Megabus

REVIEWER # 419
Tell me where else you can ride a bus for dirt cheap?
Okay, so Megabus may not be a fancy dandy bus but it gets you to where you need to go for cheap. CHEAP!
I have taken the bus a couple times and haven’t had any bad experiences. I have taken the bus to Seattle and Portland, San Francisco to LA, Oakland to Sacramento and Sacramento to Reno.
If you buy your tickets in a timely manner you pay as little as $ 3 dollars. Shooot… Where do I sign up so I can ride the bus for that price?!
What’s nice about Megabus is that each seat has a power outlets to charge your phone which is nice since my battery dies REALLY quickly and they also have WiFi but that’s sucks so I just us my hotspot.
My seat lucky had enough leg room so that wasn’t a problem and most of my rides I usually don’t have no one sitting by me (I swear I don’t smell bad) LOL but it works best for me so my purse can have its own seat.
The bathrooms on the bus seem to be clean for the most part. The times that I have traveled either seem to be really early in the morning or late at night so most of the passengers seem to be really quiet and tired which makes the ride quiet… just how I like it.
The driver doesn’t say much unless he is stopping for a break (only happened one) or when we have arrived at our destination.
The time of arrival always seem to be accurate and on time. I have always had good experiences with Megabus and plan to use them much more in the future!
They are WAYY better then Greyhound! Wait… are they even still in business! (OUCHH)
Review ⁶⁰⁄₁₉₆

Horrible experience. If they cannot maintain a bus, they should retire it. The heat was not working upstairs on an overnight route. So cold air was blowing all night. Too cold to sleep. Full bus. Bathroom was also disgusting. I rode when the busses were new and it was great. Now gone downhill.

To the driver, do yourself a favor and use google maps. Not only will it prevent you from getting lost, but it’ll let you know if a detour is worth it.

Clean and fun. Riding with my granddaughter (4 yrs old) for the first time (upstairs front seat) to Sac from my home town (SF). Have not taken a bus in 30 yrs. And I LOVE Megabus pricing. Check in is a bit odd however it works. On the way to SF I sat at a table seat In front of 2 little ones expecting to get some paperwork done. Did not happen as there were too many pot holes on the freeway. Also the kids kept kicking me in the shins however after about 5 minutes of telling them not to, they stopped.

So upset. I went to purchase a ticket for my mom on my phone and found you can NOT purchase a handicap ticket. Is this legal? There is no option to note that the passenger will need assistance or that they have a wheel chair or a service animal. It also did not let me state the passengers name or address assumption was that the person listed on payment was passenger.
I purchased ticket hoping to resolve it by calling customer service. NOT helpful the agent Mike communicated he was very limited in what he could do. He let me know there would be a $ 10 change fee PLUS what the difference was in fare !!! Also told me he would not let me speak with a manager after I had requested several times. I paid the fee service fee changed the name but the call took 30 minutes with interruptions and a call back due to a «slow system». So disappointed.

I’ve taken 2 round trips on Megabus from SF to LA. If you’re wondering which bus line to go with, use Megabus. The price can’t be beat, for under $ 40 each way and sometimes $ 10 each way during weekdays. The bus is generally punctual, although once arrival time was delayed an hour due to traffic around San Jose.
Safety is a huge concern for girls my age, and my friends generally vouch for Megabus over Greyhound (which picks up sketchy characters as it goes through central valley) for the SF to LA trip. I took a 4 pm to 12 am trip and felt pretty safe due to a crowd of largely college students. Comfort on the Megabus is good enough for me to sleep for 6 hours straight and not wake up with back pain or leg pain (I’m 5′ 9″ and leg room was ample), restroom and bus were clean. That said, I only chose to sleep for 6 hours because the Wi-​Fi does not work as advertised on any devices so I had no choice but to kill time with sleeping.
Please fix the Wi-​Fi and then I would love to take the Megabus to visit home more often!

1. Customer service HANGS UP on you!!! If you call regarding an issue, they recite a prepared script, then they hang up on you.
2. Their wifi does NOT work for Apple devices!!!
3. We were in Kettleman City in the middle of California on a break, and 5 Korean women were not back on before the Latina bus driver decided to pull away and leave them behind. I implored her to wait. She said no and that she was on a schedule. She ended up stopping across the busy street near the freeway onramp, as the frantic women were dodging high speed traffic to get back on the bus!!! Megabus WILL leave you behind with your stuff in the bus.

