Tampa Amtrak bus to Orlando?

[Billvasili]

Has anyone used the Amtrak thruway bus service from Tampa to Orlando Fl? l want to catch the afternoon train at Orlando to had back to NYP, rather than take the later train from Orlando at night. is the bus more like a Greyhound with a toilet on it?

 

[pennyk]

I have not taken the bus, but Orlando is my home station and I see the bus arrive prior to 98's departure. It is a dedicated bus only for Amtrak passengers. I have spoken to passengers who have taken the bus who boarded with me in Orlando and often ate lunch with them. I never heard a complaint.

Hopefully someone who has taken the bus will chime in.

 

[MARC Rider]

I took that bus about 10 years ago. It was a standard deluxe highway coach with reclining seats and a restroom in the rear. It left from the Amtrak station in Tampa and dropped us off at the Amtrak station in Orlando, traveling mostly on the interstate, but making a detour to stop at the station in Lakeland.

 

[Tlcooper44]

I booked the bus from Tampa to Orlando to catch the Meteor to NYC, but missed the bus because the Amtrak bus station has moved and neither the app nor website had been properly updated and both listed the old location. Pretty frustrating.

thruway buses tend to be normal coach buses with all of the normal amenities.

 

[PaulM]

I use this service once or twice a year to and from Orlando and St. Pete/Clearwater. It's always been a good experience.

Most recently it was after connecting at Orlando from a 8 hour late southbound Silver Star. I'm glad that Amtrak notified me that STP had been moved to a new street corner "Mega Bus" style station (unlike Ticooper93's experience apparently). The thruway bus driver even waited until my ride arrived because of the later hour.

 

[PaulM]

I booked the bus from Tampa to Orlando to catch the Meteor to NYC, but missed the bus because the Amtrak bus station has moved and neither the app nor website had been properly updated and both listed the old location.

To clarify, the bus station couldn't have been Tampa. What used to be called St Petersburg/Clearwater (STP) was recently moved from a store front in a seen-better-days strip mall in Pinellas Park to a street, still in Pinellas Park, I believe. My ticket dropped Clearwater from the station name.

 

[Tlcooper44]

To clarify, the bus station couldn't have been Tampa. What used to be called St Petersburg/Clearwater (STP) was recently moved from a store front in a seen-better-days strip mall in Pinellas Park to a street, still in Pinellas Park, I believe. My ticket dropped Clearwater from the station name.

My mistake, I meant to say STP.

 

[MARC Rider]

My mistake, I meant to say STP.

That makes more sense. Tampa has a perfectly good staffed Amtrak station. Why should a Thruway bus stop anywhere else in Tampa?