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Bolt Bus
Rating Details »
Category: Public Transportation [Edit]
Neighborhood: University City30th Street Station
N 30th St & Market St
Philadelphia, PA 19104
49 reviews for Bolt Bus
I was hesitant at first when my wife suggested we take the Bolt Bus to New York City. When I'm in NYC, I like see where the day takes me and I do not like to be on a schedule. For years I cherished the SEPTA-NJ Transit way of doing Philly-NY business.
I am now a Bolt Bus convert.
The Bolt Bus saves time and money. There is no getting around it. Usually you're looking at is 22.50 to $30 round trip on Bolt. That clobbers my ex-lover SEPTA-NJT's prices. I think it goes as high as $20 one way last minute. Also, the trip almost always takes exactly 2 hours. If you go at peak traffic times, this won't happen but if you can be a bit strategic, you're there in 2 hours. The quickest SEPTA-NJT goes is 2:38 and that is if everything goes exactly to plan.
The buses are new and clean.
And of course, the wireless. Pretty decent. Forget Hulu. You Tube only works if it is a music video with a single image the whole time. Streaming music such as Pandora or iMeem usually works just fine. I once sat at a seat where the electric jack didn't work but other than that, no complaints.
So if you are going from Philly to NY, it is well worth it to give Bolt Bus a chance.
I'd heard all kinds of good stuff about Bolt Bus, so I tried it when going to New York for Thanksgiving. Here's what I liked about it:
-- The stop at 30th Street, between Market and Chestnut.
-- Always busy and well-lit.
-- The El, trolley lines and buses stop at the corner.
-- Really convenient to Center City and University City.
-- Right down the street from 30th Street Station. If you don't
live in Philadelphia, this is our Amtrak station, where you can
also pick up SEPTA Regional Rail and NJ Transit. It's open
24/7 if you need to wait inside in cold weather, it's really
beautiful, with clean bathrooms and some shops and places
to eat or get coffee.
-- There's a Bolt Bus attendant there to board passengers
and answer any questions.
-- Boarding is organized like Southwest Airlines: the earlier you
book, the earlier you board.
-- If you miss your bus, you'll be able to board the next bus on standby at no extra charge.
-- On-board wireless.
-- The buses are in really good shape, if not new.
-- A great mobile website that works brilliantly on my BlackBerry.
-- You don't have to print a ticket, you can show them your ticket
right on your phone screen.
The praise stops here.
My experience on Thanksgiving Eve wasn't so perfect. I arrived a few minutes ahead of my 10:30 trip to New York. The bus had already gone, but I was able to board the 11:00 bus. Since I was one of the last to board, I had to sit in the back, next to the bathroom. Ok, fine. The bus left on time. Good. About 15 minutes later, the bus pulled to the shoulder of 95. The driver got off without explanation and came back 20 minutes later to announce that we'd had a flat in the front. We sat there for 2 hours without another word from the driver. Once the flat was fixed, we got to New York in 2 quick hours, but that was thanks to the lack of traffic, not to our brilliant driver. Since we'd had such a long delay, people were trying to use the outlets to plug in their laptops or phones, but they didn't work. People asked neighbors and came to the back trying to find a working outlet. Once in New York, we were unceremoniosly deposited on 34th Street. Since I was one of the last off the bus, I found my bag waiting for me in the middle of the sidewalk, where anyone could have swiped it. I wonder what Bolt Bus would have done if someone got to it before me?
If there's a $1 or $5 seat available, I'll be happy to try Bolt again. Otherwise, I'll stick with Amtrak.
This is my second round trip on Bolt Bus to Philadelphia. On my last trip both buses arrived around the scheduled time and didn't depart until a quarter after. This time the bus left on the dot and... I watched it leave from the sidewalk on the other corner. Yes, do arrive 15 minutes as advised. On the up side, I was able to standby for the next bus.
It took exactly two hours on both legs of this trip. The down side is that the return bus' wifi wasn't working (bus driver said it needed to be repaired). Otherwise, cheap, clean, and efficient.
While one million and one times more reliable than their counterpart in cheap-o transportation Megabus, my big qualm with Bolt Bus is the wild fluctuation in bus cleanliness. I took Bolt up to NY and the bus was immaculate (Quote from the bus driver: "If you see spray on the bathroom toilet, you let me know and we'll trace it back to the person who left it. We're not gonna be riding dirty!!), but on the way down it smelled like human excrement. Otherwise, you get what you pay for I suppose: on-time, reliable, and free wifi.