3 reviews
2÷24÷2016
Only take the Megabus if you’re able to travel exactly as planned… I had a medical emergency (my son was life-​flighted and required emergency surgery in another state) & I needed to reschedule the trip. I called Megabus and was told «no problem» and I have yet to be credited or able to rebook a new trip because they said I should’ve been able to go to Chicago as planned! provided them with all medical documentation they requested and they still said that I should’ve been able to take my trip… SUCH AUDACITY — I was in another state, taking care of my son and dealing w/​the medical issues as a result of his accident. At Megabus, it’s simply impossible to make contact with anyone other than «customer service» people who are worthless!!! What a horrible company! CUSTOMER SERVICE — it’s an oxymoron!!!

Going back and forth between Sacramento and San Francisco I usually take Amtrak, but decided to try Megabus due to the big price difference (my trip was only $ 3!). The bus was at the stop early and left exactly on time. The driver and baggage handler were professional and friendly. The bus itself seems to be modeled after an airplane cabin and EVEN HAS PLUGS! (seriously though, why isn’t this a thing on planes yet?) The seats are comfy and can recline and each has its own seatbelt. The view from the upper deck is great and you can even reserve the front seats if you want a better one.
Great people, great ride, great bargain. I’ll definitely be using them again.

I can’t pass up a bargain. So began our family adventure on Megabus. My daughter is 7 and had never seen snow so I thought a winter break trip to Reno would be fun. Once I saw the prices on the Megabus website (San Francisco to Reno for $ 25 each?) after months of looking at Amtrak, I was sold.
Connecting from the East Bay: Unlike its routes to LA or Anaheim which stop at West Oakland BART, the bus to Reno picks up at the Caltrain station in SF. To make our 9am bus on a Saturday, we took a 7:15 BART, hopped on a 45 Muni (we had just missed the 30), and still had time for a bathroom stop before lining up half a block down the street.
Trip to Reno: Contrary to what we read in previous reviews, we did NOT leave on time. Our driver was friendly. We had a 15 minute delay for some unknown reason. We ended up sitting next to the Porta-​Potty smelling bathroom. The silver lining was that my boyfriend did not have to share his row with anyone and was able to take a nap. The stop in Sacramento was brief. I never saw any food options because our driver told us to NOT leave. We had brought snacks (pretzels, edamame, corn nuts) but no lunch. This was not good as we eventually hit major traffic on the way up the mountains. Thankfully, seeing the snow kept my daughter entertained as we finally arrived in Reno an hour and 10 minutes behind schedule. Circus Circus was across the street from the stop at Silver Legacy once we grabbed our bags, we rushed over to get some much-​needed food.
Trip to SF: I was able to reserve upper deck seats for this trip so we technically didn’t need to arrive too early. When we did, we were informed by a Megabus bag handler that the bus had been delayed by one to two hours due to major traffic. A fellow customer said an email had been sent. The bag handler went on to say that the driver would need to drop off people in Sparks and then return to load us onto the bus. I have no explanation for our standing there and waiting in the cold; we did. I spent the time giving side-​eye to the ratchet tween loudly using profanity besides us. Before you judge me for being so judgmental, bear in mind that I’m from Hayward and my hubby is from Vallejo so we have built up a tolerance for ratchetness. When the Megabus finally pulled up, the girl claimed an old white lady on the upper level was looking at her crazy and verbally challenged her to fight. I told my little one to look away from this mess. Our driver, a petite blonde, jumped out and shrilly told us she was starving and would be taking her lunch break in Sparks. We knew we’d be waiting another hour in the cold. By now, we realized we could go into the hotel to use the restrooms and stay warm. Our stressed-​out driver returned and immediately began barking about reservation numbers and if we didn’t have them, she wouldn’t let us on the bus. Though we had stood in an orderly queue for over an hour, she wanted us to back up and reorganize the line. The latecomers refused to budge so we became a big huge crowd. The driver kept shouting single file, single file so we asked folks to back the line up. A few people cooperated but many stood there like deer in headlights. Though we ended up in the middle of the pack, we knew we had reserved seats and eventually went to our comfy seats upstairs. Then the bus sat there. The driver explained that dispatch would not let her leave since the email had indicated a two hour delay and we were about to leave 90 minutes late. After another phone call with dispatch, she announced we would have to go to Sparks because of some latecomers and then back to Reno for more latecomers. It was a Kermit sipping tea moment for sure. We picked up the late birds, including a hipster in Reno who was not only late («the email said I had two hours») but then took a smoke break and one poor man who ran down the block after us. Finally, finally we were on our way and it was smooth sailing to Sacramento. We switched drivers and our new, less stressed driver, got us into SF by 9:30.
Final Megabus experience takeaways:
1. Always, always pack a meal.
2. Reserve seats. It’s only a few dollars more.
3. Do bring a blanket because it was freezing on the return trip home.
4. The wi-​fi is inconsistent in terms of speed and sometimes connectivity. Bring magazines, a book, Sudoku, coloring books (don’t sleep on this throwback; it really is stress relieving and you may need it if your trip resembles our return to the Bay.)
5. You get what you pay for. A bargain is a bargain.

