If only there were a better option! But there isn't..! The pros about this service are.. when on time, it is super fast! It is a no fuss bus service, will get you to DC in 4 hours flat - goven there is no traffic! The sucky parts however - they overbook, a LOT of times! If the bus does not turn up, God save you from the throng of people pushing to get into the next available one! The drivers are rude, as are the people who run this service. If God forbid, your bus stalls in the middle of nowhere.. well.. be prpared to be stuck there for atleast 4 hours.. happened to me :( sigh.. anyways.. you gotta do what u gotta do! so..! read more

For those in the east coast rat race, I salute you! For only we have survived all of the trife that has become inevitable when trying to make that ever epic journey between NY and DC. The late amtrak trains, crazy airport security and JFK delays, dirty stinky greyhounds with bad drivers, and alas the chinatown bus. The cheapies unite! If you have to take the Chinatown bus, Eastern is one of the best choices. I have taken several others and this company provides at the very least the most consistent service. Eastern picks up downtown and in midtown by Penn station. You usually will just see a long line of people waiting for the bus at a corner. There is no particular order and though they have an online reservation system, the reality is often just first come, first served. Even if you have a reservation get there 15-20 mins early, so that you can get a better position in line. The buses run generally on time. On major holiday weekends, basically the only time I am travelling, its really luck of the draw on this point. They often make a stop in Baltimore on the way to DC, so it may not be express service depending on the time. The buses are generally clean and newer models than some of the other companies. Also if you book at gotobus.com, they have a $5 discount for booking roundtrip so it only costs $35. You can do better, but for this price and in comparison to its competition, Eastern is where it's at! read more

Eastern completely LIES about their schedule. They say it will take 6 hours from NYC to Richmond (9:30am departure, 3:30pm arrival), and they don't mention stopping in Baltimore & DC. In a car with no traffic issues, it takes 6 hours to drive from NYC to Richmond. No bus has the capability of getting from NYC to Richmond in 6 hours with not one but TWO stops between. It's fine if it takes 8 hours. Just say so on your site! Also, the bus was FREEZING cold when I got on, and despite multiple requests from passengers for the bus driver to turn on the heat, nothing happened for the first two hours. It did finally get warm, but not before I almost lost a finger to frostbite... I would have given a one star rating if not for the fact that the bus was clean and there was free wifi (in fact, I'm writing this review using that free wifi). read more

Yes, it is cheap, I will give them that, but they DO NOT CONDUCT BUSINESS W/ANY SENSE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. Last Saturday, I arrived at 10:05am hoping to catch the 10am but to DC. They said it left - fair enough, since I was late. But, then why are therestill ppl here saying they've been waiting since 9:45am for the 10am bus?? So, the schedule I received when I purchased my bus ticket reads another bus for DC leaves at 11am. My boyf and I decide to find some cheap eats to kill time until the next bus. We get a gang of food and two bottles of water for $6 at Prosperity Dumpling and return to the Eastern office at 10:45. Oh, the friendly gent behind the Eastern counter tells us we have an outdated schedule and the next bus leaves at noon?! WTF, we ask? Why did their employee sell us a ticket and give us an outdated schedule? Response: "Ask her, I am not her. I dont know why. Here is the updated." So, of course, we are now livid and two hours behind schedule. The gent behind the counter couldnt be any more rude and callous. The bus fare here is cheap, yes, but for reliable service and customer service you'd expect in a civilized, developed nation, DO NOT GO HERE... read more

Worst bus experience ever. The bus is old and falling apart. It smells like the dirty toilet in the back. The bus driver was talking the entire time he was driving. I take bolt, megabus and vamoose. I made the mistake of calling them China Buses... These are pure luxury compared the actual China Bus I took. I will never use this company again even if it will save me a few bucks. NOT WORTH IT!!! Btw.... I didn't print my ticket and was charge $1 for a lady to write my confirmation number on a small piece of paper and to then give that small piece of paper to a man standing right next to her. What a waste of paper and what a waste of a dollar. Do not take the bus. EVER. read more

