Amtrak's FB ad on Thruway Connections

[Texan Eagle]

Today Amtrak has posted an advertisement link on its Facebook page about Thruway Bus Connections with the caption See the sights! Visit beautiful vacation spots on our Motorcoach connections! "

For some reason seeing the post made me chuckle, maybe because it reminded me of all the not-so-lovely opinions AU members have about having to take a train ride on a bus. This makes me wonder, is there anyone out here who actually enjoys riding the Ambus?

 

[TimePeace]

I of course prefer the train to the bus. Having said that, the one time I took an "Ambus" (from Orlando to St. Pete) it was clean, comfortable, not very crowded, and the driver was a real pro and very courteous as well. We were on time, and it was fine.

 

[Michael061282]

I don't mind the an Ambus when its scheduled, like Charlottesville to Richmond or Bakersfield to LA.. What I detest is being pulled out of my bed at 5am in Pittsburgh, shoved on a bus and told to sit! stay! until DC.

 

[TimePeace]

Yeah, for sure, the Thruway Bus is one thing, "Bustitution" is quite another!

 

[Joeker]

I love the Thruway Bus if it gets me closer to where I want to go. Case in point, I travelled to Santa Rosa CA, where I stayed at the Marriot Courtyard which is the bus stop via Thruway bus from Martinez where I connected from the CS and upon return hustled down to Bakersfield and another thruway bus to LAX.

Busses were clean and efficient.

 

[gregoryla]

I took the Thruway Bus from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe. A beautiful drive, and for once I was able to enjoy the spectacular scenery instead of having to keep my eyes on the road. The bus was very comfortable and pleasant.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Unless I am mistaken the "AmBus" cannot easily be defined as good/bad on national/network terms because it is almost entirely dependent on who Amtrak has contracted with in each region and what defines that particular company's service levels and expectations. I myself have had both good (DAL > FTW) and bad (SEA > VAC) experiences while riding on coaches supplied by completely unrelated companies in distant regions for varying reasons.

 

[Trainmans daughter]

I've only had the pleasure of riding on Amtrak California busses, not coaches supplied by completely unrelated companies. They are large, clean, and comfortable.

 

[thully]

Yeah - it seems that other than the Amtrak California buses, there are no "Amtrak" buses per se - Amtrak just contracts with external companies to run bus (or van/car in some cases) connections between a train station and other destinations. Sometimes, they even use existing Greyhound (or other bus line) service in lieu of dedicated bus services.

I definitely like that the Thruway buses exist, though. Personally, I've only used the one that connects several destinations in Michigan to Toledo for the eastern LD trains. It did seem a bit cramped, but got me to the TOL station on time and made it possible to go east without backtracking to Chicago (or finding one's own transportation to Toledo). I do wish they had a separate one for the Lake Shore Limited, though, as currently you have to ride the same bus for that as for the Capitol Limited (and hence sit in TOL for 5 hrs in the middle of the night waiting for the bus).

 

[HiGracie]

New poster here I am taking the San Joaquin to Bakersfield and the bus into Long Beach harbor and I can't wait! Although it's not all train, this connection allows me to see another route and get me to exactly where I need to go!

 

[guest]

Unless I am mistaken the "AmBus" cannot easily be defined as good/bad on national/network terms because it is almost entirely dependent on who Amtrak has contracted with in each region and what defines that particular company's service levels and expectations. I myself have had both good (DAL > FTW) and bad (SEA > VAC) experiences while riding on coaches supplied by completely unrelated companies in distant regions for varying reasons.

Curious as to your bad experience on Seattle-Vancouver run. I've taken it 3 times and always found the drivers pleasant, the seats comfortable and uncrowded, and the on-time performance 100%.