Thursday, June 5, 2008

You Get What You Pay For?

On our recent trip to New York to help the Macdonalds (pictured below) move to Long Island, Katie and I noticed that this cliche is often false. Our first ride on Megabus made us realize this (see megabus.com). I saw posters in Baltimore advertising bus trips to NYC from $1 plus a $.50 reservation fee. I thought it was definitely some sort of trick like the tickets were $1, but to get off the bus you have to give them all your clothing and jewelry. So we booked tickets and it turned out to be ZERO dollars plus a $.50 reservation fee for Katie and Luke and myself to ride home to Baltimore from NYC. It turned out to be the nicest bus I have ever taken to or from NYC. There was free Wi-Fi. It was half empty. We had like ten seats all to ourselves in the back plus a three seat bench to sleep on. And the bathroom was nice and clean with hand sanitizer included. Below I will summarize the different buses we have taken and try to get a new cliche started (pardon the oxymoron)--the more you pay, the more it is lame.

China Bus

  • pervasive outhouse stench present that gets stronger, the closer you are to the back of the bus. When bathroom door actually opens it is a slap to the olfactories that will bring you to tears.
  • You must speak Mandarin if you want to call customer service
  • If you miss your bus (we did this) you are now homeless in NYC for the night
  • $35 round trip per person

Greyhound

  • Mild bathroom stench on some buses
  • almost always a person in every seat
  • so many departures 24/7 that if you miss your bus (we did this) you are only homeless for about an hour
  • $30 round trip per person

Megabus

  • Freindly British gentleman takes your tickets and tickles your baby
  • 10 seat family suite at the back of the bus
  • bathroom smells so good they should bottle the scent and sell it
  • brand new buses
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • $.25 per person (I know it's probably some kind of start up promotion, but this is what we paid.)

So the next time you hear someone say, "You get what you pay for." say, "don't you mean--the more you pay, the more it is lame."


7 comments:

Deon said...

Really?? I have never heard of Megabus. We have taken some service out of Hunt Valley for 50$, and I gotta say, it was really nice = this looks as good and WAY cheaper!! Thanks for the tip!!

Christie said...

Wow, man, I need to take advantage of that! Sounds so cool

victoria said...

How fun to go to NYC so much! Buses remind me of my mish - so that's a good thing. And that picture at the bottom - Katie's hair looks a little redder, and you have an extra kid. Or is that Schoss?

Katie said...

That is not Schoss. That is the Macdonald family near their new home in Long Island. They're the best. We helped them move to Long Island and we took the Megabus home.

Starley Family said...

You've been Tagged!!! Oh and why didn't we hear about this bus deal when Nate and I lived in Baltimore?!! Just kidding.

Carter Family said...

Where is megabus when you need it?
Bryce

Weavers said...

That's awesome!!!! We're going to miss new york :( boo on not having the east coast in utah.

Every story has a beginning...

Joey and Katie first met in Mr. Hawkes 3rd grade class at Valley Elementary. They became good friends in Jr. High and best friends in High School. Katie wrote to Joey on his mission in Tiajuana and Joey wrote to Katie later on her mission in Tokyo. Years later at the ripe old age of 25, these best friends finally fell in love... or maybe just realized they were already in love. They got married on January 22, 2004.

happy kids

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