Category — Ground Travel

Another trip on Megabus today!  Baltimore (White Marsh) to New York.

Everything was flawless, and I noticed that the power and the wi-fi worked all the time both on the trip to NY and all the way back!  Quite often at least one seems to die in the middle of the journey.

But I noticed that YouTube was blocked. If that is what it takes to keep the wi-fi up and running for the whole journey, it seems like a pretty good idea!

My fare?  Eight dollars one way and one dollar for the way back.  I’m happy!

(Written and posted from the bus)

I rather like TripIt, the popular site that keeps records of your travel plans.  It is really handy to have your whole trip available on the internet, and it is especially useful as a way of storing all your confirmation numbers in a single place that’s easy to access.

When you get a confirmation from a major travel vendor, you can simply forward the confirming e-mail from your vendor (airline, hotel chain, car rental company, and so on) to plans@tripit.com.  TripIt parses the email and adds the confirmation to your itinerary.

TripIt has done quite a good job of making sure that it works with many major vendors (including the Metropolitan Opera!), and, on the whole, it works rather well.  It was especially useful when we went to Thailand last summer for a three-week trip with many flights on different airlines and many hotels purchased from different vendors.

But TripIt does not work well at all with Megabus!  First, if you book a series of journeys in a single reservation, TrpIt parses all of them as a single trip, and it is a pain in the neck to split them up. Another limitation is that the mobile version of TripIt for the Blackberry does not display the most vital piece of information: the confirmation number that you have to show the driver when you board the bus.

This drove me into a near panic as I was driving to catch a Megabus this morning.  Unusually, I hadn’t printed my itinerary before leaving the house, and when i checked it on the Blackberry, I found it was not there.

Fortunately, I was able to contact friends who retrieved the vital number from the TripIt website and sent it to me by e-mail.

But it does mean that the mobile version of TripIt for the Blackberry is almost useless as a tool to support Megabus trips!

Yet again, I traveled on the Megabus from Baltimore to New York and back yesterday.

The bus was on time in both directions, and we were lucky with the traffic.  The only fault was that the power was not working at my outlet, and the bus seemed to lose its Internet connection for the last hour.

Another excellent Megabus trip — and my fare was $1.00 each way!

The Megabus from Baltimore to New York leaves from a shopping center about twelve miles north of Baltimore called White Marsh. When you get a ticket on the Megabus, you get a link to a spot on the Megabus website that gives you access to a parking pass.  If you don’t print it out immediately, it is a little bit difficult to find again, so here’s the link:

Click here to access the Megabus Parking Pass for the White Marsh parking lot.

Be a little bit careful when you park, and make sure you leave nothing of value in the car.  Any indication that you are going to be away — at least until the next Megabus arrives — does not seem like very good security, and I have heard of cars getting broken into.

Here are Google directions to White Marsh from Baltimore.

The route they suggest is roughly like this:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=tarascon+sur+ariege&daddr=43.468868,1.417236+to:A61+to:barcelona&geocode=Fa7DjQIdp4gYAClpmHxMV2uvEjEAUUMvnPYGBA%3B%3BFZi0lQIdOPgaAA%3BFY2HdwIdPxwhACn1KO0mcZikEjEwA6Qh4PoABA&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=7&via=1,2&sll=42.85986,2.548828&sspn=2.222662,7.020264&ie=UTF8&ll=42.85986,2.548828&spn=2.222662,7.020264&t=h&z=7

Whilst I was staying with a French family near Tarascon, I was informed, however, that there was in fact a railway that went straight over the Pyrenees, just east of Andorra, with French and Spanish trains meeting at a stop called La Tour de Carol-Entveitg near to the Spanish border. Intrigued, I went back to the French sncf site and this time searched Tarascon-sur-Ariège to Barcelona via Latour-de-Carol. No results came up. I tried Toulouse to Barcelona via Latour-de-Carol instead in case it was more likely to give me information for a main station. This time a result did come up, but it said there was one train per day that would take you 8 hours and cost you 85€ a single. It also said you needed to change at Beziers (most definitely not on the line between Toulouse and La Tour de Carol) which confirmed my suspicions that it was messing me about.

