After My July Peter Pan Nightmare, Time for Megabus to NYC

Sometimes I surprise myself by being terrifically organized, and planning way, way ahead. I am like this with trips, I try hard to fill up my calendar months in advance so that everything else I have to do will work itself around the all-important chances to see the world.  Back in October, I heard about the new bus line serving the Valley, Megabus. It’s not exactly a young, start-up heck, it’s owned by Coach USA, which is one of the largest bus companies in the US.

But they’re now serving Amherst, by way of the Hampshire Mall, and back in the fall I went on line and snagged two round trip tickets to New York City for a buck each.  WOW! I’m headed to the Jacob Javits Center, where I’m on a panel about Travel Writing at the New York Times Travel Show.

I usually grind my way down on the old Peter Pan bus, and that experience is always interesting but often not good. In fact my last trip to New York on Peter Pan ended when the bus overheated and broke down in Danbury on what may have been the hottest day in July.  I was en route to JFK airport and I got very nervous worrying that I’d miss my plane. I asked the driver what his plan was, as he joked with passengers and didn’t even pick up his cellphone to call for help. I objected to his casual attitude, and he called me out as I protested. “Who’s saying that back there? Who’s got a problem?” he asked angrily. 

I did, but instead of beefing I called a friend who lived nearby and got the heck out of there to a MetroNorth commuter train. My flight was delayed and I have never been happier about that. I just took a look at a few blogs and the reports on Megabus are mixed. One reported that the buses are frequently late, another said the driver didn’t know the way to Minneapolis and tried to take a shortcut…another said there were too many people and they never sent a second bus, leaving them stranded in 0 degree temps. 

On Saturday I’ll park near Target at the Hampshire Mall and board the Megabus for the city.I promise a full report right here, since I can live-blog it during our trip down.