Considering my 5 star review of my Megabus trip from SF to LA, I decided to use MB again! This time on my trip from DC to NYC. First things first, i must be one lucky guy because I scored yet another $ 1 ticket! Awesome!
Like my first review, the overall bus ride was comfortable and quick. We were delayed about 20mins due to traffic but that’s expected when traveling by bus/​car especially in NYC.
Question: why are MB customers all normal? I mean they are not the typical Grayhound crazies.
Answer: I finally figured it out! Since MB sells its tickets online you have to have both a credit card and access to the internet to purchase a ticket. I suppose this requisite weeds out a lot of the crazies you find on grayhound! I wonder If they planned it this way or if its just an indirect externality. In any case its Brilliant!

The bus itself was fine. It was what you would expect if you book a cheap bus for long distance travel, not luxury. However, the customer service was AWFUL. Their website was glitchy and refused to allow me to make trade-​in reservation. The customer service reps on the phone (and I spoke to about 5 different ones at different times) all told me to keep trying again every hour and that if it reached 6 hours before my departure time and it still did not work, they would refer me to a manager who could alter my reservation for free. Lo and behold, I called with 6 hours to the trip and they completely denied this and said I would have to buy a whole new ticket.
Not to mention, different reps mentioned completely different fees for bookings over the phone. Out of the 5 about 3 of the reps had horrible attitudes and the other two were nice but still equally unhelpful. There is no accountability here and unless you are completely broke and on the verge of starvation, find an alternative way to travel.

I thought the mega bus was a fun, cheap and easy way to get to Reno from San Francisco. I decided to get us the front two windows seats so we could really look out on the mountains as we went over the pass. On that route they make one stop in Sacramento which gave us just enough time to run across the street and get a sandwich before getting back on the road.
If you’re going to Reno or San Francisco by yourself or with two people I think this is a great inexpensive way to do it. The time to get there will be just about the same and you don’t have to worry about driving yourself. Unfortunately the Wi-​Fi really wasn’t working for her that would’ve really made it great. Still got a lot done during the drive.

I was actually… very pleasantly surprised at the quality of MegaBus in respects to its price. For a round-​trip from SF to Sacramento cost me a total of $ 20. Only $ 20, despite the fact that I picked the most expensive times (leaving in evening will almost always cost you a few more dollars, no matter what bus service you choose)! For comparison, a round-​trip with Greyhound costs me about $ 40 after tax, and Amtrak is about $ 70. With the tickets so cheap, I expected the clientele to be much grimier, however, this was not the case. Maybe it’s because its not so well-​known of a bus service? If so, let’s keep this our little secret :)
The location is very easy to get to (if you’re in the city, take the N-​line all the way to the Caltrain station. It’s over by the bus rack). I can’t quite remember if there was a sign that said MegaBus, but there was a telltale line of people.
With MegaBus, there’s no tickets to be printed out, just a reservation number given at the time of purchase. You may either print the email with the number or, like I did, just show the person the number on your phone.
There are several reserved areas/​seats on the bus for passengers who paid extra to sit in them, but besides that, its a free-​for-​all. If you don’t want to get put right next to the staircase or smelly restroom, arrive a bit early. I sat in an unreserved seat on the top level, and the view from the large windows was fantastic. The leg room was generous, the seats were comfortable (not to mention recline-​able!), and the power outlets between the seats actually worked!
Both the bus driver and the man who loaded/​unloaded baggage (driver assistant? backup driver?) were very helpful and chipper!
The bus was very clean, the drive was smooth, and the bus was cold (very very important on a bus full of 50+ people, where the body heat can turn the bus air sour very quickly).
It should also be noted that the MegaBus ALWAYS leaves ON TIME. The time on your ticket is when they are actually driving away. Now, this can be either a good or a bad thing depending on your situation. A great thing if you’re at the stop about 20 minutes early, but a bad thing if traffic/​public transportation/​misreading your departure time (which I am guilty of) causes you to fall a few minutes behind. I wish I was exaggerating. If your ticket says 6:30, the bus is pulling away at 6:29. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I definitely recommend planning on being AT the stop 10 – 30 minutes before your departure time. In addition to actually getting on the bus, showing up just 10 minutes early may be the difference between a lovely upper-​deck window seat and the ones just in front of the restrooms.
One of the only negative aspects of the MegaBus is the lack of baggage check. On Greyhound buses, your luggage is tagged with a label that corresponds with your baggage claim ticket. To claim your baggage, you must present the person unloading with your claim ticket. No claim ticket, no bag; simple as that. MegaBus does not have this feature, which does save some time and formalities (i.e. no fumbling with tags/​tickets, no weighing your luggage, etc.), however, there are bad folks out there who might feel it’s necessary to be a bag thief. I had no issues with bag theft, but if you’re worried, I recommend clearly labeling your stored luggage with easily identifiable name tags, as well as something to set your bag apart, like stickers or ribbons.
I can’t speak on behalf of the longer MegaBus trips, but I do wholeheartedly recommend MegaBus as an alternative to Greyhound (as long as your destination is on the short list of cities they service).