I've heard nothing but positive things about Bolt Bus but I noticed a couple flaws that could easily improve their service:
1. The website lists all travel times between Philly and NYC as two hours. Sometimes, this is accurate but others times it is wildly off the mark. Intuitively, a rush hour trip will not take two hours. Last Friday I took a bus departing Philly at 3:00 and it arrived at 6:45, a three hour and forty-five minute trip. That is to be expected at that time of day and I completely understand that it will take that long. What annoys me is that the website still lists that trip as two hours. I would wager that trip, and all of the trips occurring during that time frame have never made the trip in two hours. Why not change the schedules on the website so that they reflect approximate travel times for that specific departure? Its not that difficult to keep track of that kind of stuff.
2. The wi-fi is a bit wonky on iPhones and iPod Touches. In order to access the Bolt Bus network, you need to accept the Terms & Conditions. However, the T&C page loads improperly on the Safari browser--you can read the T&C but there is no scroll bar embedded into the window to scroll down to hit 'Accept' which, as you can imagine, is a real punch in the junk. It is possible to use the two-finger scroll on the devices to get there but unless you can solve that riddle, you're stuck without wi-fi. This fix never even occurred to me until I emailed Bolt Bus after my trip, and based on the reply from customer service, this is a common problem. Wouldn't it be better to have someone write some script that loads properly on these devices instead of letting people mess around looking for a solution or offering post hoc tech support?
Otherwise, the trip was nice enough. I might use this again. Not during rush again, though.
I was debating between Mega Bus and Bolt Bus, but after reading up on yelp, I think I made the right choice.
The bus to Penn Station in NYC was on time and very clean. The driver was friendly and had some nice moves behind the wheel! We breezed up the turnpike and actually made it to NYC before the scheduled arrival time.
The bus back was nice as well, although getting through the Lincoln Tunnel at 4pm was not so fun. Despite the traffic, we still made it back around the scheduled arrival time.
Overall, I was very pleased and will definitely be using Bolt again!
Today I had my first experience on the Bolt Bus. BB came highly recommended so I thought I would give it a try.
Booking my reservation was quite easy with a super simple process on the internet. To my surprise the buses was clean, roomy and very convenient. The bus left right on time, wireless internet was readily accessible and I arrived in NY a few minutes ahead of schedule (under 2 hours). And we made one step to pick up some additional passengers.
At $10 a trip, it just made sense.
The definition of a 5-star company/bar/restaurant is that it provides a service consistently above and beyond what one expects. Bolt Bus makes getting to NYC or DC easy, affordable, and definitely on time.
Leather seats + WiFi + clean bathrooms + cheap tickets = 5-stars.
It happened again: I got to ride an earlier bus because the people on that bus didn't show up early. I was 30 minutes early for mine, so I got one of their seats.
Motto: show up 30 minutes early, and you have a good chance of getting on an earlier bus without paying a walkup fee. I paid $8.50 for my ride and ended up getting home a half hour earlier than I thought I would. Sweet!
EDIT:
Bolt needs to run a line from Philly to DC. I don't see why you can go from New York or Boston to DC, but Philly, which is closer to DC than either of those cities, is shut out. Lots of people in Philly love DC! I'd love to go on some day trips with the assistance of Bolt's cheap fares.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/18/2009
My experience on Bolt Bus was mostly positive. It was much, much cheaper than Amtrak, and I got to… Read more »
Last week, I rode New Century to NYC and back; this week, it was Bolt Bus. While New Century is cheap and convenient, Bolt is around the same price (price varies depending on the departure time), and even more convenient, with a couple amenities not available on New Century.
For the 7:15 am departure, the bus was 30 minutes late, but it had been raining all night and still was raining, so I'll give some leniency for weather. Just make sure to bring an umbrella with you; the stop is in the middle of the block and with no covering. Once the driver arrived, she apologized several times, and was very friendly with all the passengers. The seats were comfortable and had a plug available. On the return bus, I sat further back, had considerably more leg room but no plug.
