Good afternoon all,
One of our more popular posts this week was a piece on BoltBus offering weekend service from Wilmington. It is clear that a number of travelers want an option other than Amtrak.
BoltBus is owned by intercity giant Greyhound but does not suffer from the bedraggled image of the company. Boltbus offers low fares of about $20 one way and free WiFI.
Based on social media posts, readers are happy about BoltBus coming to Wilmington but would love to see its schedule expanded to New York City.
According to the BoltBus timetable, service from Wilmington is limited to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.
So far, Greyhound is holding on to the Wilmington-NYC route, which is available at fares that fall below $30 one way.
Despite the reasonably priced tickets, riders may be reluctant to ride “The Hound,” even if its buses have added amenities like WiFi.
Things haven’t been easy for Greyhound in the past couple of decades. Once Greyhound and Trailways were the only options for a cheap long-distance trip. Nowadays a ticket can cost more than a comparable airline fare.
Its short distance turf has long been threatened by unmarked Chinatown buses. Greyhound also faces the deep pockets of European-owned Megabus, which stops at the University of Delaware campus in Newark and offers a come-on fare of as little as $1.
BoltBus is Greyhound’s response and if it is listening to riders, a bus or two to the Big Apple would actually add to the combined companies’ share of the market.
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