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Featured Replies

Someone in passing told me second hand about some express shuttle bus service between Dallas and Austin. 

The way it was described was as an alternative to air travel, with snacks, wifi, etc.   (i.e. - not some crummy Greyhound experience that takes 5 hours). 

Has anyone ever heard of this? 

 

Personally, for pure experience, I'd skip Greyhound and all the upscale buses, and find one of those Mexican buses that start and stop at secret locations.

Megabus.  Less than $20 on weekdays, a little more on weekends

Edited by Eddyline

I pass by the Houston Megabus "depot" on the way to work every morning.  If you are willing to do that over spending the extra $80 on Vonlane, I am both impressed and saddened for you.

  • Author

I checked Vonlane.

Looks like basically a first-class type seat. Free wifi, no streaming; satellite TV. 

They estimate the trip at 3:15, which is not much longer than I could drive it. 

Prices are $105 each way, $210 round trip. 

Parking is $30 per 24 hour period. 

Interesting. 

23 minutes ago, Liquor and Poker said:

I pass by the Houston Megabus "depot" on the way to work every morning.  If you are willing to do that over spending the extra $80 on Vonlane, I am both impressed and saddened for you.

Did it look like this?

 

MV5BZDc1NDRlOWQtZmYyMy00NmExLTg5YWUtNmM0

If you're going by bus, Vonlane is badass.  In addition to what you mentioned, they have decent snacks, noise cancelling headphones you can borrow, laptop "desks" that attach to your chair, and easily the best mobile bathroom you've ever seen.  There's a stewardess that serves you all these things, and you can also purchase beer/wine/mixed drinks for $5 a pop.

That being said, the price is obviously quite a bit higher than the next best alternative, which is Megabus.  When Megabus was new (10 years ago), the clientele was much better than a Greyhound for the simple fact that you have to purchase your ticket ahead of time via the interwebs.  As the word has spread, it is now more of the crowd you'd expect to be riding the bus, but definitely still WAY better than Greyhound.

Amtrak. Sure, it'll be late, but that'll be more time to enjoy staggering around drunk in a moving train.

14 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Amtrak. Sure, it'll be late, but that'll be more time to enjoy staggering around drunk in a moving train.

that will take 6 HOURS to get to Dallas from Austin.

My mom takes Vonlane to come visit sometimes. Ft Worth -> Houston route. She thinks it's great. From what she says, it's as advertised - comfortable seats, good snacks and drinks, etc.

  • Author

NOTE: Texas Exes members get a 15% Vonlane discount. 

Edited by BillyBadAss

Megabus is great. So much better than Greyhound. Megabus used to take off from the dobie center, I hear they moved to San jac and 15th or something like that? They'll drop you off at downtown Dallas. It's usually cheaper too.

Took Megabus from Dallas to Austin today for the first time. Not terrible. A mix of typical Greyhound riders, college students, and a few normal folks. Was pretty comfortable with no frills for $15.

I can't say enough good things about vonlane. Highly recommend it.

22 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

Personally, for pure experience, I'd skip Greyhound and all the upscale buses, and find one of those Mexican buses that start and stop at secret locations.

If it's a secret, then how do people know where to go & board?

First rule of Vonlane is you don't park at the Hyatt.  It's $30 a day, that's insane.  Just take an uber or have someone drop you off.  Second is, check the itineraries and compare them against SWA.  They're usually about the same price, but depends on when you want to arrive in Dallas.  Third-where are you doing in Dallas?  It drops off near Love Field, which is fine if you have business downtown or uptown.  Not so great if you need to get out to the suburbs.  If you have a long uber ride upon arrival, blended with overnight at the Hyatt, it starts to get very expensive.  

For door-to-door travel time to Dallas, it's about the same time for me to leave my home or office and be at my destination in Dallas between Vonlane and SWA.  And it's about the same price.  For Dallas travel, it really just comes down to what time I need to be there.  And costs are usually about the same, all-in.  Vonlane typically gets the nod for me because I can cancel 10 minutes beforehand and don't have to buy a special fare class to get that basic customer right.  

5 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

If it's a secret, then how do people know where to go & board?

Actual Mexican-Mexican people know where to board. Others don't, unless they stumble upon it.

On 1/16/2019 at 1:21 PM, Liquor and Poker said:

I pass by the Houston Megabus "depot" on the way to work every morning.  If you are willing to do that over spending the extra $80 on Vonlane, I am both impressed and saddened for you.

Same here.  It's amazing how normal the Megabus folks look when compared to the Greyhound station a couple blocks down. 

Fucking night of the living baseheads over there.

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