The internet availability is a big plus. It was slow, occasionally dropping, but did the trick. It was a bit cold and I had no way of stopping the air from blowing directly on me, so be sure to bring layers. I used the bathroom on the return trip. It did have a faint urine smell, but appeared to be clean. No water to wash your hands, but they provide hand sanitizer instead.
Riding up with me very early Saturday morning to NY was a mix of a crowd, including what looked to be some professionals and some students. Riding back Sunday night was almost entirely 18-25 year olds. Take from that whatever you wish.
All in all, it was a good experience. I would like to see some sort of covering at the 30th street stop for those stuck waiting in the rain.
I rode this bus when i went to NYC. Super nice, clean, quiet, smooth ride, and inexpensive. It gets booked fast so its better to buy the ticket ahead of time but definately one of the best transportation bus out there!
+ clean, nice, on time (in my experience).
- usually more expensive than megabus. and it gets booked faster.
their website sucks though. half the time i can't reserve a ticket because the site won't load through to the confirmation page.
How can you not heart boltbus? I didn't have the seating assignment just an email with my confirmation number. James, our lovely driver, looked it over and said ok, what's your name and on I went. He gave us a lovely little chatup about the ride and got us there ten minutes early.
I took the 10pm from NYC to Boston. Great free wifi. Nice leather seats. cool drink holder. Seats recline nicely. Great overhead and underneath storage.
My only complaint is the weird seatbelt holder thing on the chairs that my hair gets stuck in and the seats could have a little more leg room. After five hours a girls knee starts to hurt!
Otherwise who could complain ten bucks nyc-boston?
Bolt Bus almost ruined my most recent New York weekend.
1) Philly to NY: Left on time. Then, no AC. Crowded and uncomfortable. Pull off to the side of the road and wait for another bus to "save" us. Rescue bus never arrives so we climb back on the bus that now feels like an oven. Pull off to the side of the road for rescue bus #2 (success) and spent 30 min in AC comfort. Total travel time: 4 hours (2 hours late)
2) NY to Philly: Bus shows up 1 hour late. Bus is overbooked and driver spends 30 minutes trying to convince passengers to take the later bus so a couple of girls can get on (no takers and the girls are left stranded) Then we tour Manhattan for 30 min before getting on the Lincoln tunnel. Total travel time: 4.25 hours (2.25 hours late)
Never again, Bolt Bus. Never again.
The bus left timely and got there when we expected them to. Comfortable. Clean. I wasn't expecting much from the internet service, but it exceeded my expectations; there was nothing wrong with it. (However, I did not try the bathroom.)
The web site was kind of a pain to use and some stuff didn't work properly.
The price was good.
Caution: not every seat has an electric outlet.
I would certainly do it again. It beats the crap out of driving.
Addendum 20090824: I did it again. Everything I said above applies. It beat the crap out of driving.
Why take Amtrak or Greyhound to NYC when Bolt Bus is around?
Fares are either $10 or $12 one way, they drop you off right by Penn Station at 34th and 8th, there are outlets in each set of seats to plug in your ipod/phone/computer/what have you, the bus is clean, seats are roomy and recline comfortably with a foot rest. Bonus! They are almost always on time. (traffic-depending)
But you get what you pay for. It's a bare-bones run company. They do not always seat by group section number (especially in NYC) - so it's often a free-for-all.
It seems that the boarding process in Philly is a tad more civilized than in NYC where four or five Bolt Buses (for departures to D.C. and Boston too) pull up and you're never quite sure which bus is yours because no announcements are made and the bus 'screen' at the front isn't always correct.
Seems like the bus drivers run the show, and for the most part, aren't the friendliest - but for saving $40 each way I'll take the 'tude with open arms, sit back, relax, have a short snooze, charge my phone, turn on my ipod and enjoy the ride.
Dear Bolt Bus.
Thank you for making my LDR affordable and relatively hassle-free.
Sure, your website is difficult to use ... you have no phone number in case I have to ask a human person an actual question ... and some of your drivers are idiots.
But the majority of your drivers are cool. One told our whole bus that he loved us. That made me feel special.
The busses are clean, have (sort of reliable) wifi, a plug for my phone to charge and plenty of leg room.
I also enjoy that I can park at the Cherry Hill Mall for free. Even if it means I have to drive into New Jersey, which sucks.
Rock on Bolt Bus. My relationship depends on you.
Its like a clean Chinatown bus. Shit yeah!
