1 0 2 P A R T 4 G E T T I N G I N A N D G E T T I N G A R O U N D

boggling, generally intimidating, and frequently terrifying. This is truly a city where you should leave the driving to the experts—even though, as you will discover, “expertise” in New York cab driving translates to a sort of inspired insanity. (And multilingual at that. If you happen to be an aficionado of foreign-language cursing, as Eve is, riding in cabs can be very educational, if nerve-wracking.)

And then you have to pay for parking (which, even if your hotel has its own lot, will cost you $25 to $50 a day) and gas (much of which you’ll eat up idling in traffic or circling the one-way streets to your destination—not to mention avoiding aggressive pedestrians).

Despite recurrent complains about service cuts, ticket-price hikes, and proliferating fees, air travel is still the primary option for visitors coming from several hundred miles away, or from another country. At the four New York–area airports, you can expect the lengthy security screenings that are now routine at U.S. facilities, so be sure to arrive two or more hours prior to departure time.

Train travel has been less affected by new security procedures than has air or automobile travel, though spot security checks are increasingly frequent, especially at holiday times. If you previously considered flying up from Washington or down from Boston on one of the air shuttles, you’ll probably save time by switching from the plane to the train—or to one of the new upscale bus services that are even more competitively priced, if you’re in the right city to book one. And for many European or Canadian visitors, and even some U.S. residents along the East Coast, there are more affordable cruise-ship options than ever before—one upside to the rough financial seas.

ARRIVAL STRATEGIES

B Y C A R

I F YO U A R E D E T E R M I N E D TO D R I V E I N TO M A N H AT TA N , there are

several major accesses. (If you’re willing to stay in one of the outer boroughs and stop before you actually cross onto the island, the directions are generally the same, but abbreviated, of course. You’ve got a GPS app on your smart phone, right?)

For those Luddite drivers who use maps the old-fashioned way: from southeast of New York, you can take Interstate 95 (the New Jersey Turnpike) north directly into Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge, which is more convenient if you are headed uptown. (Be aware that the bridge, which is a double-decker with a total of 14 lanes, can be pretty scary, especially at rush hour.) If you’re going into Midtown, you can transfer to NJ 495 and go in through the Lincoln Tunnel. If you’re headed into Lower Manhattan, you can get off I-95 onto I-78 near Jersey City and go into the city via the Holland Tunnel. If you’re staying in the southern suburbs, you could also turn

A R R I V A L S T R A T E G I E S 1 0 3

off I-95 onto I-278 near Elizabeth, New Jersey	unofficial T I P
(a stretch sometimes called the Union Free-	All the bridges and tunnels
way), cross the Goethals Bridge through Staten	into Manhattan require
Island, and continue across the Verrazano-	tolls, and the interstates
Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn.	and expressways do as
From areas northwest of the city, you could	well. It’s well worth getting
take Interstate 80 to I-95 to the George Wash-	an E-ZPass, a windshield-
ington Bridge. From Connecticut and other sites	mounted ”debit card” that
northeast of town, the main choices are taking	allows you to use express
I-95 south (again using the George Washington	toll lanes, before you head
Bridge) or connecting to I-87, which begins	out; go to www.e-zpass
at the Canadian border, becomes the Major	ny.com for information.
Deegan Expressway in the Bronx, and enters

the city through the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (known until 2008 as the Triborough Bridge and still generally referred to that way).

Incidentally, don’t get so focused on “visiting the city” that you forget other suburban options. Many visitors save money by staying in Jersey City, New Jersey—which has an increasingly impressive skyline of its own and great views of Manhattan—and taking the subway into town. Or you might consider driving to the Metropark train station in New Jersey, leaving the car there ($9 a day instead of $20), and taking New Jersey Transit ($13.75 round-trip or $16 at rush hour) into the city. (Amtrak also stops at Metropark but is more expensive.) To reach Metropark, take the New Jersey Turnpike to the Garden State Parkway, then go about two miles and take Exit 131 to Metropark.

B Y A I R

T H E N E W YO R K A R E A I S S E RV E D B Y T H R E E M A J O R A I R P O RT S —

LaGuardia, Kennedy, and Newark—and the smaller but useful Islip on Long Island.

LaGuardia Airport, in Queens, is the closest to Manhattan, about eight miles east. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), south of Queens on Jamaica Bay, and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey are both approximately 15 miles from the city. Islip, formally Long Island MacArthur Airport, is 50 miles east on Long Island.