I scoured the internet googling various combinations of the words trains, Toulouse, Barcelona and La Tour de Carol, but still found nothing. Eventually, the lady I am staying with told me that her sister might have a timetable for the Spanish side of the border at least. She did. This is the link for the timetable for trains from La Tor de Querol to Barcelona.

http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/msi-dgac/Rodalies/PDF/Horari%20R3_obres.pdf

To find out about trains from France to La Tour de Carol, you basically have 4 options:

1) go to your nearest tourist office and they should give you a timetable (I was given one for Toulouse to La Tour de Carol

2) Ask for a timetable at any train station in the Midi-Pyrénées

3) Ring the number for the Midi-Pyrénées section of railway on 0891 677 677 for a cost of 0,23€ a min and ask about trains to La Tour de Carol

4) Use this tool to search the next departures from any station in the Midi-Pyrénées

http://www.ter-sncf.com/Regions/midi_pyrenees/Fr/Se_deplacer_en_TER/Avant_mon_voyage/Tableau_des_prochains_departs/Default.aspx

To give a rough idea, there are 6 trains per day from Toulouse to La Tour de Carol, leaving at 6.47, 8.49, 10.50, 14.50, 16.50 and 18.50. It takes just under 3 hours and costs less than 20€.

The train from La Tour de Carol to Barcelona St. Andreu Arenal also takes just under 3 hours and costs about 10€.

By taking this little known route, you will only be saving about an hour of your time, but financially, you will be saving about 50€ each way, which, for me at least, was the difference between deciding whether to go or not!

The route you take is less than half the distance of the route proposed on the SNCF website and looks roughly like this:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=tarascon+sur+ariege+to+barcelona&sll=42.399122,3.361816&sspn=2.239172,7.020264&ie=UTF8&ll=42.147114,2.878418&spn=2.24814,7.020264&t=h&z=7

The back of the Megabus!

Well, I did go to New York again.  And I took the Megabus from the Baltimore stop in White Marsh.  I bought two round trips — one for today (April 9th) and the other for May 17th.  The fare for both of these trips was $4.50 — a dollar for each of the trips and a fifty cent booking fee.

Once again, the journey went without a hitch.  The ride out was on time and everything was fine.  I had the seat just behind the driver, which is the one I prefer.  On the way back, I sat in the front row at the top, which was fine too.

I am going to keep reporting on these trips because, at these prices, it really does seem too good to be true.  But it really works, and it is such a delight to be able to visit New York frequently.  My only problem with the Megabus is when you show up at Penn Station to come back, everything seems a bit chaotic, and it can be a bit miserable waiting around in the crowds particularly if it is cold or rainy.  But it always seems to work out in the end.

I like taking these trips to New York so much that I have booked a trip every single month from now until September!

Megabus leaving New York with the Empire State Building in the background

Today, I became a bit curious about where these splendid machines come from.  I wondered how much they cost and that is what I decided to find out.

Entering the Lincoln Tunnel

They are made by a Belgian company called Van Hool.  The model is the TD925 Astromega USA.  There is a TD925 Astromega that is made for European market.  As far as I can tell, the American model is pretty much the same except that it is equipped to comply with US laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act.  And in case you’re thinking of getting one, the cost is $615, 000.  Investing abour $10 million, Megabus bought 18 of them.

Just like cars. the TD925 comes with all sorts of options.  The specification chosen by Megabus has 59 seats upstairs and 22 on the lower deck.  It is powered a Cummins ISM07 engine that generates 450 bhp.  On the lower deck, wheelchair riders can be accommodated by sliding the seats forward.  The gear box is a 12-speed automatic, and the buses also feature ABS.  There are power outlets all over the bus and Wi-Fi.  There are two staircases and a toilet.

I noticed that an option on the European version was an elevator (lift).  That sounds like a lot of fun!.

Before buying these buses, Megabus commissioned engineers at the University of Michigan to do a study to make sure that they were safe enough in terms of their ability to tilt.  According to Wikipedia, there have been a couple of accidents with these buses, but I don’t think a Megabus has never toppled over.

