Amtrak Buses - How bad are they??

[MistressJane]

Have ridden Ambus from Reno to Sacramento, Orlando to Tampa, and Emeryville to SF. All were good trips and nice equipment. Don't hesitate if it makes your travel plans work. But, I am curious about your option 2. Why NEC regional, Carolinian, and Silver Star. Why not just Silver Star all the way from NY to Tampa? The Star's route is a bit more circuitous than the Meteor but that would be my choice, since it allows you to stay in your sleeper -or coach- the whole way.

That's an excellent question! I just entered my start and end points into Amtrak.com and this was the route it chose for me. I had no idea the Silver Star (and the direct train to TPA) existed until I (for some reason) googled "Silver Meteor" and read the wikipedia. I'll try your suggestion and see what comes up. If the timing and price are right--you may have saved the day! =]

 

[MistressJane]

Just ordered my tickets! I decided to go with [almost] everyone's advice and try the bus from Orlando to Tampa. The only bummer is that I waited so long to make my decision that my ticket price went up. D'oh!

 

[zepherdude]

I ride the Amtrak bus from Eugene to PDX and the service is prompt and professional. There is even a bus stop on the University of Oregon Campus. I suppose the quality depends on the company that contracts the service from Amtrak. Bus is quality and modern in every way. A great way to augment Amtrak service.

 

[transit54]

Most seem to be made by Van Hool in Belgium- sad that the US can't even build a bus anymore.

Sure they can. Ever heard of MCI? That being said, most of the coach buses I see are made in Canada (and MCI does have a Canadian factory also). Van Hool is becoming more popular in the US, however.

 

[taking the cars]

I'll let you know in on Tuesday. I'v just been informed tat my wife and I will be taking a bus instead of the eastbound EB to Chicago tomorrow morning due to freight train mishaps and such. IT seems to happen every time we take the EB during holidays. Eight hours on the EB or a bus? Not looking forward to the latter.

 

[Durham57]

Can anyone tell me what the Amtrak buses are like from Los Angeles Union Station to Bakersfield? I would be connecting to the San Joaquin up to Emeryville. The trip varies between two and three hours.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

Can anyone tell me what the Amtrak buses are like from Los Angeles Union Station to Bakersfield? I would be connecting to the San Joaquin up to Emeryville. The trip varies between two and three hours.

Definitely fine. If it is a nonstop bus, you will get to Bakersfield far ahead of schedule, too. As I and others said in previous posts, the Amtrak California buses are nice enough, especially for a trip as short as LA-Bakersfield.

 

[gswager]

Can anyone tell me what the Amtrak buses are like from Los Angeles Union Station to Bakersfield? I would be connecting to the San Joaquin up to Emeryville. The trip varies between two and three hours.

I've used it several times on LAX - BFD route and will use it again in a few weeks. It's a very nice bus. Be sure to ask driver if the bus will take you to Bakersfield non-stop. I think one of the bus will have to do local pick-up on the way to Bakersfield.

 

[Railroad Bill]

We have ridden the Thruway bus from LA to and from Bakersfield and it was a nice experience (except my 6'6" frame doesn't fit behind the seat very well :giggle: ) The bus was clean, passengers nice, and the scenery going over the mountains is great.

 

[Shanghai]

Ive found the Amtrak buses to be very nice- not at all like the greydog of yore. In California at least they are new, upholstered and comfortable, usually with plenty of room. I just did the three hour bus leg from Santa Barbara to Bakersfield, and the bus even had wifi. Most seem to be made by Van Hool in Belgium- sad that the US can't even build a bus anymore.

I read the two buses for Obama were manufactured in Canada.

I thought the Greyhound buses were manufactured by a Greyhound subsidary

company in the USA.

 

[aviva_dawn]

I feel like an old hand with the AmBus. I've traveled more on them than on trains, I think.

In California at least, and then also SAC-RNO and SAC to CCN (when Amtrak still went there.....miss that....) and really enjoyed it. Even during my trip the weekend before this one when I was on one for eight hours from SBA to Oakland-Jack London....it was overnight and I slept on my window seat against my coat for nearly the entire trip.

 

[taking the cars]

On the 28th we ended up taking a bus from St. Paul to Chicago because the Eastbound EB was hours late. My only complaint is that the seating is too cramped. They should remove two rows of seats and give every remaining row more room. Even my wife who is five foot, seven inches found it cramped.

Otherwise, there was free water, newspapers and a snack. The driver was very capable and we got into Chicago an hour early. Because of the delay we each got a five dollar meal credit at a stop.

 

[fillyjonk]

I think it depends on the lead-time before a bus is needed. I've done bustitutions from STL to BNL during the trackwork, these were large, motor-coach type buses and were fairly comfortable. But I also got stuck with a bus during a flooding incident - it was not much better than a standard city bus, and my major complaint was that it was an overnight run, and the driver played shoot-em-up movies ALL NIGHT LONG on the on-board videoscreens - I did not sleep one bit, even with earplugs.

That might have been fine for folks who didn't have to work the next day, but I did, and I was really unhappy.

That said, I'm not sure how comfortable I would find the motorcoach type buses for overnight travel...not a huge amount of legroom.

 

[JayPea]

I had to take a bus this past June from Portland to Spokane when the EB for that section was cancelled. It was roomy and comfortable. They gave us a complimentary boxed dinner, which was good, and we had a bathroom/snack stop about halfway through. It wasn't a train but it did the job just fine. The driver and the Amtrak employee both did a great job. I wish more Amtrak conductors/coach car attendants were like this one was.

 

[mary crawford]

DO NOT DEPEND ON THE BUSES......We were left stranded in Galveston. 2 seniors just left behind and when we called Amtrak they wouldn't even offer any help. Our ticket was issued by AMTRAK...not a bus company