Megabus

This is my general review of Megabus, not specifically directed at this bus stop. The bus stop is literally out in the middle of a street in a complex; it’s not the safest place to be if you’re a woman traveling alone so make sure someone comes with you to drop you off. The driver & staff at this location were awesome but the resources are terrible here. No way would I ever take Megabus to go to NC considering the unsafe bus stop situations & largely inconvenient scheduling.
We actually arrived from here to DC early but you can’t even get an earlier bus if you get to DC despite those buses leaving every half hour to NYC. I had to wait around 3+ hours only to have the bus I was to leave on be over 30 minutes late. After standing around in line forever, the lady at the bottom of the bus gets all pissy at me for not having upper body strength or some guy to lift my heavy suitcase up to her. When I point out that I weight about 100 pounds & can lift about 20 pounds comfortably, she says «Maybe you shouldn’t have packed so much stuff.» Geez, lady I only have clothing & Christmas gifts and food in there. Maybe you think I’m not even entitled to have any oxygen b/​c I’m so little. Would she be telling some frail old lady this? What is she getting paid for?
On the return, I had to injure myself to get my suitcase from this high distance all by myself. Chivalry is definitely dead & the customer service at Megabus offered no help at all. No partial refunds, no «we’re sorry about that» or even thinking of the suggestion to let those who actually arrive at the layover early carry their ticket on to the connecting bus earlier for no extra charge. After all this, my mother (who paid for the tickets) said «We’re not dealing with this for you to get here next Christmas.»

I took Greyhound and Amtrak bus numerous times over the year in west coast, and time to come for my first ride here in the east with Megabus. A nice fellow took the bus before recommended me the Megabus app, though with only 1 star rating, does a good job on tracking the bus arrival time. Which is a great plus compare to Amtrak. My bus to Atlanta was 30 mins late, which isn’t really bad considering that it came all the way from DC. For $ 15, there isn’t really anything I could complain.

Terrible service… the bus was 1 hour late. Supposed to arrive at 8:50 pm but now 10 pm. they did not hurry when changing a driver. Too slow and don’t care about custumers’ time at all.

Stopping at a motel 5 mins from the destination & waiting 25 mins for a new driver to come out further prolonging the trip is not okay, especially when the bus is already behind schedule. When purchasing Durham tickets, there is no disclaimer that the bus will be detouring to stop for an unknown amount of time in a motel parking lot, each time that this has happened we’ve arrived to the destination late — people have rides, and cabs waiting to pick them up who somewhat rely on the estimated time, this is unprofessional and inconsiderate.
On my last trip, the bus was 40 minutes late to Union Station DC, didn’t function from the jump as none of the outlets nor monitors worked. When we reached Richmond, to no surprise, the bus had «technical issues», and we were pulled over on the side of a random rode for 1 hour 30 min. The bus felt like it was going to break down again a couple of times when back on the highway. Now, over 2 hrs behind schedule, 5 mins away from the Durham stop, the driver detours to a motel where he waits for a new driver to wake up, come out & switch –this took 25 minutes. I do not need to express how unprofessional, illogical, & inconsiderate it is. (At least drop off the durham riders & pick up the people standing in a long line w/​bags, waiting to get on before stopping at the hotel. Maybe then the replacement driver will be awake & ready to go smh.) I was shooting to be in Durham around a certain time & gave an hour window. Wrote customer service for a manager or refund, only to receive a copy & paste reply that Megabus strives to provide good service. False, they can care less, there is not a manager to rectify ridiculous situations. Sloppy. This is not the first time the break down has happened – UNSAFE. I’ll get a rental, or spend twice the amount & take Amtrak over being subjected to their foolery again.

Never before have we stopped at a nearby hotel, 5 minutes from the destination! The replacement drivers were not ready to leave when we arrived, and they held us up by another 20 minutes while they were yelled at by the outspoken of a bus full of unsatisfied customers.

They make you wait at this hotel for 40 minutes for a driver change. You arent allowed to leave the bus because «the hotel owner complained». Was about an hour late because of this.
This route goes all the way to atlanta, meaning everyone getting on at every stop in between was left wondering if the bus was even coming for an hour.
The wifi didnt work and the richmond stop looked like some place someone would meet a drug dealer.