There is no customer service though. That got slashed when they were finding ways to cut costs.
I'm new to the east coast. I'm from California. I've always flown directly into NYC, wandered around, and flew out of NYC. The rest of the east be dammed! *Actually, while that's technically true, I've always wanted to get to the other cities in the northeast. The "be dammed", however, adds a bit of punch to this review, no? ;-)
After living in Asia for over 8 years, I'm planning to move to NYC, but first comes searching for a job and searching for an apartment.
For now, I'm staying with a friend just outside of Philadelphia. That means I need to get myself into NYC quite frequently. Also, since I just moved back from Seoul, I'm used to efficient mass transit options that run regularly and are AFFORDABLE. Amtrak's Acela is not affordable for frequent trips unless your company is paying for it or you're comfortably well-off.
Right now, neither of those descriptions fit me. I'm paying for this move and all my expenses are on me. I'm unemployed and looking for both work and a new place to call home. I need to be frugal with the money I have.
Through people I know, I'd heard about the Chinatown buses and all the craziness that comes with them. I was looking forward to that to a certain degree. However, for my first trip into the city, I needed reliable transportation because I was going for a job interview.
I decided that http://Yelp.com was probably the best place to figure out the best bus line to get me into Manhattan on-time and untraumatized. Bolt Bus came up as the top ranked bus service. I read the reviews. Compared those reviews to other bus lines. And decided that I'd try them out. I booked my ticket and then just worried about how to get myself to 30th Street Station in Philly.
It all worked out. I got to 30th Street Station from the suburbs way early. I had time to walk to the corner of 30th to see where the stop was, double back, get breakfast and still have almost a one hour wait for the bus. (Yes, for a job interview I was erring on the side of long waits rather than unforeseen complications and being late.)
The driver showed up a few minutes behind schedule, but she got us on the bus and moving very fast. Most people got on at 30th Street, but two boarded at Cherry Hill. Then we were off. I was jet-lagged, so as much as I wanted to watch the scenery, I napped for most of the way.
The bus was fairly new and it was clean. The seats were soft and had a slight recline. Also, each pair of seats has an outlet. I used it to make sure my laptop and Blackberry were 100% charged. We got into the city at 34th and 8th on time too. From there, again, I'd scheduled my trip so that I had tons of time. I had time to go to Duane Reade for some things I needed, run to the restroom, get myself over to where my interview would be, and still had time get coffee, leech wifi and fill out paperwork.
Because I wasn't sure how long my interview would be or if I wanted to stay later, I'd not booked my return to Philly. However, that was easy to do too. I had some things to do and found a wifi spot over on Park Ave. I booked myself on a 4:15pm bus and got myself back to 34th and 8th way early, got on the bus and had a pleasant ride back.
There were some things I learned.
* If you're booking online and won't be able to print out a confirmation, have your number written somewhere. It was a rainy day and one woman dropped her Blackberry in a puddle. It wasn't working, so there was no way for her to show the driver a confirmation. I let her use my laptop but the driver also was able to finally get through to their office (only one person was working there.) It just makes it easier to have the number with you - write it down, just in case.
Also the return time, in rainy weather and with hold-ups, like getting that woman's confirmation number, we left late. However, honestly, I thought a 4:15pm departure and the scheduled 5:55pm arrival time was already a bit ambitious. Our arrival was more like 6:40pm. I know this because I'd wanted to get back to see 8pm encore screening of This American Life's Return to the Scene of the Crime episode at the King of Prussia mall. There was no way I'd get back in time and that was too bad but not the fault of Bolt Bus.
I'd say between the clean buses, organized booking and boarding system, affordable fares, reliable wifi and outlets for every two or so seats, this is great. Even in Seoul with their regular schedules, cheap fares and clean buses that fan out all over the country, they still don't have wifi and outlets ;) Bolt Bus was a great experience and, since I took it before ever getting on a Chinatown bus, I think I'll stick with them.