LaGuardia primarily serves domestic flights and carriers. Islip serves only Southwest and US Airways. JFK and Newark handle both international and domestic air traffic.

In general, LaGuardia is closer and more convenient than JFK or Newark, though the difference is not all that great—about 20 or so additional minutes and about $10 in cab fare to most Manhattan destinations. However, there are free shuttles from JFK to the Howard Beach subway station, so you could make it into Manhattan for only $2. There is also bus service via New York Airport Service Express Bus

(# 212-875-8200; www.nyairportservice.com) from JFK ($15 one-way or $27 round-trip) and LaGuardia ($12 or $21).

1 0 4 P A R T 4 G E T T I N G I N A N D G E T T I N G A R O U N D

	unofficial T I P	If you’re visiting over the winter, we recom-
	If you’re booking your	mend flying into either Newark or JFK. These
		airports have longer runways and electronic
	ticket online, here are the
		instrumentation allowing them to operate in
	official abbreviations for
		weather that might shut LaGuardia down.
	the airports: LaGuardia
		And because they are larger than LaGuardia,
	is LGA; John F. Kennedy
		Newark and JFK can de-ice airplanes near
	is (not surprisingly) JFK;
		the active runways. At LaGuardia, planes are
	Newark is EWR (yep, no N),
		usually detoured to a remote staging area for
	and Islip is ISP.
		de-icing.

There’s actually a fifth option: fly into

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI), and then take an Amtrak train directly to New York Penn Station. There are more than 20 trains a day, and there is a free shuttle to the Amtrak station.

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N C H A R T

	NAME	SERVICE		PHONE
	Airlink	Bus service		# 212-812-9000
	Air-Ride	Airport transfer info		# 800-247-7433
	Amtrak	Train service		# 800-872-7245
	JFK International Airport	Airport		# 718-244-4444
	LaGuardia Airport	Airport		# 718-533-3400
	Long Island Rail Road	Commuter railroad		# 718-217-LIRR
	Metro-North Railroad	Commuter railroad		# 212-532-4900
	New Jersey Transit	Buses and trains to NYC		# 800-772-2222
	NYC Bridges & Tunnels	Bridge and tunnel info		# 800-221-9903
	NYC DOT	Parking, etc.		# 212-639-9675
	NYC Taxi & Limo Commission	New York City taxis		# 212-692-8294
	NYC Transit Authority	Subways and buses		# 718-330-1234
	New York Airport Service	NYC–airports bus service		# 718-875-8200
	New York Waterway	Commuter ferry service		# 800-533-3779
	Newark Liberty International	Airport		# 973-961-6000
	Airport
	Olympia Newark Liberty	Newark airport bus service		# 877-863-9275
	Airport Express Buses
	PATH Train	New Jersey–NYC train		# 800-234-7284
	Port Authority Bus Terminal	Bus and subway station		# 212-564-8484
	Road Conditions	Road condition information		# 800-847-8929,
				212-639-9675
	Super Shuttle	Airports–NYC shuttle		# 800-258-5826

New York Penn Station.

West Side,

A R R I V A L S T R A T E G I E S 1 0 5

Conventional trains take about three hours and a quarter, and at press time cost between $65 and $95 for a standard seat. The Acela Express makes the trip in two and a half hours and costs between $110 and $190 depending on the day of the week and time of day. Also, if you can fly directly from your home airport to BWI, the plane–train combo can sometimes get you to New York faster than an air itinerary that requires a change of planes.

Plus it can be a bargain. Unofficial Guide patriarch Bob Sehlinger has found that taking the BWI-Amtrak route from Birmingham saved him about 40% over even an economy fare to LaGuardia, JFK, or Newark. (Eve’s brother uses a similar strategy flying from Nashville to Islip: see next page.) And because Amtrak deposits you in the heart of Manhattan, you also save taxi or bus fares (and tolls) from the airport.

LaGuardia Airport

LaGuardia, the smallest of the four airports, is just off Grand Central Parkway in Queens. LaGuardia has four terminals. All airlines use the Central Terminal except Delta and US Airways. Delta also uses the Marine Air Terminal for Delta Shuttle flights. Because the Delta Shuttle operates at the opposite end of the airport from Delta’s other flights, make sure you know from which terminal your flight departs.

