Megabus L.A. to Vegas: A cheap ride worth taking

Vegas, baby! If you think a $50 plane ride from L.A. to Las Vegas is a good deal, think again. Now you can get to Sin City for only $1.50. That means more duckets for the craps table. Megabus showed off their new buses today and it was, indeed, clean and shiny. You might’ve seen us mo-blogging the very first Megabus ride between L.A.’s Union Station and Megabus’ shared bus terminal at Tropicana and Swenson in Las Vegas.

Here’s a gallery of my favorite pre-trip snapshots.

And here are a few more thoughts on the new service: First, the ride was absolutely fine and comfortable. We only had 15 passengers on the 57-seat bus. Anybody who wanted their own row got to spread out over two seats. You could recline your seat back without breaking the passenger’s kneecaps behind you, but if the bus had been completely full, that comfort would most definitely change. The ride is a good deal even at full price ($30.50), and there is no difference in seating or treatment between the $1 and $30 patrons. The last time I took a Craigslist rideshare between L.A. and Vegas I paid $40 for gas. Book early enough to score a $1.50 seat and your days of sharing small talk with a generous driver are over.

MEGABUS AT UNION STATION
The biggest downsides of the trip took place before the bus got there, and after the bus left. First of all, the Megabus area within Union Station is not apparent. The only Megabus signs I found were near the boarding area. I walked through the station and asked two employees before I found a third who knew what it was or where it was. Fair enough, it was their first day.

Tip: If you are taking the Megabus, go to the ticket area of Union Station. Walk all the way to the end of the room with the ticket booths and then go outside and turn left. Here you’ll find your first sign. Look up to the left and you’ll see some trains and a parking area – this is where the bus will come pick you up and you’ll find your second sign.

Today was a sunny day and the weather was good so it didn’t matter that the bus was five minutes late. But I couldn’t help but wonder what folks would do if it were raining. There is no shelter up there. You’d have to wait inside near the ticket booths and then hope that someone would tell you when the bus arrived.

Ken Floyd was there with his wife seeing off his 79-year-old mother-in-law who was traveling to Vegas to visit her daughter. They had heard about the new low-cost bus service on the radio in Vegas and bought her ticket for $23.50 round-trip. Another man was there just to check out the bus and the procedure for getting on board. He wouldn’t take his trip, but proudly boasted he got his fare for $16 return.

TICKETS & DEPARTURE
Megabus tickets are booked online and it was just as easy to board the bus as it was to buy the ticket. Print your booking receipt and bring it with you. I didn’t have access to a printer when I booked at the last minute and was able to board with just my confirmation number. There is an undisclosed amount of $1 seats ($1.50 including booking fee); after those are sold out additional seats will be sold for higher prices.

THE TRIP
The ride took about 4.5 hours and included a 20-minute stop at the Barstow Station. Leaving midweek and middle of the day is a winning combination. Traffic flowed and the bus clipped a long. Our driver, Shawn Williams, had 8 years of chartered bus experience under his belt and was as friendly as you could hope for. He even helped everyone off the bus as they stepped off at the break and once we got to Vegas. He seemed proud of the new service and excited to be a driver – an attitude I could appreciate.

PASSENGER COMMENTS

Tina Ip, a student from California State University, Northridge, usually travels to Vegas via a tour group. “It was pretty easy. This is the first time we’ve come on our own. The prices were interesting though. The first day I looked for prices it was going to be $10 for three people. I checked back the next day and the fares had gone up to $24 for three people. We ended up buying three round-trip tickets for $45.”

“I think it’s lovely, and he was right on schedule,” said Selena Hammett. “At least they’re not taking us downtown. This is much better.”

ARRIVAL
Tip: If you want to have a positive experience from tip to toe, plan your own transportation for your arrival. The bus drops you off at their office on Tropicana and Swenson. From here you are on your own. I asked a desk clerk if she could call me a cab and the taxi was not there in twenty minutes. I finally walked outside to flag one myself. From this location it’s $10 to get to the Strip by cab.

Let us know about your Megabus experience. I’m looking forward to my return trip next week, and testing out one of their other routes.

Contact: Megabus, 877-GO2-MEGA (877-462-6342)

Related Los Angeles Times links:

Reporting from 1st L.A.-Las Vegas Megabus trip
Daily Deal Blog | Megabus: $1 rides to SF, Vegas, San Diego, Oakland
New Megabus service debuts in Los Angeles
Pushing the no-frills envelope: airline ticket $10; pillow $15
Vegas! Laughlin! London Bridge! A $99 bus tour

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 1:22 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Las Vegas, Last Minute, Los Angeles, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.