This company is low budget, it reminds me a lot of the bus companies I used to travel around Latin America on the cheap. I took the Saturday 8AM bus to DC. It was comfortable but full. On my way back I caught the Tuesday 6PM. It was empty, but smelled like someone tipped over a portable toilet. A terrible blend of chemicals and urine. For five hours. read more

This is the same company that I dealt with who runs Apex Bus. I should have learned the first time. I booked the 3 day tour (PA/DC/Niagra) on their site GotoBus.com for my family. You're better off just purchasing a 2 night/day tour of either DC or Niagra, NOT both in one trip. In a nut shell, the 3 day tour is a massive failure. It is not possible to tour these places and enjoy them for what they really are in 3 days. Sure, you can "see" them all in 3 days but you CAN'T "tour" them in 3 days. I should have thought smarter on my end. What you're really paying for are 2 days of bus ridding and 1 day of sightseeing, if you do the math. Want to see the Liberty Bell in PA? Forgettaboutit! You are only given 30 minutes at that stop. Not enough time to even buy the tickets especially if you have your family with you. Looking forward to seeing DC? Too bad for you! You only have 30 minutes to run (and I mean run) up to the Lincoln Memorial and stagger over to one musuem. Thinking of touring the monuments on your own because you could not stand just seeing the George Washington Monument from a distance? Sorry, but they book you in a hotel over an hour away from the National Mall and that is impossible. Niagra Falls? Better have nice vision. Sure you can see the lights at night but don't you want to see it in the AM? Maybe you could have had the chance to do both if they didn't have you WASTING 2 hours at the Glass Musuem Waste of time, waste of money, waste of energy. If you can afford too, see them all on SEPARATE tours. 3 days is not enough. This has nothing to do with it not being fancy but the fact that you paid for a 3 day "tour" and got a 2 day bus ride and 1 day worth of touring! I give them a 2 and not a 1 because I would suffer the consequences for a 1 location 2 day tour of DC or Niagra. read more

There's no point in not giving this 5 stars. There is absolutely no way you can compare the price with a train or plane. I've taken this twice from Washington D.C. to New York round trip. It takes 5 hrs. and cost $20 each way. Apparently you can get a ticket for even less the further ahead you book. If you were to fly to NYC from Dulles and park and take the Metro to the bus stop and ride the city bus to the airport (or pay more and take the privately owned Washington Flyer bus...*if you fly from Reagan, you can just take the Metro straight there) and get there an hour early (and ride out to the terminal on those absurd elevated trams) and board and fly to JFK, then take the Airtrain to the subway, then the subway to the city it will still take close to that amount of time with all the waiting. So it's $40 vs. a minimum of $150 (with the best deal). It will drop you off in Midtown at 34th and 7th Ave. or you can ride it all the way to Chinatown. When it's time to catch the bus from New York to wherever you're going, the name of the game is patience. The address "3 Pike St." is fictitious (I haven't caught the bus at the Midtown location). You'll know you're there when you see a crowd of non-Chinese people (you're in the middle of Chinatown) all asking each other if this is where you get on the bus. Then it'll pull in and everyone will crowd at the door and the attendants or whatever you call them have poor English, and they'll shout the destination for the bus, so make sure you listen. Inevitably it will be overbooked, but it's OK because they'll bring another bus around soon. It will do absolutely no good to tell these people off, I'm sure they've been yelled at way worse. Also, it's important to print your ticket out before you get there, if only to make one thing go a little smoother. It'll be alright if you don't because they'll just give you a little piece of paper on which to write down your confirmation number which they won't look at anyway when you show it to them to get on. I probably could have written my telephone number on a post-it note and handed it over and gotten a free trip to D.C. So....remember you're paying $20 for a 200+ mile ride, when there is a delay because the police won't let the bus leave because the driver doesn't have the proper license, or being the very last person on the bus and have to sit next to the bathroom door and inhale the fetor, and listen to babies crying, cell phone conversations, basic human crankiness. You'll more than likely witness at least one altercation. Sometimes they make a rest stop on the NJ turnpike, sometimes they don't. I'm in no way a drug advocate, but if you happened to be inclined, I wouldn't be totally against finding a little something to dull yourself for the ride. It might be a little too much humanity for some. By the way, at the D.C. stop there is a physical "bus station" with a bathroom. Also, there is a Starbucks on the corner of 7th for a snack or bathroom. And if you go left on 7th (facing the big Chinatown archway) and go up half a block, on the right there is a fairly decent Indian restaurant called Mehak (although I will say it gets pretty slammed in the reviews here on Yelp. I liked it). read more