Flying to LaGuardia usually gets you to Manhattan the quickest. During nonrush periods, it takes about 20 to 25 minutes by cab or limo and 35 to 45 minutes by bus from LaGuardia to Midtown. During busy periods it may take up to an hour; however, going to the airport in afternoon rush-hour traffic is more problematic. If you’re booked on a flight that departs between 4:30 and 8 p.m. on weekdays, it’d be smart to leave three hours in advance by cab, more by shuttle bus.

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

JFK is a sprawling, confusing eight-terminal facility that most savvy travelers avoid. Almost 100 airlines, including most foreign ones, use JFK. International travelers make domestic connections here, as do Americans bound for international destinations. Upside: you can go between JFK and Manhattan by cab, limo, bus, or subway.

Newark International Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport has three terminals serving about 50 domestic and foreign airlines. All of the terminals and long-term parking lots are connected by monorail. Newark is better organized and less intimidating than JFK and generally more efficient than LaGuardia. If your Manhattan destination is on the

you should consider flying into Newark. Bus service, especially to

Downtown and to the Port Authority Terminal in Midtown, is excellent, with buses departing every 20 to 30 minutes, 24 hours a day. Amtrak runs between the airport and

1 0 6 P A R T 4 G E T T I N G I N A N D G E T T I N G A R O U N D

P U B L I C - T R A N S P O R T A T I O N R O U T E S F R O M L A G U A R D I A A I R P O R T

SERVICE	TO	DEPARTS	TRAVEL TIME
Super Shuttle	Drop-off any-	24 hours	55–110 minutes
Fare: $20	where between		depending on
	Battery Park and		destination
	227th Street; also
	stops at certain
	hotels
Cab	Any stop in	At your	20–35 minutes
Fare: $21–$30	Manhattan	convenience	depending on
plus tolls and tip			destination
			(nonrush)
Limo	Any stop in	At your	20–35 minutes
Fare: $35–$130	Manhattan	convenience	(nonrush)
depending on
vehicle type
New York Airport	Grand Central	Every 30 minutes,	35–45 minutes
Service (bus)	Terminal &	6:45 a.m.–	(nonrush)
Fare: $12–$15	Port Authority	midnight
one-way; $21–	Terminal
$33 round-trip

Long Island MacArthur Airport (Islip)

Islip services only about 2 million travelers a year, so if either Southwest or US Airways is your preferred carrier, flying there may not only less expensive but also less exasperating than using one of the other three. (Ireland’s Ryanair has proposed adding service to Dublin, which would mean constructing an immigration-customs area.)

Islip has only one terminal, with about eight gates and a food court (and free Wi-Fi). Eve’s brother, Michael, to whom this book is dedicated, finds that when flying Southwest from Nashville, even taking a town-car service the 50 miles or so into Manhattan saves him money. Depending on the company and the size of the car, it’s roughly $75 to $175, which in some cases includes the tolls and tip. The companies servicing Islip, their contact numbers, and their prices are listed on the airport’s Web

unofficial T I P	site, www.macarthurairport.com.
	If you want to go the bargain way, the Long
The great advantage of	Island Rail Road (LIRR) Ronkonkoma train
booking a limo is that you	station is very near the airport. A shuttle from
can go directly to your	Islip to the train station departs every 30 min-
destination, whereas with	utes from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., picking up
public transportation you	just outside the baggage-claim area; one-way
will still have to get from	fare is $5 (cash or credit card). There is also
Midtown to your hotel.	bus service every hour, the Suffolk Country

A R R I V A L S T R A T E G I E S 1 0 7

P U B L I C - T R A N S P O R T A T I O N R O U T E S F R O M J F K A I R P O R T

SERVICE	TO	DEPARTS	TRAVEL TIME
Super Shuttle	Drop-off any-	24 hours; reserva-	Varies with
Fare: $17–$19	where between	tions required for	destination
	Battery Park and	return service
	227th Street; also
	stops at certain
	hotels
New York Airport	Grand Central	Every 30 minutes,	45–65 minutes
Service (bus)	Terminal &	6 a.m.–midnight	(nonrush)
Fare: $15	Port Authority
	Terminal
Subway, ”A” Line	Manhattan—all	24 hours	60–75 minutes
	stops from Fulton
	Street to 207th
	Street, Howard
	Beach Station to
	Midtown, plus
	stops in Queens
	and Brooklyn
Cab	Any stop in	At your	40–60 minutes
Fare: $45 flat rate	Manhattan	convenience
plus tolls and tip
Limo	Any stop in	At your	40–60 minutes
Fare: $45–$150	Manhattan	convenience
depending on
vehicle type

S-57 route; it costs only $1.50 but is unavailable Sundays or major holidays.

