MikeM
OBS Chief
Ran across this article today, thought I'd share it for everyone. Pretty fun when you vote down train service to your own constituents then hope your vote is overridden by someone else.
Iowa Service Funding
Iowa Service Funding
When a given Megabus service is pretty new, tickets in the $1-3 range are easy to score. I think the low bucket must be pretty much the whole bus. After a few months, when service is established, the low bucket is shrunk to maybe two seats. But they can still advertise service "for a buck" just as before. It's just that you've now got a 95% chance of paying $15 whereas for those first few months, you probably had a 95% chance of paying under $5. Still, $15 is pretty cheap.There was a fun canard article at one of the papers at (I think) the University of Iowa beating up on the proposed train there. Why do I call it a canard? The guy writing the article tried to compare the cost of a train with a $1 Megabus ticket...you know, the type that you get if you're extremely lucky and that they only have a handful of on each bus (I've heard it's around 4-5 per bus), and that necessarily not everyone on campus could hope to purchase? I'll go ahead and grant that to a lot of those students, comfort is at best a secondary concern and that many of them would rather save a small amount of money than travel in a more comfortable service, but though I know Amtrak also uses buckets, I'd be shocked if you could get those $1 tickets as easily as a low bucket Amtrak fare.
That free parking must belong to the town or someone else. Megabus is notorious for freeloading off of others, so I'm sure that the parking lot doesn't belong to them.ying under $5. Still, $15 is pretty cheap.Right now, it's still easy to score $3 tickets for Megabus running from Amherst to New York (with free parking in Amherst); compare that with $40+ for Amtrak from Amherst or with greater frequency from Springfield (with $8/day parking in Springfield or another $20 r/t bus from Amherst to Springfield). Even when those $3 fares essentially evaporate and become $15 fares, it's still a $50-100 round-trip savings over Amtrak for a weekend in New York.
Nope, it belongs to the Hampshire Mall, whose parking lot is about five times as large as it needs to be.That free parking must belong to the town or someone else. Megabus is notorious for freeloading off of others, so I'm sure that the parking lot doesn't belong to them.ying under $5. Still, $15 is pretty cheap.Right now, it's still easy to score $3 tickets for Megabus running from Amherst to New York (with free parking in Amherst); compare that with $40+ for Amtrak from Amherst or with greater frequency from Springfield (with $8/day parking in Springfield or another $20 r/t bus from Amherst to Springfield). Even when those $3 fares essentially evaporate and become $15 fares, it's still a $50-100 round-trip savings over Amtrak for a weekend in New York.
Exactly what I figured. And that's why Mega can offer such fares, because they freeload off of everyone. Go to Chicago and they tell you to use the Amtrak station to go to the bathroom.Nope, it belongs to the Hampshire Mall, whose parking lot is about five times as large as it needs to be.That free parking must belong to the town or someone else. Megabus is notorious for freeloading off of others, so I'm sure that the parking lot doesn't belong to them.ying under $5. Still, $15 is pretty cheap.Right now, it's still easy to score $3 tickets for Megabus running from Amherst to New York (with free parking in Amherst); compare that with $40+ for Amtrak from Amherst or with greater frequency from Springfield (with $8/day parking in Springfield or another $20 r/t bus from Amherst to Springfield). Even when those $3 fares essentially evaporate and become $15 fares, it's still a $50-100 round-trip savings over Amtrak for a weekend in New York.
It's about time!Exactly what I figured. And that's why Mega can offer such fares, because they freeload off of everyone. Go to Chicago and they tell you to use the Amtrak station to go to the bathroom.Nope, it belongs to the Hampshire Mall, whose parking lot is about five times as large as it needs to be.That free parking must belong to the town or someone else. Megabus is notorious for freeloading off of others, so I'm sure that the parking lot doesn't belong to them.ying under $5. Still, $15 is pretty cheap.Right now, it's still easy to score $3 tickets for Megabus running from Amherst to New York (with free parking in Amherst); compare that with $40+ for Amtrak from Amherst or with greater frequency from Springfield (with $8/day parking in Springfield or another $20 r/t bus from Amherst to Springfield). Even when those $3 fares essentially evaporate and become $15 fares, it's still a $50-100 round-trip savings over Amtrak for a weekend in New York.
NY City is currently working on a law that will ban and/or regulate street pickups both for the Mega's of the world and the Chinese bus services to stop some of these abuses.
There are cities where Megabus "freeloads". But if they're in the parking lot of a mall, they've gotten permission, probably telling mall owners that Megabus passengers are likely to buy things at the mall while waiting. That's not freeloading. It's just a business agreement. I'm sure there are loads of malls that would love to have intercity bus service scheduled from their lot (along with many that wouldn't allow it.)Exactly what I figured. And that's why Mega can offer such fares, because they freeload off of everyone. Go to Chicago and they tell you to use the Amtrak station to go to the bathroom.Nope, it belongs to the Hampshire Mall, whose parking lot is about five times as large as it needs to be.That free parking must belong to the town or someone else. Megabus is notorious for freeloading off of others, so I'm sure that the parking lot doesn't belong to them.ying under $5. Still, $15 is pretty cheap.Right now, it's still easy to score $3 tickets for Megabus running from Amherst to New York (with free parking in Amherst); compare that with $40+ for Amtrak from Amherst or with greater frequency from Springfield (with $8/day parking in Springfield or another $20 r/t bus from Amherst to Springfield). Even when those $3 fares essentially evaporate and become $15 fares, it's still a $50-100 round-trip savings over Amtrak for a weekend in New York.
NY City is currently working on a law that will ban and/or regulate street pickups both for the Mega's of the world and the Chinese bus services to stop some of these abuses.
Why would there be fuel shortages? So long as there aren't price controls in place, prices should rise as much as they need to and there won't be shortages.When the price of gasoline dips over $4 per gallon and fuel shortages start to occur , watch and see what happens.
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