My boyfriend and I took this bus service round trip from NYC to Philly. Just a quick day trip to go to a gallery, eat a cheese-steak, and head back home! You get what you pay for so don't expect anything fancy! Eastern Travel served it's purpose and got us to Philly. The pluses; very cheap, we didn't have to rent a car, we didn't have to drive, and we could sleep! read more

Best Round trip Price of $44 dollars from DC to NYC or NYC to DC !! They stop in New jersey to refuel and your able to get snacks. Make sure you arrive early regardless if you have purchased tixs, to ensure your seat. Overall amazing experience !! read more

Don't know why everyone is complaining. The service does as advertised. $23 one way to New York from DC. To avoid the dishonored online booking problem, I suggest going to the store an hour or so before the bus leaves and buy in person. Cash is king-they will take it over a piece of paper any day. The bus is an older model so expect some wear and tear. It's not filthy. Good enough for the 4 hours you'll be on it. The staff don't yell at people. It's probably a cultural thing. That's how chinese people talk. I grew up around it. I would recommend this service as long as you aren't expecting 4 or 5 star service and just need to get to your destination. read more

Everyone has mixed feelings and experiences with the Chinatown express buses, but as far as the various companies go, I am a general fan of Eastern (especially since they are one of the few that go to Richmond, VA). I will highlight some of my recent experiences: -online booking -decent wifi, most of the time -quick and simple Some of their drivers are much nicer and better than others. Obviously you can't pick your drivers, but if you get "Daniel," be ready to deal with a real A-hole. He won't let anyone sit in the first row, which is where there is the most leg room (I'm 6'3") - the Chinese drivers could care less what you do as long as you don't cause problems for them. The buses are usually on time, though this past Friday it was an hour late and none of the several employees could give us any answers, but they did give us a real attitude ("Do I look like the Driver?"). I've gotten from NYC to Richmond in 6 hours flat, and that was with a stop in DC, but it usually takes 6.5-7 hours. They usually make one 15-minute stop along the route for bathroom and food, but there is a bathroom on the bus, just don't expect it to be super clean. They put plastic bags along the aisle for trash to keep the rest of the bus clean. Round trip NYC-Richmond $60 ($55 if you depart from Chinatown in NYC, $50 if they are running a special and $45 if they are running a special and you leave from Chinatown). Usual round trip ticket to DC - $44. The Bus leaves from 7th Ave. between 34th and 33rd St., right in front of the Bank of America. Certainly don't be late, they are not afraid to leave people behind (and nor should they, IMHO). It is the cheapest way short of hitchhiking or carpooling with a bunch of people to travel around the East Coast and I've had mostly good experiences with them. read more

***PRINT YOUR TICKET!*** ***EASTERN REFUSED TO TAKE TICKETS SHOWN ON CELL PHONES*** I traveled from NYC to Baltimore the weekend after Thanksgiving. If customer service had been better on the ground in NYC they would have gotten 3 stars. My ticket was for 3:30 but the bus showed up an hour late and we left around 4:30. None of the staff acknowledged that the bus was late as they sent passengers to the back of an ever-growing line of people. The staff were very rude to us, shouting and yelling "MOVE!" if passengers didn't board fast enough. One of the staff was not wearing any kind of uniform and she looked just like a passenger, so it was confusing when she yelled at you. Once we finally boarded an hour late, they loaded my luggage for me and the bus was actually pretty nice. (WARNING - Boarding priority was given to customers with tickets printed on PAPER from their online reservations. I saw people at the front of the line - who had been waiting for hours - turned away for having tickets showing on cell phones.) The bathroom didn't smell and there were overhead lights. Some seats had electrical sockets and the WiFi worked better than any bus I've ever ridden. The ride was smooth and fast, considering it was a heavy travel weekend. When we got there, I asked the driver if Baltimore bags were separated from DC ones under the bus. He said, "I don't know! I didn't put them in there!" Okay, that's fair. I had to climb all the way inside the bus and dig out my suitcase, which was on the bottom of the pile. A little help from the driver would have been nice -- if he'd opened the luggage compartment on the other side of the bus for me, I would have been much faster getting my bag out and I wouldn't have had to crawl around inside the bottom of the bus while he watched and chuckled. Overall, it would have been a fine experience if there was any ounce of customer service involved. The staff acted as if everyone was an idi*t and an inconvenience to their day. I saw people get yelled at, ridiculed, and generally abused. Unpleasant, especially considering how late all their buses were running. read more