The LIRR runs into New York Penn Station, where you can hop the subway or hail a cab. Fare is $10.75 off-peak, $15 at rush hour, with discounts for seniors and disabled passengers. The ticket office is open most of the time. If you have a large party, you might want to book a van; SuperShuttle will cost about $175 and is good for up to 11 people; call

# 800 BLUE-VAN or go to www.supershuttle.com.

Getting into Manhattan from the Airports

Here, we opt for simplicity, even if it costs a dollar or two more. The fewer times you must heft your luggage, the better, and the fewer stops or transfers necessary, the less complicated the trip.

From LaGuardia, we always take a cab or limo. The JFK A-train subway looks good on paper and is definitely the least expensive way to get into town, but it takes a long time because of the intermediate

1 0 8 P A R T 4 G E T T I N G I N A N D G E T T I N G A R O U N D

P U B L I C - T R A N S P O R T A T I O N R O U T E S F R O M N E W A R K I N T E R N A T I O N A L

SERVICE	TO	DEPARTS	TRAVEL TIME
Olympia Newark	Port Author-	Every 20–30	40–50 minutes
Liberty Airport	ity Terminal at	minutes; no
Express Bus	42nd and Eighth	service 1:45–
Fare: $12.50–$14	Avenue	4:45 a.m.
Olympia Newark	Grand Central	Every 20–30	50–70 minutes
Liberty Airport	Terminal or Penn	minutes; no
Express Bus	Station	service 1:45–
Fare: $13		4:45 a.m.
Airlink Bus	Anywhere	On demand,	75 minutes
Fare: $16–$20	between Battery	24 hours
one-way; $31–	Park and 125th
$36 round-trip	Street
Cab	Any stop in	At your	40–60 minutes
Fare: $50–$75	Manhattan	convenience
plus tolls and tip
Limo	Any stop in	At your	40–60 minutes
Fare: $45–$150	Manhattan	convenience
depending on
vehicle type
Train New Jersey	New York Penn	Every 20–30	30–45 minutes
Transit	Station	minutes; no
Fare: $7.75–$14		service 2–5 a.m.
Train Amtrak	New York Penn	Every 25–60	20 minutes
Regional	Station	minutes,
Fare: $30–$40		6 a.m.–9 p.m.

stops. From Newark, we usually take the Olympia Newark Liberty Express Bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Manhattan’s West Side. Because of preferential treatment at the Lincoln Tunnel and a direct “buses only” throughway, the bus can often make it to Manhattan faster than a cab (once the bus leaves the airport). If you plan to return to the airport the same way, locate the Airport Transportation Lobby on the first floor of the northern (42nd Street) side of the terminal. From the Port Authority Terminal, you can catch a cab or the subway to your destination—there’s a taxi stand just outside the 42nd Street entrance.

First-time visitors may find all this intimidating: Port Authority’s a maze, and the underground connection to the Times Square–42nd Street subway station is a traffic jam in itself. On the other hand, if you are brave, sturdy, not overburdened with luggage, and reasonably

A R R I V A L S T R A T E G I E S 1 0 9

P U B L I C - T R A N S P O R T A T I O N R O U T E S F R O M I S L I P A I R P O R T

SERVICE	TO	DEPARTS	TRAVEL TIME
Limo-van	Any stop in	At your	40–60 minutes
Fare: $75–$175	Manhattan	convenience
Train Long Island	New York Penn	Every 15–60	85 minutes
Rail Road	Station	minutes
Fare: $10.75–$15

	subway savvy, it offers you the most options	unofficial T I P
	for continuing to your hotel.	New Jersey Transit trains
	Though New York has made great prog-
		run almost the same route
	ress in reducing crime in public places, the
		from Newark as their
	Port Authority Terminal is not a great spot
		faster Amtrak counter-
	to hang around. Unless, as we Southerners
		parts, and they are much
	say, “you’re fixin’ to explode,” wait until you
		cheaper. At the entrance
	reach your hotel to use the restroom.
		to the AirTrain monorail,
	If you want to take Amtrak into the city,
		vending machines sell NJ
	catch an AirTrain monorail to the airport
		Transit tickets. Buy a ticket
	train station. The monorail is free if you have
		for New York Penn Sta-
	a pre-purchased Amtrak or NJ Transit ticket,
		tion (about $15), and use
	or $5.50 if you don’t (free for children under
		this ticket to get through
	age 5). Trains from the airport station depart
		the AirTrain turnstiles; the
	every 25 to 60 minutes, depending on time of
		monorail will take you to
	day, and they stop at Newark Penn Station en
		the train station.
	route. The commute via Amtrak takes only
	about 20 minutes, making it the fastest way
	into the city. It is also, however, the most expensive option short of a
	private cab, costing about $30 to $40 one-way, depending on the time
	of day, not including any monorail charges.