The only thing I've noticed is their return buses from NYC don't run very late. The last is at 8:45pm. So if you're heading in and want a night on the town, you might have to switch to the train or another bus service to come back or just stay overnight.
was scheduled for the 230 bus on sat oct 17th fron nyc to philly. i got there in time for the 145. i asked the driver if there was room for me. he asked me to wait until everyone got there. but then he saw i was freezing and told me to get on. he was soooo pleasant. made up for the previous surly driver i dealt with. he was all smiles. a pleasure. finally good customer service. bolt bus is roomy and confy. even when full. we got home on time. all in all a flawless ride.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/15/2009
i can only give 3 stars. never took a bus to nyc before. but the rest of the crew left from trenton.… Read more »
I may never take Amtrak's Acela again. All I need to do is plan a little bit better: pack some snacks and have a cab take me to 30th Street in between Market and Chestnut.
I'll you have to do is arrive 15 minutes prior to departure. You show the bus driver your confirmation print out from when you reserved your seat on line. The buses are comfortable and there is a rest room in the back.
Fares are as little as a $1.00 each way. Yep! a dollar!
They pull up and arrive a few minutes early and they board very soon. They almost take off at the exact time they are supposed to.
Both times I had ridden the Bolt Bus, the bus was in the passing lane the whole time. We got to New York in about two hours.
It's the best!
In a perfect world, I'd be able to take Amtrak to NYC with comfort and speed. Unfortunately, Amtrak price gouges the northeast corridor to pay for the rest of the country, so that's just too expensive.
For years I've taken the Septa/NJTransit transfer in Trenton. From a comfort standpoint, its the method I still prefer, as it is more comfortable than any bus option, and most of the time I can have a bench to myself for most of the trip. Unfortunately, fare increases have taken the round trip cost to nearly $40, twice the bolt bus. It also takes nearly 3 hours, which can be frustrating.
I've take the Bolt a few times now, and have had a mixed experience. You can't really count on them using the boarding groups you purchase tickets from, so its better to get their early. I've been lucky with the weather, because the boarding area is the sidewalk across from the post office loading docks.
Occasionally you,ll get lucky and get a better appointed bus, with newer comfy-for-a-bus seats, water bottle pouches and more outlets for you electronics. Most of the time, its the more rundown buses with uncomfortable shag carpet seats, fewer outlets that work only half the time, and the unmistakable stink of diesel fuel.
The ride isn't great, you bounce around a bit getting onto the highway in Philly, lurching across one of the bridges, possibly picking up someone in Cherry Hill, and then finally getting relatively smooth on the jersey turnpike. The tangle of ramps in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel is a nightmare, like riding a commuter flight through a thunderstorm. If you suffer from any motion sickness, or don't like roller coasters, you might think twice about it.
The dropoff location in NYC is pretty convenient, right next to Penn station and MSG, You can pretty much walk right down into the ACE downtown from the drop. In Philly you are right next to the El/Trolley stop at 30th st, and a short walk from the Regional rail.
I'm kind of torn here, because the Bolt is a pretty good option, but mostly because the only better options are so much more expensive. I wish that Amtrak would take a look at the huge success these buses have achieved and realize that there is a demand to get from Philly to NYC, and they are way overpriced. I also don't get why they don't have a similar bus from Philly to DC, at least a couple times a day. Again, it would be better to have an affordable train, but until that changes, the Bolt is probably the best inexpensive option.
I ride the NYC to/from philly line.
I usually take the transit/septa route until recently when I heard the buses were available and accessible. I tried one of the chinatown lines first.
On my first C-Town bus to NYC it was cool, calm, relaxed...I thought "wow, great". But my return trip was a NIGHTMARE. It was raining, millions of crazy ass college kids were going back to virginia and it was just chaos. There was one moment where the virginia bus was trying to pull in and the bus got mobbed by like 5000 students...the driver didn't even get a chance to open the door, he just pulled off...prob fearerd for his life. It was just the most disgusting experience...argh.
I told a co-worker who recommended BOLT. Let me tell you, it's a 180 degree experience. Clean bus, there is a system to getting on the bus where people actually LINE UP!!! WOW..what a concept right?
Anyway, I've taken bolt for 3trips now and (knock on wood) no bad experiences yet. funny bus driver, clean bus, decent drop off spots.
I'm not mad.
I had a very bad experience with the chinatown buses
I LOVE YOU!
no seriously, i love bolt bus. after i accepted my new job here in philly, i had to come down from NY a few weekends to explore and check out new digs. bolt bus never let me down. between the low fares, CLEANLINESS, outlets, and wireless, it's fantastic. mad props to you.
