How are Mega-bus and Greyhound - safety-wise and travel-wise?

Question

I wil be attending a school in Northern Kentucky come January and since I don't have a car I'm fixing to take the bus...It'd be closer for me to go to Cincinnati, OH than to Lexington for a bus terminal...

So this would be a trip from Cincinnati to Ashtabula (northeastern Ohio) which is about 5,6,7 hours depending on other stops...I don't have much experience on long travel buses - so how are Mega-bus and Greyhound Buses' safety, and just the experience in general and all that?

I don't need it to be great but just safe and cheap enough to get me to where I need to go....I'll be taking this lil jaunt about every 6 weeks so hopefully it won't be too awful...

Answer 1

If there is anyway at all you can take the train (Amtrak), do it.
It's your best bet, and its far more pleasant.

If that is not an option for you, just take steps to keep yourself safe. On the bus, sit towards the front half. Choose who your seatmate is if you have to share a seat, you can do this by sitting next to someone who seems okay to you as you get on, or by taking an empty seat, keeping your belongings in the seat next to you, and as the bus fills up, only move them as you see people that are potential seatmates get on. At stops, keep your belongings with you, and dont seclude yourself anywhere.

A 6 hour ride wont be too bad, just bring some music and magazines along. There usually isn;t much room to set up a laptop on a bus.

Answer 2

When I was 18 (eight years ago) I went from Cleveland, OH to Cody, WY byway of Greyhound (round trip) for a summer job. It was a 3 day trip each way with layovers (none over 5 hours) It wasn't exactly FUN sitting on a bus with other people who have been sitting on a bus for a couple days (It got a little stifling and smelled bad sometimes) Greyhound Stations aren't typically in the nice part of town, so expect to be sitting around in a nasty bus station any given time of night. If I had to do it again I would save for the plane ticket, But it actually only cost me $69 dollars each way. Taking a bus trip cross country sounds more glamourous than it actually is.

Answer 3

My children (ages 17 and 12) took a Greyhound bus from Charlotte, NC to Lexington, KY and back this past summer. My son (the 17-year-old) said it was OK - boring, of course, but not too bad. He said, though, there were some people on the bus that got kicked off when he reported them for smoking on the bus. He thought they were pretty creepy and was glad they were kicked off.

I know of a HS-age girl (18 now) that has an obsession with hand-sanitizer because of something that happened to HER on a Grey-Hound bus several years ago. A man started to lick her hand. Another passenger saw, reported it and he, too, was kicked off - right in the middle of nowhere.

You can take that as you will.

I don't know anything about the other company you mentioned.

Answer 4

I know that Greyhound doesn't attract the best clientele and that must Greyhound stations are in very rough neighborhoods. Remember bus carriers don't check passengers for weapons before boarding like the airlines do.

Answer 5

you are lucky not to travel like 72 H or more traveling by Greyhound is a pain in the ***, they stop a lot where they want to I mean where the driver wants to and they feel like they are the bosses and can give you orders, you have to eat what driver feels like and sometimes they pick up their lovers to get companion you know but, other than that they are pretty much safe I guess so, y you where traveling more than 73 h like I did you might erase your middle *** mark and is really boring, is more fun to travel by train even if you get coach seat which is cheaper but, you have freedom to walk in the different cars, get a snack, play cards, watch a movie etc,etc.

Answer 6

Megabus Lexington

Answer 7

i've only been on the grey hound bus a couple times. overall it's pretty safe, just make sure you have head phones on at ALL times, pretend you're sleeping or whatnot. cause the last time i was on one from st. louis to chicago, a 6 hour bus ride some dood was talking to me the whole time and wouldn't shut up. he smelled and he was telling me that he just got out of prison and going home to see his kids. he wanted to be friends and asked for my number and everything. i tried to pretend i was sleeping but he just kept on talking. yeah, that was the last time i ever went on a bus. so, unless you're with someone you know, or just leave your music playing then i guess it's safe overall. good luck~!!