From LaGuardia and JFK, if there are two or more in your party, a cab is not much more expensive than the bus, plus it takes you right to your hotel. The New York Airport Service Express Bus from LaGuardia to Grand Central Terminal, for example, is $12 for the first passenger and $7 for the second (and $6 for the third). A couple using the bus would spend $19 to get to Grand Central, Penn Station, or Port Authority, and then would probably need a cab to reach their hotel. By the time you add it all up, the cost is very comparable to the price of a cab straight from the airport, including tolls and tip.

Each terminal at all the airports has a monitored taxi queue, so it usually takes only a couple of minutes in line to get a cab.

Michael Zibart isn’t the only savvy traveler to have discovered limo services. Limos encompass a diverse assortment of vehicles in addition to stretch Cadillacs and can be reserved by the trip or by the hour. For

1 1 0 P A R T 4 G E T T I N G I N A N D G E T T I N G A R O U N D

unofficial T I P	sometimes even less than a cab, a limo and
Do not accept a ride	driver will meet your flight and transport you

	from any person who	into Manhattan. Rates range from about $35
		for a trip from LaGuardia to Manhattan in
	approaches you in the
		a modest sedan to more than $150 for a ride
	terminal or on the side-
		from Newark International in something fancy.
	walk. Official, licensed
		Although you can occasionally beat the price
	cabs load only at des-
		of a cab, the big advantage to reserving a limo
	ignated taxi stands,
		is having somebody there waiting for you—that
	supervised by a dispatcher.
		is, no taxi queue. (The operators listed on the
		next page are just a sampling; you can also
	comparison-shop online.) Have your flight information handy, including
	airline, flight number, and arrival time. The service will also ask for your

Manhattan destination. Although you can request that your driver meet you in the terminal, it’s customary (and sometimes cheaper) to meet him or her curbside. Most limo services will accept prepayment by credit card, or you can pay the driver. Tolls, parking fees, and gratuities are extra.

A I R P O R T L I M O S E R V I C E S

		Classic Limousine		Tel Aviv Car & Limo Service
# 800-666-4949, 631-567-5100;				# 800-222-9888, 212-777-7777;
		www.classictrans.com		www.telavivlimo.com
		Dial Car www.dialcar.com		Westchester Express
		# 800-D I A L -743, 718-743-8200;		# 800-910-5466, 201-997-7368;
				www.republictransportation.com
		Super Saver by Carmel
# 800-922-7635, 212-666-6666;
		www.carmellimo.com

Getting to the Airports from Manhattan

Essentially, you have the same options available when it’s time to go to the airport for your return flight. For LaGuardia and JFK, your best bet is a cab. For Newark, take a cab to the Port Authority Terminal, and then board a Newark Airport Express bus for the airport. You can take the LIRR back to Islip, although, as we said, it might be worth the limo ride.

There is one additional option for commuting to the airports: shared-ride services. These services offer reserved-space door-to-door transportation to the airports.

To Islip, LaGuardia or JFK

Classic Airport Share-Ride # 800-666-4949, 631-567-5100;

www.classictrans.com

To Islip or Newark International

SuperShuttle # 800-258-3826, 212-315-3006; www.supershuttle.com

It’s worth spending the extra money to get a ticket on a reserved-seating train, especially if you’re traveling during a holiday or heavy convention time.

A R R I V A L S T R A T E G I E S 1 1 1

With shared-ride services, you call the service and advise it of your flight time. It integrates you into the pickup schedule and tells you what time to be ready to go. If you are the first person collected, you have a bit of riding to look forward to. On the other hand, if you are the last person in the van, straight to the airport you go. The service to Newark is a bargain, starting at $19, and eliminates carting all your stuff through the Port Authority Terminal or paying big bucks for a cab. Ride-share service to JFK for one person will save you about $5 to $10 over the cost of a cab. Going to LaGuardia, you’re better off in terms of convenience and cost to take a taxi. The same companies also provide shared-ride service from the airports to Manhattan.

