Jefferson Lines

I booked a last minute trip the night before. Then showed up at the station at 6 AM to find out my bus was cancelled. They never notified me of the cancellation — and were surprised to hear that I was even able to book the ticket late the night before due to all the cancellations.
Despite all this — the company offered no help or refund. They directed me to a phone number, where I spoke with a very rude and impatient woman who hung up on me before offering any sort of help other than visit the website. From there, I filed a complaint and was told I would be contacted in 6 weeks.
All in all — don’t expect this company to care about you if anything goes wrong on your trip.

We used this bus company for a charter service for our wedding. We wanted to have a bus that would bring guests to and from the hotels. This would accommodate out of town guests and prevent people from drinking and driving. We chose Jefferson because it was the company that our friends used for their wedding.
My husband was the one who dealt with setting the entire thing up. From my conversations with him they were by far the most professional service. Many of the other services just didn’t respond. Jefferson was also willing to work with us on the price, but they were the cheapest and offered the best buses.
The bus itself was great. Everyone we talked to after the wedding commented on how nice the bus was; not only that we offered it, but the quality of the bus. The seats were comfy, it had wifi (not that we needed it on our short trip), and it was big enough to accommodate everyone.
Really what this company owes this great review to is Troy B, our bus driver. We ran one shuttle going to the wedding, and then three shuttles going back to the hotels. So basically the bus would just make a loop throughout the night. My mom took the 2^nd to last shuttle and was probably the only person going to her hotel. Well when I got off the bus Troy pulled me aside. He told me that he had spent the entire ride back with my mom talking to her. He said that she made his night and how much fun he had driving with her. He then gave me a hug and said he was so happy for us and he wished us a great future. Words cannot express how much that meant to me. Being a gay couple it was always kind of a fear in the back of our minds as to how people would treat us. Odds were high that they wouldn’t say no to us, but that doesn’t mean they have to be nice to us. Troy’s small act of appreciation and kindness meant so much to us. He was a total stranger who was overwhelmed with joy and happiness for us. He went above and beyond in my book. For that alone this company will have a place in my heart, as will Troy.
Thanks for providing our guests and us with such a wonderful experience!
⁹⁵⁄₁₀₀

While traveling to visit family, I booked a ticket over the phone which had to be refunded because the woman mistakenly made the ticket from the downtown center instead of the airport– no big deal but I was never told that if going from the airport I had to take Land to Air first. Land to air picks up at ground transportation and Jefferson picks up at the bus terminal which requires a quick ride on the tram from the terminal– the location of pick up was confirmed by two information counter individuals. So after waiting on the phone for 5min I talked to an individual from Jefferson bus lines and discovered I wasn’t in the right location, she argued with me that I was and was not able to give me directions from the airport. I tried to explain that I was never told I needed to take a separate bus line first– how would one know if they bought a ticket for Jefferson Lines? I called again because once I got to Land to Air they had no record of me with my confirmation number. The woman told me no supervisor was available, she repeatedly interrupted me and argued to me that the locations were the same– Even though I just did the route and again, where Jefferson picks up by the city bus lines is a completely different location than from where Land to Air picks up at the terminal. The woman repeatedly interrupted me, insisted the locations were the same and hung up on me. I never was able to explain that when booking a bus ticket over the phone it would be helpful to have directions from the airport and if having to use another bus line the customer needs to know. I work in customer service and service to individuals at the highest level as member of the armed forces for 14years, I’ve never experienced this level of disrespect and never do you argue with the customer who is in need of help. Unfortunately I don’t have the woman’s name and it is a disgrace to treat people the way she did.

Took the bus to MSN from MSP. Went via Winona along the MS River. Very scenic. Friendly drivers. Slow ride but great scenery. Something different if you are not in a hurry. Plus you can leave from MSP.

Took it from Minneapolis to Des Moines because Megabus doesn’t serve that route, and I needed to get to Omaha without spending an arm and a leg.
Didn’t get a Rocket Rider bus, but did find an outlet. They’re scarce, but find-​able. The bus was under half full, so I got a row to myself. Bus stopped once for a few minutes, and then I was in Des Moines. Note, however, that while the early-​morning bus stops in Des Moines about 4 AM, the station doesn’t open until 5 AM. Not cool.
The ride was smooth, the bus was clean, and I got there on time and unharmed. What more can you ask for? Though most of their «milk runs» around Minnesota are much more expensive than paying for gas when driving alone. That doesn’t make sense to me… shouldn’t it be roughly the same price as driving alone, if not a little bit cheaper?

I stand corrected. This is the second most horrible company I have dealt with. Dish is even worse… if that is possible.

Jefferson Lines is one of the most miserable, unacceptable excuses for a bus company that I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. Use Badger Bus. Use Greyhound. Use Megabus. But whatever you do, DO NOT use Jefferson! The prices are not much lower than any other bus in the area, and you will sorely regret it if you take them in order to save yourself $ 20 on another line.
My horror story with Jefferson begins at Kaufman Union, where the bus was supposedly going to pick my girlfriend up to meet me back in Madison. An hour after she should have already left, she calls me to tell me that the bus never showed up. Thinking that this might have been a fluke, or that she was late, she called Jefferson Lines and arranged to catch the next bus the next day.
The next day came, and to avoid making the same mistake twice, she showed up at the bus stop an hour early. Two Jefferson Lines buses came by at random times, both drivers claiming that they were not passing through Madison or transferring to a bus that did. After speaking with both drivers as well as a dispatcher on the phone, it became apparent that once again, the bus had not arrived at all. My girlfriend and another passenger called in to complain, and were told that the bus «would arrive soon» and that they should wait an hour before calling back.
An hour passed, no bus showed up. So they called Jefferson again, to which the dispatcher responded that the bus had «definitely shown up» and that they were both late and were lying about not seeing the bus to Madison. At this point, I asked my girlfriend to give it up and request a refund. We were referred to a customer complaints line which did not exist.
Every time I tried to call Jefferson’s offices about this, everybody I talked to would redirect me to dead lines or just hang up on me. I attempted to get to the mystery customer service line through Jefferson’s automated system, only to be repeatedly directed to an answering machine. After calling several times throughout the day with no success, I left them a detailed message with my name and number. About a month has passed since then, and I have yet to hear back from them.
You have been warned. We did not get the ride I paid for, nor any compensation for it. If you spend $ 50 on a ticket for Jefferson Lines, be prepared to never see that money again.