I wanted to go to LA for the day and this was a really cheap way to go. The website to book my reservation was pretty straight forward and easy. I parked at 588 Brannan street close by.
I did notice a fair amount of people wondering around the bus just sitting wherever they wanted. PEOPLE it is not a free for all on seating. If the seat has a number on it that means it is RESERVED and unless you paid extra you should not just jump in that seat.
I sat in the upper level reserved seat and it was not too bad.
You need to check in at the bus and they will give you a ticket with a number on it and that is how you load the bus. That number on the ticket is not your NEW seat number.
On the way to LA at 8:15 am the bus was comfortable but on the way back at midnight the bus was a little cold. So bring a small blanket, water and some food. They do stop 3 hours into the trip at Lost Hills and you will find a bunch of fast food places.
The wifi sucked but there is no point in bitching about it… I have a huge data plan from AT&T and used it. AT&T does suck.

I’ve been using Megabus since I’ve known about it about 2 – 3 years ago. At that time, you could reserve a bus seat minutes before departure. Now that it has gained some loyal riders and their friends, waiting the last minute will get you a seat for the next day! I’m a fan of this because of the price. And only the price!
Pros: A ticket from SF to Sacramento ranges from $ 3-​$ 15, usually cheaper than Amtrak and Greyhound. It has long windows on all sides of the bus, so it’s really nice to look outside during the ride! It also has outlets under every seat.
Cons: The windows are sealed shut, so if someone next to you decides to eat, you’re out of luck! Since it’s a public mode of transportation, the bus will be late (or early) once in a while. The AC will always be on, so bring a sweater!
Overall: I’ll keep riding this bus between SF and Sacramento until I can! The price woos me too much!

Who should take the megabus?
1. Students and folks who can’t afford any other transportation – car, plane…
2. Folks with lots of time on their hand
3. Young folks who don’t have back aches and all the things that happen after 30.
4. Folks that are NOT claustrophobia! It is a tight enclosed space and if you are traveling in the summer get ready to sit in high temps in the bus.
We took the Megabus from SFO to LA and back on recommendation by family. I was traveling with my two young children and we had reserved seating up front the first time around. We were stuck with a sad chap that wanted to talk about how life was just hard and frankly encroached into my mind space and physical seating space – the seating is tight. Sitting next to us across the isle was a family that brought lots of garlicky pasta and other strong smelling items to eat onto the bus. In the enclosed space we literally had to cover our noses.
On the way back we decided not to reserve seats, and we had to scramble to find seating and ended up seated on the bus next to strangers. The temperature outside was 102 degrees and in the bus it felt like 85. There were very entitled Ivy league students who decided to talk about their very privileged life half way into the journey – there was no way to shut them up.
The bus was 45 minutes late to pick us up and add on another hour for traffic the entire trip was almost 9 hours.
I will never travel Megabus.

