A New Bus Service From New York

Bolt Bus

“A NEW KIND OF SERVICE”

How would you go to Washington DC from New York without the hassle of security checks and waiting at terminals etc?? Or to Boston? Or to Philadelphia? By plane? Wrong answer! By train? Wrong answer! You take the BOLT BUS!!

I did that when I had to go to the Transportation Security Administration Coalition meeting in DC on Sept 17, 2008.  I was skeptical about the comforts when I was told about this service. I am a sworn fan of Amtrak to go to DC from New York. Amtrak lets me work for the 3 and half hours it takes to get there. With my Black Berry as a modem I can be on the internet also. So I am happy with it. Buy my ticket, get my points added to my rewards account, get to Penn Station with about 10 to 15 minutes to spare to get my coffee before I board – perfect scenario for travel! How can Bolt Bus give me better service?

I logged on to their web site https://www.boltbus.com/ to buy my ticket the previous day. The site tells me that the fare starts from $1.00 and goes up to $25.00. Mine came to $20.00. You can buy your tickets online as well as on the bus as a walk on passenger.

 After I bought the ticket, I decided to join their frequent rider program called My Bolt Rewards.  To my chagrin I found out that I had to join the program to get the points for my trip, for which I had just bought the ticket. I decided to send them an email asking if they could add that trip. To tell you the truth I did not expect them to answer for several days and also expected them to tell me that was the policy and they were very sorry that they could not accommodate me. To my surprise and pleasure I got an email immediately asking for the details of my reservation so that they can add that trip to my points! Wow! Was that for real?  These details should be mundane routine procedures. But in these days and times we are so used to bad service and lackadaisical work that gestures like these renews ones faith in good employees and the service ethic!

When I reached the corner of 33^rd St and 7^th Ave, the bus was already there. Again I was surprised by the courtesy, cordiality and friendliness of the driver. She started loading the bus exactly as planned at 12:45 pm for our 1PM departure. They have large bold letters A, B and C on your reservation code which gives you your group to board. They board by groups with their rewards program members boarding first, followed by customers who purchased tickets online and finally by walkup passengers.

The buses are equipped with WiFi, power outlets, and a restroom. All their buses are also equipped with a lift for wheelchairs and the passengers can either transfer to one of the seats or travel in their own wheelchairs. Please go on their site for more information on their services.

The trip was one of the smoothest I have taken and I was able to work with my laptop with the help of the WiFi   provided free of cost. We got to DC on schedule with no delays.

 I decided to come back on Bolt Bus since there was enough time to get on the last one to New York. Jeff the driver was even friendlier and more cordial with individual attention to each of the passengers. It was wonderful to see how caring he was of one of the passengers who was using a scooter.  He boarded him first and made sure he was comfortable before attending to the others. The return journey was as pleasant as the previous.

With out any reservation I would recommend to everyone irrespective of their abilities, to try out this new service. Bolt Bus is operated by Grey Hound. SATH is proud to acknowledge that they have been our sponsor for the longest! Bolt Bus is the right answer to the bus services being run from New York by companies who do not care for people with disabilities and blatantly ignore ADA laws and regulations!!

Thank you Bolt Bus and Thank you Grey Hound for standing up to them.

                                                                       The scooter inside the bus