The Megabus stop in New York

This story is a continuation of one that you can see by clicking here.

This was not the right day for Megabus.  The weather people had talked about plenty of rain, and I was expecting torrents, but, fortunately, there just seemed to be a dreary drizzle all day, reminding me of when I lived in England!

In the last post, written from the bus, I described how one bus had been in an accident and the company struggled to cram to busloads into a single bus.  Things got worse after that.  When we got close to the services at Mount Laurel, NJ, 78 miles from New York, our driver, Anita, announced that she was losing power and would have to stop and call a mechanic.

After about half an hour, another bus came, which was only half full, and I was able to get a seat on that.  This got me in the city at about 1:15 — or about an hour and half late.

The ride back also got off to a rocky start.  The rain was getting a little heavier, and it is fairly obvious that one of the ways in which Megabus manages its costs is by not having sheltered bus terminal.  So, when things get a little rough, and buses are running late, there is pretty much no alternative except to stand in the rain.

I arrived at the bus stop about half an hour early, and there seemed to be huge crowds of people, and I began to wonder whether I would ever get away.  I even contemplated buying a ticket for a later bus and coming back when it was less crowded.

Waiting for the Megabus in the rain

Surprisingly, though, my bus that was scheduled for 6:30 pm showed up about only about 20 minutes late.  We left New York at about 7:00, and we arrived in Baltimore only about half an hour late.

Would I take a Megabus again from Baltimore to New York?  Absolutely!  All in all, I think they did pretty well when everything (weather, accidents, and mechanical problems) was going against them, and I just love being able to visit New York for a low price.  I really recommend this service!

A double decker Megabus

I am off work today, and I decided to spend the day in New York, meet some friends, take photographs, walk in the park, drink some wine, and take the bus back.  The dreary weather forecast suggests that the wine part will become a more important part of the day than originally anticipated!

It is always interesting to observe how a travel company behaves under stress.  I was booked on the Megabus that leaves Baltimore (White Marsh) at 8:25 in the morning.  The bus arrived about 10 minutes late, and, Anita, the driver got off to make an announcement.  She told the long line of passengers that the bus that had been scheduled to leave White Marsh at 7:55 had been in an accident, and she asked everyone to form two lines — the people with reservations for 7:55, and another line for those due to leave at 8:25.  Once the passengers had categorized themselves, she told the crowd that her instructions were to accommodate the 8:25 passengers first and then she would do her best to accommodate the people with reservations on the earlier bus.

I felt sorry for her as she had to deal with howls of protest from the 7:55 group, and she (very courteously) explained that she was simply following instructions from her company.  My guess is that about half the early group was left standing at the bus stop.

As you can imagine, it took a while to sort out the passengers, seat everyone, and, finally a very crowded bus left White Marsh at about 8:50.

I don’t know when the people with 7:55 tickets will ever get to New York, but I write this post comfortably seated on the bus with a Wi-Fi connection still thrilled with my ticket that I bought for just one dollar!

The rest of the journey and the ride back to Baltimore on Megabus can be found by clicking here.

Cheap Advance Tickets

I had heard rumours of Southern’s wonderfully cheap advance online tickets from the south coast to London Victoria from friends, and was greatly intrigued. So, when I wanted to go to London for a couple of days, instead of just booking a Megabus, I decided to check out the Southern Trains website.

The way the advance tickets work is that you enter your journey details, then view all the different available train times, and they tell you how much it will cost to get each train. Essentially you pay for a particular train, and that is the only journey your ticket is valid for. I found a reasonable variety of trains that were only £6, not just ones at ridiculous times as I had been expecting. The one I decided on in the end was the 8 42, arriving into Victoria at 10 46. I only paid £4 because I have a third off with my young person’s railcard (£26 for one year). I found another selection of £6 journeys available for my way back the next day and booked the 20 32, the last direct train to Cosham from Victoria.

