Bolt Bus Is Bunk!
Everyone is very excited about Bolt Bus. DC to New York for $1, with wireless and no pee smell! I didn’t believe it. So I went online, and started booking. I ordered tickets for more than a month from know and it still rang up at $7 one-way. Ok, fine I thought. Not quite the best deal, but still better than Chinatown. Four tries later, I still haven’t gotten the website to work. It acts like it’s thinking, with a little lightening bolt symbol popping up, but nothing happens, ever. Has anyone gotten this thing to actually work?
30 Responses to “Bolt Bus Is Bunk!”
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March 13th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I bought two tickets for the end of the month. Worked peachy dandy. Maybe you just had a lot of competition for those particular seats?
March 13th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Yep, as linked, I bought two roundtrip tickets. Grand total was actually $4.50, not $5.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Worked for me as well - two roundtrip tickets for $4.50. Can’t beat it. But I guess the moment of truth will come when I try to board this “Bolt Bus,” assuming it’s not simply a malfunctioney internet front for an elaborate money laundering scheme or, worse, a figment of our collective imaginations hoping for something a little less smelly and life-threatening than the Chinatown bus…
March 15th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I had trouble getting their site. Could not come up with a schedule for April. If you’re tired of the lousy Chinatown buses, go to Vamoose bus. It’s $25 one way to NYC from DC, and is efficient, comfortable, and on time.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
No problems, bought ticket for a dollar plus tax .50.
March 18th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I registered, bought some tickets (even got one for $1) but my account shows I have no Bolt Rewards. Do they appear after the date of the trip? Anyone able to get rewards yet?
March 28th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I work on the website at Bolt, Angela, What browser version are you using?
Also, Ajay, if you log into the Loyalty program and you have bought tickets, it should say you are ‘x’ rides away from earning a free ticket…does yours say anything?
March 29th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Two roundtrips for $4.50″ ??… It’s $35 per roudtrip in fact - no matter what browser version.
What’s the fucking joke?
March 29th, 2008 at 11:24 am
There are $1.00 fares available on each schedule until they are sold out.
There is no joke, and I would appreciate you not using innapropriate language.
The fact is that most of the $1.00 fares are sold out due to high demand. Take a look at NY to Philly about a month out and you will see the fares for a buck.
The web is tuned for Internet Explorer 6 and 7. I am truly trying to make sure that if people are seeing issues they get resolved. If you have a browser version that is not working, or you have an issue, I want to know so we can take care of it.
I would appreciate the input. Also, if anyone has ridden the bus, let me know what you think about the wi-fi.
March 31st, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Just a warning to all you mac users - they use WEP/128 security for the wireless network - which isn’t compatible with a mac - so no wireless for me!
March 31st, 2008 at 5:27 pm
The DC2NY bus offers Mac-compatible wifi. Really slow connection, though.
March 31st, 2008 at 6:32 pm
The way I see it, ladies, we need Bolt Bus like an one-armed bus driver needs an itchy ass.
Verdad, MarkO?
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Whether on Mac or PC, I wouldn’t complain about connection speed…..It’s better then no connection at all like almost any other bus company out there. And, a note on price…Would you rather $35 for a clean bus with internet or $25 for a crappy bus with no internet that breaks down and leaves you waiting on the highway for 2 hours for another bus to pick you up??? If you are that pressed to pay $35 I suggest that you make earlier plans so that you can purchase the $1 fare when they are available.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:49 am
BusZoo.com has more $1.00 tickets available and also they have free Wi-Fi for Mac and PC.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Question (for Mark O, or anyone who knows): if I register for Bolt rewards, and buy 2 tickets for 2 people under my registration, does that give me one reward or two for a one way trip?
April 14th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I went RT from DC to NY this weekend. Great bus, great service, on time. My only complaint is the lack of Mac Wi-Fi on the return leg to DC (going to NYC was fine, as the router wasn’t pw protected…connection speed was fine, btw). Why even pw protect these routers at all? It’s not like anyone not on the bus can access it for more than a few minutes anyway….
