More Megabus Woes

Check out the Frugal Traveler column in today's New York Times http://www.nytimes.com for a story on the exploding Megabus http://www.megabus.com. The frugal traveler happened to be on a bus between Chicago and Milwaukee when it first caught fire and then exploded. Luckily, no one was hurt although many people lost their luggage.

The columnist paid $11 for his ticket for a trip that would have cost $25 on Amtrakhttp://www.amtrak.com, the national rail company in the U.S. Megabus advertises fares as low as $1, but most riders pay quite a lot more. The bus company has been plagued with problems in North America--four people were killed in an accident in 2010, 26 were hurt in a crash in 2014, and another 19 were injured in 2015. Here in Canada, there have been announcements that anyone who travelled on a certain Megabus between Toronto and Montreal last August should be tested for exposure to tuberculosis, since one passenger on that journey had active TB.

I have travelled on Megabus between Montreal and Toronto without incident, and I would take the service again. Accidents can happen anywhere, and there was a fatal one on Amtrak last year. However, certain companies do seem to have more than their fair share of incidents--I am reminded here of Allegiant Air http://www.allegiantair.com. This company seems to have a large number of problems with its planes. I have flown with Allegiant with no trouble, but I'm not sure I would do so again.

On a cheerier note, there has been a big fare reduction on the Union Pearson Express train that connects downtown Toronto with Pearson Airport. Fares now are as low as $9, down from $19, if you have a Presto card.