For the advance tickets, you have to pay by credit card online. You then have two choices for getting the tickets: 1) have them sent to you by post for a charge of £6 per booking 2) collect them yourself from the self-service ticket machine at the station of your choice. I chose the second option. To collect the tickets, you need to have the reference number they email you, as well as the card you used to pay online. You select the ‘collect pre-paid tickets’ option on the screen, then put your card into the ticket machine (they don’t take any money from it), and then type in the reference number.

The total, for there and back on two different days, was £8 (price without young person’s railcard would be £12). As you are still using normal trains, your journey quality is not affected in any way. The disadvantage is of course the inconvenience of only being able to choose between certain trains when booking, and then being committed to catching that exact train once you have booked it. And there is of course the risk that you might miss your train and end up having to pay for another ticket. If you are prepared to accept these inconveniences however, this is a very good way of paying a lot less for exactly the same train service you would get if you paid the full price.

USA Today Reports on the Travel Situation

February 11, 2010, Washington   It wasn’t the worst day to travel, but it was certainly wasn’t one of the best.  But these challenging days are useful experience for the traveler.  When things are fine, it is quite easy for an airline to give you good service with a smile, but when there is nasty weather about or some other problem, you quickly see who lives up to the promise of being easy to deal with and who doesn’t.

It’s quite amazing how many companies you find that you are dealing with when you try to get out of a place.  Here are a few of the companies I was doing business with when I left London.  I have given each a grade based on how they dealt with me as a customer in the circumstances.  This does not reflect the quality of their products, which I’ll discuss in other posts.

Hotwire – Hotwire sells “last minute” hotel room, and I’d booked with them to stay at the Holiday Inn at Brentford Lock.  I phoned them to say that it was possible that I might arrive a day late because of the weather and asked them to inform the hotel.  They told me that if I arrived late my whole hotel reservation would be canceled, and perhaps I should talk to the hotel about this.  In any case, I should not call them until my delay looked like a certainty, in which case they said they would help me out.

This raises serious issues with Hotwire.  I had booked two rooms for six nights.  This means that, if there had been a delay, I stood to lose 12 room nights.  I would find it understandable if they did not refund you money for the nights you missed, but the idea that your entire stay might be cancelled is appalling.

If I use Hotwire again – and I am not sure that I will – I will make sure that I split the booking.  I’ll book one night following my arrival as one stay and the rest of my stay as another.

Grade D+

Holiday Inn (Brentford Lock) – If I arrived late, they said, my entire reservation would be canceled.  And since I’d booked with Hotwire, I should talk to them.  Grade F

Budget – My usual way of getting to an airport is to rent a car.  My preferred rental company is Hertz, but I sometimes rent from Budget as the price of a Hertz car is often too high.  I had made my reservation at the nearby Laurel office on the day before my flight.  Because of the snow, that office was closed so I couldn’t pick my car up.  They would not offer “pick up” service without 24 hours notice, and they wanted to raise my price because I did not pick up my car at the appointed time.  After trying to explain to them that the only reason that I had failed to pick up the car was because they had close, I told them to stuff it, and I ordered a car from Columbia Airport Shuttle.  Grade F

Columbia Airport Shuttle – I ordered the car at about 10:30 on this very difficult day.  Yes, they could pick me up at 12:15.  They arrived exactly on time.  The only minor gripe with them is that the driver said he’d prefer cash although they advertise that they accept credit cards on their web site.  Pleasant and safe driver!  Comfortable, large SUV with nice leather seats for $100.  Grade A-

Lufthansa – Cheerful and efficient check in despite a chaotically long line at the desk.  Timely notification about a two-hour delay.  They worked hard to find an aisle seat for me on a crowded plane.  Nice touch – bottled water and snacks at the check-in counter!  Grade A.

TripIt – I use TripIt.com to manage my travel schedules, and, on the whole, I like the service very much.  I subscribe to TripIt Pro, which charges an annual fee.  TripIt was mostly fine.  For a bizarre reason, TripIt thinks I am spending the week in New York rather than London.  And I knew about the delay to my flight before I got the message from TripIt.  Grade B.