Discuss Detroit » Archives - Beginning January 2006 » Bus company plans $1 fares between Detroit/Chicago « Previous Next »
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Jmcbroom
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Username: Jmcbroom

Post Number: 45
Registered: 07-2004
Posted From: 160.39.138.215
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 - 6:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/ business/chi-ap-il-cheapbusfar e,1,6993070.story?coll=chi-bus iness-hed

This seems like a Midwestern version of the Chinatown buses that college students like me use to get around the East Coast. Glad to see that these cheap buses are coming to the Midwest. Even the non-$1 fares are cheap. 8 bucks seems to be a normal fare between Detroit and Chicago, and it's not much slower than a car.

www.megabus.com
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Bob
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Username: Bob

Post Number: 897
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 205.188.116.137
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 - 6:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

You beat me to posting this. Not sure how they will make that time, since traffic around Chicago will hamper that. Amtrak may have to deal with freight traffic, but I would take that over having to sit on a bus in traffic. Will be interesting to see if they make it.


http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20060402/B IZ/604020383/1001
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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1049
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.248.55.184
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 - 7:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It does sound like a great idea. I guess the Detroit-Chicago Megabus is a non-stop route, whereas Amtrak has several stops, which is how Megabus can potentially be quicker.
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Bob
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Username: Bob

Post Number: 898
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 205.188.116.137
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 - 8:04 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Non-stop yes, but do you actually think it will be able to get through Chicago traffic and make it on time?
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Paulmcall
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Username: Paulmcall

Post Number: 627
Registered: 05-2004
Posted From: 68.40.119.216
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 - 8:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Boy, that will be a great ride with everyone who can scrape up a buck. Better bring some air freshener.
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Focusonthed
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Username: Focusonthed

Post Number: 90
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 24.192.25.47
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 - 10:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Interesting...I wonder if any of the transient population will choose to leave, once they hear of this. Panhandle for a dollar, then hit the road for the "bigger opportunities" in Chicago.
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Thrice
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Username: Thrice

Post Number: 82
Registered: 08-2005
Posted From: 207.91.250.131
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 - 10:26 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, lots of homeless people have credit cards and computer access....

I'll be riding it next month for sure when I head to chicago.
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3468
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 - 10:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Great idea. This should hold some off until we can put together that Midwest, high-speed rail network (still years off, it seems).
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Focusonthed
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Username: Focusonthed

Post Number: 91
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 24.192.25.47
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 12:27 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My bad, I forgot the part about no walk-up sales.
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Ddaydave
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Username: Ddaydave

Post Number: 362
Registered: 04-2005
Posted From: 67.149.185.244
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 12:34 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

at a lot of those detroit stops I wouldn`t leave my car for a weekend
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Smogboy
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Username: Smogboy

Post Number: 2196
Registered: 11-2004
Posted From: 69.47.100.44
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 12:47 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Just how many of those $1 seats are there going to be?

From the sounds of it, it could be very interesting. I still miss good ol' Southwest Airlines flying out of City Airport for about $60 round trip to Chicago; I made a few impromptu lunches that way!
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Nellonfury
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Username: Nellonfury

Post Number: 127
Registered: 03-2005
Posted From: 68.43.156.135
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 4:26 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Speaking of buses, has anyone heard anything when the city is going to start on The New Rosa Parks Bus Transit Center?? The ground breaking was past months ago and my friend and I was taking about it.
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E_hemingway
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Username: E_hemingway

Post Number: 541
Registered: 11-2004
Posted From: 68.42.176.123
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 8:17 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The $1 fare is only to get headlines and free press. I'll bet those prices drift away fairly quickly. I wonder how the average fare will match up against the Greyhound and Amtrak prices?
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Bob
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Username: Bob

Post Number: 899
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 205.188.116.137
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 9:17 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

With gas prices being the way they are, there is no way they'll make money on this. The article did say that there were something like four seats per bus at the $1 level. They they go up from there, but if will "competative" with other methods of transportation to Chicago. I don't see this service lasting.
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Danny
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Username: Danny

Post Number: 3894
Registered: 02-2004
Posted From: 141.217.174.229
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 9:51 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

$1 bus ride from Chi-Town to Detroit. Excellent ideal. Now that's public transit.
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Genesyxx
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Username: Genesyxx

Post Number: 470
Registered: 02-2004
Posted From: 12.2.196.17
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 10:18 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, those $1 seats are flying quick! You'd have to go a month down the line to have a chance at finding them. It's still cheaper and a good deal, at least until they hike prices.
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Machoken
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Username: Machoken

