In my past few months of traveling around the north Atlantic region, I’ve done a lot of individual research into the different available modes of transportation. Of course, driving a personal car everywhere is always an option, but I’m a rather city-driving-adverse individual, and tend to look for alternatives when visiting major metropolises. Below I thought I could share some of my findings, comparing the different modes of transportation and giving some suggestions based on some of my own experiences traveling out of the Albany region.
Buses
There are a lot of bus lines that operate in the area, but I usually end up choosing between two main players - Greyhound and Megabus. If you live in a big city with a Megabus hub (e.g. New York City), Megabus can get you basically anywhere you would want to go. But the coverage is much more limited for other starting points. Greyhound tends to have more destination options for smaller cities like Albany, where I usually travel from. In my experience, Greyhound seems to be a little more spacious and punctual. But where Megabus really shines is the cost. Megabus ticket prices start cheap and increase as time goes on, so if you plan far enough ahead you could potentially snag some great deals. I’ve been able to get tickets from Albany to NYC for $5 one way, versus the $40 round trip it would have cost with Greyhound. My general strategy with bus travel is to check Megabus first for any good deals, and then look at Greyhound if the Megabus tickets have already gone up in price.
A word of caution on buses though - their punctuality depends heavily upon traffic conditions, and I’ve had buses outright canceled on me before. In the latter case, they put me on a later bus also going to my destination, but it meant arriving a few hours later than expected. So if you are on a tight schedule and absolutely must be somewhere at a particular time, taking a train or driving might work better for you.
Trains
For intercity travel, most people I talk to equate trains with Amtrak. I personally avoid Amtrak because they don’t go much faster and tend to be more expensive than the buses ($42 for a roundtrip ticket from Albany to NYC, versus around $30 for the bus), but some people swear by Amtrak. Advantages of traveling by train are more leg room, more pieces of luggage allowed, and no delays due to road traffic. So if you have really long legs, a lot of luggage, or a tight schedule you could consider taking the train. I think where Amtrak really shines is extreme long distance travel - a ticket from LA to Chicago can be as low as $169, and for a 40+ hour ride like that the extra comfort you get on a train might actually make a difference.
Planes
Flying is fast, but airport security is not. My general rule of thumb is to only consider flying if the destination is more than 400 miles away - roughly the distance from San Francisco to LA. (Or if Southwest is having one of their huge sales…) Otherwise the time you spend traveling to the airport and waiting at security would negate any time savings you get from flying.
Cars
Even with all these different public transit options, you definitely still need a car to go to smaller cities and towns in the region. Many cities are only reachable by car, especially once you get up to Vermont, New Hampshire, and beyond. Other cities can be reached using transit, but may lack transit options within the city, making it a hassle to get around once you get there. And some cities are reachable via transit and have ample public transit options in the city itself, but depending on where your departure point is, there may not be a direct way to get there using buses or trains, making driving a more attractive option. (This was the case with my trip to Providence.)
Of course, all this is only a brief introduction to transit around the area. By all means use this as a starting point but definitely do some homework before embarking on your own trips. Hope this information helps, and feel free to comment below with any questions, comments, or suggestions!
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