Sitting on a bus for 6+ hours (or being confined to any space for hours on end) is never particularly pleasant, but taking the Megabus between SF and LA is definitely a great option if you’re looking to save money and if you’re not short on time. I’ve taken the Megabus a few times now and my experience varies quite a bit, but overall, it’s not a bad experience. I’d recommend taking the overnight bus if you’re capable of sleeping in transit. It saves more time and the drive tends to be shorter.
THE GOOD AND THE BAD:
+ Prices. The main reason for the 4-​stars. If you book early enough, you can snag a seat for $ 1!
+ Wifi. The first few times I took the bus, the wifi was pretty unreliable, but it worked surprisingly well on my most recent trip. Just be prepared to keep getting disconnected.
+ Power outlets. 6+ hours on the bus means you’re sure to have to charge your phone/​tablet/​laptop.
— AC. It’s good that there’s AC on the bus but the driver had no control over it. I’ve frequently been too cold so err on the safe side and bring a jacket or blanket on the bus. And socks if you’re wearing sandals.
— Timeliness. The drive really depends on traffic and the driver. I’ve had trips that arrived at the destination early and I’ve had trips that were a hour behind schedule. My bus ride once was almost 9 hours from SF to LA
— The driver. Again, this varies greatly. I’ve had really nice, pleasant drivers and I’ve had pretty loud and rude ones. The best thing to do is just don’t anger them.
OTHER TIPS AND THIGS:
* The bus station in SF is on Townsend between 4^th and 5^th (closer to 5^th). There’s no real sign indicating where the bus stop is but there’s usually someone in a yellow jacket/​vest at least 10 – 15 min before departure
* Get there early to get your pick of seats
* You’re allowed 1 large bag and 1 carry-​on, like on planes, but they’re more lenient about the carry-​ons, as long as it’s reasonable
* There’s a bathroom on the bus, but I’ve never used it so I can’t vouch for how clean it is.
* The driver makes one pit stop for food, typically 15 – 30 minutes long. The options are usually a few fast food options that varies depending on the stop (McDonalds, In N Out, Carl’s Jr and the like) and a convenience store. Bring water and your own snacks if you get hungry easily!
* From my experience, the afternoon buses tend to be the longest so save yourself some travel time and book the early morning or overnight trips.

Three years ago, I was in a long distance relationship with a man in SF. At the time, I was a poor graduate school student who couldn’t afford multiple round trip airfare, so I rode the hell out of Megabus.
Fast forward to now. New man, new career, new me. A few days ago, I needed to find transportation from SF to LA. I have a tendency to save money any way I can, so I thought, why not Megabus it? :D
UGH I hate you, past Nari. Worst decision I’ve made this month.
My new thoughts on Megabus:
1. I already knew this, but I forgot how incredibly anal they are about the 1 luggage per person policy. I stared in disbelief as I witnessed a Megabus worker speaking condescendingly to a woman who brought 2 duffle bags. In his defense, I understand how it’s annoying that people don’t read or follow the rules clearly stated on the email confirmation ticket. But still, calm down Bag Nazi, you could have told her nicely. Don’t gotta be so rude.
2. Typically, a bus ride from SF to LA takes about 7 hours. When I was young and full of energy, this was no problemo. Not anymore man. I was literally withering away like a sad unwatered plant. Body aches, headaches, and nausea are not fun. Ugh I’m old.
3. They have one stop in a deserted town called Buttonwillow. They have a Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Subway, Starbucks, convenience store, and clean bathrooms nearby. The bus driver will give you 15 – 30 minutes to roam free to buy food, take a piss, and whatnot. BUT once in a while, there will be people who think Buttonwillow is fucking Disneyland and will disappear for over an hour. And so everyone else will be waiting in the bus for them. WHY?
4. Sometimes the bus breaks down (i.e. blown tires, overheating engine) and you are deserted in the middle of nowhere. Then you will have to wait for the replacement bus. This takes time, minimum of 1 hour.
So all of the above situations (#1−4) happened during this ONE time I decided to use Megabus again after 3 years. Let’s do the math, shall we?
Driving time: 7 hours
Overheating engine problem: 1 hour
Waiting for laggers at Buttonwillow: 1 hour
Making two stops at San Jose & Burbank: 30 min
GRAND TOTAL: 9.5 hours to go from SF to LA. Felt like 9.5 motherf’ing weeks.
Unless you are a young and poor student, there is no reason to take the Megabus. You are a grown ass working (wo)man. You work hard for your money, and you do not deserve to be subjected to such a torture called Megabus. Spend the extra hundred or two and buy yourself a plane ticket. Please.
So as for you Megabus, we are officially and permanently breaking up. It’s you, not me. BYE.

Boom! $ 17 to take the megabus from SFO to Reno. If we rented a car we would’ve arrived maybe only 30 minutes earlier… and have had to pay over $ 100 more!
The bus is pretty clean and the free Wi-​Fi isn’t super slow. Get in line to board the bus at least 20 minutes early to make sure you get that window seat. The process of buying your ticket and boarding the bus is so easy! Just be sure to bring snacks and wear socks. It can be a bit chilly inside the bus!