Post Number: 1176
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 207.145.38.104
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 10:23 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I think this service could succeed. Last time I flew to Chicago (the boss made me do it), after all was said and done it ended up taking me just over 5 1/2 hours to get to my destination on the gold coast. And that cost I think more than $200 plus rental car. So next time I can take a bus for less than $10 and the trip will take just about the same amount of time as it would to fly? Put me down, I'm down.
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Warriorfan
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Username: Warriorfan

Post Number: 295
Registered: 08-2005
Posted From: 68.43.81.191
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 11:46 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

High-speed rail would be sweet.
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Quinn
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Username: Quinn

Post Number: 694
Registered: 01-2005
Posted From: 64.139.64.80
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 4:15 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

How can they afford this? Where is their margin? Seems like a dumb business idea.
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Machoken
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Username: Machoken

Post Number: 1179
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 207.145.38.104
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 4:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Megabus appears to have started in the UK, and seems to be quite successful with a comprehensive list of destinations from London.

http://www.megabus.com/uk
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Machoken
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Username: Machoken

Post Number: 1180
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 207.145.38.104
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 4:38 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

One thing that I think will help this service succeed is the availability of rental cars near the bus stops, especially for people coming into Detroit from Chicago. I assume that renting a car (or hopping on the El) at Union Station in Chicago is pretty easy to do, but how about renting a car in GCP and on Wayne State's campus?
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Lurker
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Username: Lurker

Post Number: 1616
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 65.196.220.198
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 4:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


quote:

but how about renting a car in GCP



There is an Avis 2 blocks south.
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Thrice
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Username: Thrice

Post Number: 83
Registered: 08-2005
Posted From: 207.91.250.131
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 4:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

its also a people mover stop. You can be at the Rencen in 5-10 minutes....
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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1055
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 136.2.1.103
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 5:03 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


quote:

How can they afford this? Where is their margin? Seems like a dumb business idea.



See this quote from the DetNews article: "Every bus will have three or four $1 one-way seats available on a first-come, first-serve basis. As those sell out, a slightly higher price ticket will become available.
Ticket prices will continue to rise gradually as each price point sells out.
Alvich would not disclose the top ticket price between Detroit and Chicago, but said it would be below the competition."

So, most tickets will be more than $1. The chart lists the round-trip costs at $9, so perhaps that is the price for the largest block of tickets. But then they might raise prices up to $40 or whatever as the bus gets closer to filling up. As long as it's still cheaper than the competition (Amtrak at $72), they can still sell tickets.

Also, I'm guessing they are saving some money by only having online ordering.
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Thrice
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Username: Thrice

Post Number: 84
Registered: 08-2005
Posted From: 207.91.250.131
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 5:06 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Just from playing around with the pricing on the website, I've found $1, $7 and $15 tickets and up from there.

My trip to chicago next month is going to cost
$1 Detroit -> Chicago
$15 Chicago -> Detroit


Great system though, hope they stay around a long time.
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Focusonthed
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Username: Focusonthed

Post Number: 95
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 209.220.229.254
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 5:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I don't know where they got $72 from. When I went to Chicago from Ann Arbor, it was $45 round trip. Amtrak's fares are progressive based on distance, so there's no way it cost $22 more to go to Detroit, as it only cost $1 more to go from Dearborn.
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Jsmyers
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Username: Jsmyers

Post Number: 1524
Registered: 12-2003
Posted From: 209.131.7.68
Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 6:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Amtrak prices can get really high on a weekend when you take a long trip and don't plan in advance.

But if you plan ahead they are pretty good.

BTW - Always check the hot deals section on Amtrak. If there is a sale on a certain train, you won't find it on the normal system. Some friends of mine went AA-Detroit on Saturday for $6.90. $10 is normal.
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Bob
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Username: Bob

Post Number: 903
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 64.12.116.204
Posted on Tuesday, April 04, 2006 - 10:23 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, you have to check out the "Rail Sale" section of Amtrak's website. I can see people getting really ticked at this new company for advertising so much for $1 seats, then having to pay $40. I have traveled on Amtrak to Chicago numerous times and never paid $72 round trip.
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Vic_doucette
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Username: Vic_doucette

Post Number: 262
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 65.196.220.198
Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 1:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A friend of mine used this service to come to Detroit yesterday. She spent $8 for her ticket. The bus was new, clean and comfortable, and the driver was quite friendly. The bus left Chicago on time, navigated construction hassles on Chicago's Dan Ryan Expressway, yet still made it to the WSU bus stop a few minutes early. She loved it.

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