Frequently, before this bus drops passengers off from DC or Richmond in Durham, it will change drivers at a hotel 5 minutes away from the station. You would think that when the bus is over an hour late, the relief driver would be waiting when the bus arrives at this hotel. But the driver is never ready. Instead passengers — already an hour delayed — sit at a hotel for a half an hour, tantalizing close to their final destination, while friends and family anxiously wait to pick them up.
This is just one of many issues Megabus faces here. I do not recommend Megabus unless you are an extremely patient person and have no other means of traveling to or from Durham.

Just took the Megabus for the first time from Durham to DC and back. It was on-​time. And even though we left DC at 4pm, there were no delays with traffic. It was comfortable. After spending 3 days sight-​seeing I was relieved not to have to be driving back home. Based on this first experience I would recommend MegaBus.

The wifi didn’t work both ways. We were supposed to arrive in Durham at 8:30pm. It is now 9:58 pm, and we are at some hotel in Durham waiting on them to switch drivers.

I got a comfortable clean bus and I have been on time every time I used it except once. The price can never be beat. If you are able to obtain the fifth booking (or earlier) between Durham and DC you still pay only about $ 14! From there it goes up to $ 38 on most runs. These prices are very reasonable. Megabus has become my method of choice, and necessity, when visting Durham from DC or Richmond. I even take it further than that sometimes, though the connections under two hours are NOT guaranteed and may be taken only at your own risk. (Instead of risking missed connections, you are advised to reserve a later time, and then pay a $ 5 standby upgrade if the option is still available at certain popular connection hubs, such as DC.)
The perceived negatives of megabus are way overhyped here. I am confounded by some reviews that admit they took megabus dozens of times then give it one star. You obviously think there is some value to the service because it is not the only option and you selected it for cost or convenience. (Among other transportation companies, also there is driving.)

On time, nice ride. There are only two things that stink, one is the bathroom… not recommended and the WIFI. Would not work on my IPad.

My daughter took the bus from DC to Durham, and the bus broke down within an hour of leaving the station. The bus was stranded on the highway. It took Megabus two hours to get a mechanic to the site, who could not fix the problem. It took Megabus another two and a half hours to get a new bus to their location. So, four and a half hours after breaking down, at 11:30 p.m., a new bus arrived. If that weren’t bad enough, the Megabus website and call center could not give an accurate new arrival time, and kept revising the time later and later. As a result, my daughter ended up without a ride waiting for her due to this snafu. And of course her phone had died because none of the outlets on the second bus worked, so she could not recharge it. A terrible, terrible experience.

Terrible is too nice a word for their service. Bus from Durham to Union Station, supposedly «a brand new bus» according to the driver, threw an alternator belt which left us in Richmond for an extra two hours. Got to Union Station in DC at 12:30AM after the last Metro — had to take a cab — serious dent in my wallet.
Coming back, to Durham on Sunday was far worse. Bus was scheduled to leave Union Station at 4:15PM. I got there at 3PM — place was mobbed with folks going to NYC. Spoke to the dispatcher — «where is the Durham bus?»
At the end of the line.
Spoke to the driver of the bus next to the last one.
He said the Durham bus was to his left.
OK — so I had about 90 minutes 75 minutes before bus time — decided to get a coffee. Came back 30 minutes before the bus — asked where to line up — was told — it LEFT about 15 minutes previously!
No text message; no announcement — and WHY didn’t they tell me when I was asking where the bus was?
Next one was at 11PM.
I had to get to Durham for a job today — so I took a plane.
Major money problem
DO NOT TAKE MEGABUS — they are unreliable.

Terrible service. I am highly disappointed. Waited at the station for over an hour and no bus came and no intimation about late arrival. It SUCKS! Never take this service.

So I’ve been a regular rider of MegaBus and did not have much issues with it up until my family and I decided to take it up to New York City Dec 22^nd for Christmas. MegaBus had just recently given the option for a «one-​way» trip from Durham to NYC. I decided to go for it, which was a big mistake. It was never stated on the print-​out receipt that we had to change buses in DC. We were literally thrown out in the freezing cold at around 6am and were told to wait (after grabbing every person we can find) till 8:30am for a bus to NYC. We were appalled, not to mention drowsy and freezing at the bus stop. After asking around, we were told that if we stand by the «stand-​by» sign they had, we can jump on the earliest bus to NYC for $ 5 per person. We took this option and left on the supposed «8am» bus.
The other bus riders from Durham going to NYC were equally shocked.
Never again.
Don’t take the supposed Durham to NYC «one-​way option», unless you are ready to wait a good few hours for your bus in DC.