Don't rely on BoltBus if you ever need to work. Their internet and electrical outlets are unreliable. The only reason I'd ever chose them is because they have both internet and electrical outlets, while other companies don't. But in my extensive experience, their amenities work less than half of the time. When they don't work, their drivers are unapologetic and their customer service representatives are confrontational. I'll never spend a dollar of my travel money again on this company, which is just a subsidiary of Greyhound, so I'm not sure why I'm always surprised when stuff does not work.
I'm currently in New York, Yelping as I'm Bolting back to Philly from Boston.
As a college student living outside of my home state, Bolt Bus is one of the cheapest ways to get home. It is pretty simple, just buy your tickets online and make sure you show up to the stops on time.
It is clean and the drivers are super nice and welcoming. A major plus of Bolt Bus is the free WiFi and power plugs. Though I can't say the WiFi is always consistent or fast- forget about streaming videos, it is super convenient (not to mention a good way to pass the time) to bring your laptop and watch a DVD, and not have to worry about running out of battery.
I love the BB. Took it to NYC once last summer. It was clean, comfortable, and air conditioned. I had a few too many pints in the village that day and left my cell phone on the bus when I got off in Philly. I called customer service the next morning, expecting "yeah there's not much we can do/didn't find your phone when the bus was cleaned, etc... BUT they actually HELPED me get my phone back. Good on you, Bolt Bus.
So far, nothing too bad about Bolt Bus. They had a promotion where the first ticket they sold would be $1 on each bus. So far they've held onto that. Not too bad, and they pick up at Penn Station in New York and drop off at 30th St. Station in Philadelphia. There are other locations, too. Cheap as the rest of the buses, or cheaper, and slightly newer, but assigned seating on buses, I think, although I've never been late to a bus.
I heard this was partially owned by Greyhound?
The only negative - no real good signs telling you where to wait for the bus, and no shelters. Keeps the costs down, I suppose.
Bolt Bus is the god of buses except for one thing. On a busy travel weekend or day be sure to get your ticket well in advance. You don't want to end up with a C ticket toward the end of the line when trying to get to Boston from NYC. May sound foolish but keep it in mind.
When the next bus comes, if you weren't let on the previous, you aren't guaranteed a seat on that one either. You still hold a C ticket and could potentially be passed over for hours waiting until there just so happens to be a seat for you.
Nonetheless, the tickets are cheap, the buses are clean, and there is WIRELESS INTERNET.
Bolt Bus has the single best cost/comfort ratio of any of the regular transportation options between Philly and NYC. In fact, the only thing I can think of that would beat it would be a free, 1 hour helicopter ride with the cast of Battlestar Galactica and an open bar. But let's not delve too deeply into my nerd fantasies.
The Bus that the GF and I took had no more than 12 people on it, driver included. And speaking of the driver, raise your hand if you're the nicest person in Philly? If you're not the driver of my Bolt Bus, you should put your hand down. I would seriously let this guy stand up in my wedding.
As for Bus amenities, let's run down the quick list.
- Seats that are comfortable and fully functioning: Check
- General odor of anything besides chicken parts and urinal cakes: Check
- Power outlet for each seat (!): Check
- Wireless internet access (!!!): Check
As mentioned in multiple prior reviews, the only serious drawback to Bolt Bus service is the lack of early and late evening service. If this gets sorted out, Bolt Bus would easily be 5 star service.
It is Cleaner than the Chinatown bus.
It has fewer crackheads than Greyhound.
Unlike Greyhound, their bus never gets so full that I have to wait another 45 minutes for the next outgoing bus to leave.
For the price, there is no better way to get to NYC.
The only disadvantage is that if you miss the bus you bought a ticket for, you lose your seat and have to buy a new one on the next bus(If I remember correctly). However, this shouldn't be a problem if you're on top of your schedule and punctual.
Bolt - you are awesome. You leave from a convenient location, are sparkling clean, have a working bathroom and padded, un-broken seats, and are cheap. The driver I had was incredibly friendly and helpful, and I didn't have to fight, pushing and shoving, to get my seat on the bus.
All I need now is for you to leave from NYC later than 5pm. Give me a slightly earlier service, a 7pm and a 9pm, and I'm yours forever.
I used Bolt Bus to go from Philadelphia to New York yesterday. It wasn't crowded. The bus had typical amenities, including monitors for movie-watching (LCD), air-conditioning, footrests, personal lights and air vents, padded seats, overhead storage, and a rear toilet.