B Y T R A I N

N E W YO R K H A S E XC E L L E N T T R A I N C O N N E C T I O N S south to

Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; north to upstate New York, Boston, and New England; and west to New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. From these areas you can commute directly to Midtown Manhattan in a time span that rivals or betters that of traveling by air. From Baltimore, for example, we departed our hotel for the 10-minute ride to the Amtrak station, waited less than 20 minutes for the train to arrive, and then buzzed up to New York’s Penn Station in about two and a half hours—a total of slightly less than three hours for the whole trip. (Using the high-speed Acela Express trains, you can make it even faster.) By contrast, our colleagues commuted 20 minutes to the airport, then consumed two hours and ten minutes checking in, walking to the departure gate, waiting, and boarding. The flight to LaGuardia took another hour from gate to gate. They had no checked luggage, but it took 15 minutes to disembark and make it to the taxi queue, where the wait for a cab was a modest five minutes. Cabbing from LaGuardia to Midtown consumed a little more than 20 minutes—for a total of four hours and ten minutes.

Acela high-speed service from Washington, D.C., to New York, and from Boston to New York, is Amtrak’s version of European bullet trains. Reaching speeds of 150 miles an hour, Acela Express trains provide firstand business-class service, while Regional trains (which make more stops) offer both business and coach accommoda-

tions. Seat-side computer plugs, club cars with

conference tables, and “quiet cars” are standard unofficial T I P on all trains, as is complimentary full meal and

beverage service for first-class passengers. With departures throughout the day, and business and first-class fares comparable to airfares, it’s hard to figure why anyone in the Boston– New York–DC corridor would opt to fly. For

Megabus, Bolt, Vamoose,

1 1 2 P A R T 4 G E T T I N G I N A N D G E T T I N G A R O U N D

additional information, check out www.amtrak.com or call # 800-

USA-RAIL.

If you are traveling from farther afield, the train may require more time than you want to invest. Sometimes, however, the longer haul has an unexpected upside. Bill, traveling from Atlanta to New York, caught the Amtrak Crescent at 7:30 p.m. His first-class ticket included a sleeping compartment, and his meals were covered as well. He arrived in New York at 2:10 the following afternoon. Because he could work on the train, Bill arrived relaxed and prepared for his afternoon meeting. His partner, Jane, by contrast, spent a busy morning hustling to the airport, flying to LaGuardia, cabbing into the city, and then trying to catch a bite to eat on the run. Other cities with fairly attractive Amtrak schedules and fares include Richmond, Norfolk, RaleighDurham, Charlotte, Charleston (SC), Birmingham, Savannah, Jacksonville, Orlando, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Montreal.

In addition to Amtrak, several commuter lines serve the greater New York area. New Jersey Transit (# 800-772-2222, 973-762-5100; www.njtransit.com) uses New York Penn Station along with Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road (# 718-217-LIRR; www.mta.info/lirr). The Metro-North Railroad (# 800-638-7646, 212-532-4900; www.mta

.info/mnr), serving towns north along the Hudson River, arrives and departs from Grand Central Terminal.

B Y B U S

I F YO U ’ R E L O O K I N G F O R A B A RG A I N , leave the driving to some-

body else. Greyhound may have invented the slogan (more or less), but

unofficial T I P	in recent years, it’s been the upstart upscale
	motorcoach companies that have been set-
To get the best fares from	ting the pace (and driving Greyhound into
the bus companies, book	upscaling its own coaches). Nowadays, Wi-Fi
online and in advance. Bolt	and computer plugs are almost standard;
Bus fares start at $1 for	individual video screens and bottled water
early bookers, and Bolt	are common.
has a “buy eight rides, get	Most of these new companies serve only
the ninth free” members-	limited markets, while Greyhound serves New
incentive program.	York from almost all major cities (# 800-231-
	2222 or TDD-TTY 300-345-3109; www.grey

hound.com). However, considering the cost of a ticket—starting at $20 from Washington—trying to make a connection to a bus-friendly city could be a bargain. And, unlike Greyhound, which goes straight to at Port Authority, the new-style coaches may offer three or even more pickup and drop-off points.

The easiest way to track the options is to go to Bus Junction (www

.busjunction.com), which monitors 14 companies, including DC2NY, and even Greyhound.