Megabus.com adds Philadelphia-D.C. line

Penn students heading to the nation’s capital will soon have a new inexpensive travel option.

Starting March 21, megabus.com — an intercity express bus service — will offer a route between Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

Megabus.com CEO Dale Moser said there is a “high demand” for a bus route between the two cities.

Of the services popular among students, BoltBus does not offer routes between Philadelphia and Washington, while New Century Travel and Apexbus do.

With the addition of the new bus route, “the demand is being met,” Moser added. “Obviously, this will help tourism.”

Buses will depart daily from Philadelphia at 3:05 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. Travel time between the two cities is an estimated at two and a half to three hours, according to a megabus.com press release.

As a promotion of the Philadelphia-Washington line, the company is offering $1 to $5 seating on the new route. Regular prices range from $1 to $11. Customers who make early reservations have a better chance of obtaining lower pricing, according to Moser.

The double decker buses offer free wireless internet, plug-in outlets, accessibility features for disabled persons.

They also “give off seven times less carbon dioxide than a standard automobile and take less than a pint of fuel per passenger mile,” Moser said.

By taking a bus instead of an individual car, passengers can help decongest highways, he explained.

“You save money in your pocket, but you’ve done all of these other things for the environment at the same time,” Moser said.

Megabus.com began service in the Midwest in April 2006 and on the East Coast in March 2008, according to Moser.

“I’ve taken buses to New York before, and as far as I can see, they’re just as nice as the train and cheaper,” Engineering freshman Lena Abraham said of megabus.com.

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