AM
Thanks for the review. The appearance of these services at these low prices is an unexpected travel bargain. My wife and I would never have ridden the Chinatown buses. But we did recently take Vamoose from Arlington to NYC for the grand sum of $25. It was clean and efficient.
I don't know about Boltbus, but Vamoose did not park in NYCT space at Penn Station. I would recommend arriving early for the bus in NYC as there are many buses and lines there. In addition, on busy days, Vamoose runs separate buses to Bethesda and Arlington so you'll want to check to be sure you're waiting for the right one. They'll get you on the correct bus but some asking ahead of time will save rushing up the street for the other bus as well as get you a better seat.
Posted By ArlingtonVA on July 28, 2008, 1:18 PM
I agree with the writer. My Websters says that the second definition of the word is "the near or forseeable future." The primary definition is "the part of the deep sea seen from the shore". Word not seen very often but perfectly good usage. Sorry to be so late chiming in bit...
Posted By Samuak Clemens on July 29, 2008, 10:40 PM
I would like to try this bus service for my travel, however, I could not find the daily bus schedule, like I see on Washington Deluxe that I have been using so far.
Posted By Rima on August 13, 2008, 8:43 AM
I know this is late but...I believe Dick McCurdy missed the meaning of the sentence altogether. What the writer was saying is that the bus to Boston and Philly will operate in the future hense the use of the word offing. McCurdy seems to think the writer meant service to Philly and Boston are also offered. This seems to be a big mis-understanding.
Posted By Rose on August 15, 2008, 3:32 PM
"In the offing" is a common phrase, which Dick McCurdy has evidently never heard of. It means something totally different from "offering", and to use the word "offering" in place of "offing" is completely incorrect.
Posted By MGX on September 4, 2008, 3:55 PM
I would like to know if boltbus or megabus will be going to Richmond,Va. in the near future.
Posted By Robyn on September 29, 2008, 8:25 PM
I just tried to buy a ticket on boltbus and it said it would be $25?
Posted By Alyssa on December 17, 2008, 3:50 AM
The summertime is a good time to find bus tickets cheaply. Bus operators know that it's peak travel time. You can find a bus to DC for a totally good price right now.
Posted By Roger on July 1, 2009, 11:55 AM