Now for the good stuff. The free Wi-Fi connection (tested with an iPod touch) was good enough to let me answer Facebook and Yelp messages. Power outlets on every seat back kept my phone (and the iPod) batteries topped off.
More frequent departure times would be appreciated - currently the bus leaves Philadelphia every three hours. Perhaps depending on demand, they'll add more buses to their fleet. (Wish we had seat belts; never understood why most buses don't have them.)
The Bolt Bus drop-off point (6th between Canal & Grand) is a brisk walk to Chinatown and nearby Metro stops. Give them a try - they're competitively priced (Chinatown buses, I'm looking at you) and Wi-Fi is a bonus.
I had been taking Amtrak (way expensive) every 2 weeks up and back to NYC, but now that my dad told me about Bolt bus - ihave used it twice. The first time was awesome - but the second time our 8:30 AM bus did not arrive until 9 AM -needless to say we arrived about 35 minutes late to NY.
Like others below - how the heck to they make money? For me and 2 other to go up and back to NYC was under $60.00. The tickets ranged from $7 to $13 one way. I did not get the $1 fare yet.
Also - there is a 50 cent surcharge for each transaction - so kep that in mind when you book.
I am kinda hoping this stays a secret because the busses are getting more & more crowded each time we go.
I also agree that the seats are very stiff and not comfy - but the busses are new and CLEAN (not like Chinatown hell, I mean, bus). I did not use the wifi - but others did. There are plenty of outlets (pugs) and also sometimes they'll play a movie.
MUCH cheaper than Amtrak. During the winter (icy roads) I may be forced back to Amtrak.
I have taken a lot of buses in my day. From quick trips to huge, horrible 8 or 9 hour jaunts. Nothing compares to Bolt Bus. They took three rows of seats out of each side of a normal coach bus so that there is plenty of leg room. It is temperature controlled, extremely clean, and best of all, prompt and timely. We arrived early to NYC and early again on the other side in Philly. And you can't beat the price. It seems almost over the top that they also offer wifi on the bus, with certain seats having outlets so that you can even plug in a charge your computer or cell phone.
In my book, Bolt Bus is prettly much the best of bus transportation that you can get around here. It is always good to find new, cheap ways to get around!
I took Bolt Bus to get to New York City and was very impressed. The actual bus is very nice. There is a good amount of legroom and the seats are comfortable. I used their WiFi with my Dell laptop and it worked fine. I could check my mail and look at Google maps to see where I was going in New York. I payed $15 one-way, which is the walk-up fare. If I had planned ahead and ordered online it could have been cheaper.
But I agree with Erin that their hours could be better. I travel between Philly and Boston and Bolt Bus does not have any buses leaving New York after 6pm. So I ended up taking Mega Bus, which might not be as nice as Bolt Bus, but gives me more options. If Bolt Bus gives me a little more flexibility, I will give them another star.
It's damn cheap. And guess what? You get what you pay for!! SHOCKER!!
If you're high maintenance like me, there is just no f'ing way.
Yes, the bus is cheap, but you pay for the discount with hours of your life. Amtrak, 1 hr 22 min (non express to NY). Bolt Bus 2hr to NY and 2.5 hrs. + home to Philly. Bus stops at 34th St and then Canal St-- which takes TOO LONG. The bus also makes stops in both Philly and at the Cherry Hill Mall. I tried it because it was so cheap, but I'll never do it again. Bus home was CROWDED, SLOW moving, and extremely unpleasant.
I guess it's better than the Chinatown bus, but I can't say cause I have never taken it. I'm not a bus person. However, I can compare it to Amtrak. Bolt Bus=like flying in the luggage area of the plane. Amtrak train=first class cabin.
Amtrak is worth the extra $$$$.
Sooooooo much better than the chinatown bus. Clean, easy to use, and on time. Awesome service!
I took the Bolt Bus for a weekend work event in NYC. It was just as I had been told. Rather inexpensive, left exactly on time (don't be late!), clean, efficient. Got me from A to B with no fuss, but to a handy location near the Javits Center plus one other stop before that. The return trip was delayed, but that was because of traffic - nothing that can be helped.
Fabulous....I took Bolt to NYC over labor Day weekend....convenient and comfy and will never take a china town bus again.
can you leave from NYC later?