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Good news, we have removed the WEP key from the internet devices, so all users (Mac and PC) should be able to use it now.
Also, I will check on the rewards question.
Mark
April 25th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I found out that you get credit for each trip you purchase. So if you buy 2 one-way tickets in 1 transaction, you get 2 credits.
April 29th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I’m planning to take the Bolt Bus this weekend, but am a little hesitant because I read on some other blogs that some buses arrived at the pick-up location late or not at all. Has anyone ridden the Bolt Bus this past week? Did the bus arrive for pick-up on schedule? Otherwise I’ll book on VamooseBus.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I rode the Bolt Bus last week. Everything went peachy.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Thanks for your report Arthur–I’ll book my ticket now!
May 13th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
short version: Bolt Bus highly recommended, incredible value!
I took the Bolt from DC to NYC this morning. It was perfect. $15 two days ago. Clean, comfy, great wireless for my Macintosh. Chatted with friends the whole way.
Now I’m posting this comment *from* my 2nd Bolt, NYC to Boston, also $15 purchased two days ago. Everything on time, even though there was some heavy traffic. Only “problem”, I forgot to register before I bought my tickets so no reward points for those. Tip: register first!
Marc O: I had some minor troubles with the web site from Firefox. Happy to give you details if you want to write to discardia aht constella daht org.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:33 am
I’ve taken Bolt Bus to NYC from DC with a friend. I bought both of our tickets about a month in advanced off the website and while I didn’t get that $1 fare… I can’t complain about buying two round trip tickets for $55. The Bus left on time. We ran into a couple of traffic problems on the way which made our arrival time about 30 minutes later than scheduled. That didn’t bother me as I was expecting worse. Clean and comfortable.. I watched DVD the driver put in… I plugged in my computer to check e-mail… later I took a nap!!! It made the idea of taking the train or a plane almost obsolete (esp for the price and hassle)
On the way back, we were ready to leave NYC a couple of hours before our scheduled departure time. There was room on the earlier bus and the driver allowed us to take that earlier bus… no issues or extra paying.
I don’t expect every trip I take with them to be 100% perfect but, from what I have experienced thus far, I will use it again and I am recommending it to my friends
July 8th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I ordered a round-trip ticket, but only get a receipt for 1 way although I paid for round-trip. Is there a phone number. I am not getting a response from their e-mail address.
July 12th, 2008 at 10:59 am
My husband and I, both senior citizens, but young at heart, had an awesome trip on BOLT on May 20…polite driver, comfy seats, clean bathroom, many screens for DVD. What more could you ask for that amount of money? We are BOLT fans.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
How is it possible for the bus to make it to NYC from DC in 4 hours at all of the time points, isn’t traffic worse on Friday? It looks like it takes the same amount of time if I leave at 2 pm vs. 4 pm…..
July 16th, 2008 at 1:11 am
It’s true, the bus does not always make it in 4 hours. I recently rode Bolt Bus on the 11th and again on the 13th. Both times, the bus arrived late picking up and late at the destination. It took 5.5-6 hours to get to NYC from DC on Sunday night. It was a little ridiculous and tiring. The driver was not in a hurry at all, stopping for a 30 minute bathroom break half way. The driver was really nice and the ride itself was pleasant, just long.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Some drivers are wise enough to favor the Holland Tunnel (DC-NYC) vs. the Lincoln around 5 pm (left D.C around 1 pm).
Having driven a lot in tht area at that time of day, I would also favor the Holland.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Despite a fair amount of skepticism in Bolt’s early days, it sounds like the concept worked out remarkably well after all. It has speed, amenities, flexibility and punctuality. Quite inexpensive, too.
Although I’d much rather that in addition it used an alternative energy such as natural gas or electricity.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I had no notion you were so into buses, Ernest.