DO NOT TRUST EASTERN TRAVEL/ NY DC EXPRESS BUS!!! I bought a ticket online for my trip in order to travel on November 17th. But their system computerized mistakenly and processed my ticket for October 17th. What mess! Idiots are working there! I called customer service and they refused to fix this problem. There is BIG NEGATIVE ATTITUDE and IGNORANCE. Even they won't fix and won't refund my money for their problem. I paid $25 for nothing! read more

Bolt and Mega were sold out and I was desperate to get from NYC to Baltimore so resorted to Eastern. Worst travel experience of my life!! I had purchased a R/T ticket online to depart at 6:30 pm. Buses came and went, not taking new passengers. At 8 pm I finally made it onto a bus, but there were many in line behind me who did not. Return from Baltimore was the same bad experience. Staff was rude and unhelpful all around. It seems like they do not keep track of the # of tickets sold online relative to seats available, while taking cash customers onsite too. In the end the stress was not worth it! Will never give Eastern my business again, and encourage you to skip them as well. read more

This company made me swear off buses forever!!! First of all the pick up spot was in a parking lot and the only signage was 2ft high and mostly in Korean. The ticket said to be there no later than 7:30am for a 7:50 departure. The bus arrived at 7:55. While the driver did get us there in 3hrs the bus had no wifi, working reading lights or movie.Fortunately I didn't have to brave the bathroom. The people in front of me were reclined in my lap . When we were dropped off at the corner of 34th & 7th in NYC, I asked the driver if this was were we would be picked up that evening. Even though he barely spoke English, he did point to the ground and say "Yes, Here!" He seemed very annoyed that I had interrupted his cigarette. So that evening we arrived at 7:15 for a 7:30 pickup. No bus . Finally at around 8:00 a bus marked Eastern Travel did stop at that corner . I ran up to it relieved. The driver refused to open the door, started laughing and drove off!! I was now STRANDED IN NYC in the pouring rain!!! When I called the # on the ticket there was no answer except to say the voicemail was full. I finally got home 24 hours later (not by bus!!) and when I contacted the bus company they refused to refund my money and did not seem to care at all. From now on I will stick to the train!!! Eastern Travel left me STRANDED IN NYC!!!!!! DO NOT USE GOtoBUS or EASTERN TRAVEL!!! WORST EXPERIENCE!!!!! read more

This bus service is terrible. They do not account for how many tickets they sell per bus, so there is almost always never enough seats. I arrived for the 1pm bus out of NYC, boarded, then deboarded because it was full. Got on the 2pm bus. It didn't leave until 2:20 (BC it wasn't full yet...they waited for more passengers to trickle on). Then, as we neared Philly they started dropping people at random spots in jersey. Didn't arrive until 5:30, 1.5 hours late. There are many more bus options and any are probably better than this read more

I am sitting here (4/14/2014) in Atlanta( Bulford Hwy) waiting on the 6 pm bus to NYC. Only to find out via overheard conversation with the lady at the desk and a customer who wants to know what time the 6 pm bus is leaving. The desk clerk says at 7 pm. This is after she told her 6:30 pm, earlier. The desk clerk said the driver is coming. Really I interjected and said when are we to know this. The clerk said "you could ride with greyhound you don't like." I would like my money back, I said. That was the end of that. I did board the bus. I had another horrible experience in the middle of the night I needed to use the potty. Well the bus had stopped at a mall to pick up 'customer' and change driver. I went into the stall on wheels and in desperate need to go I took a chance. Guess what there was no covering at the window. A clear view to who ever was in view and there were by standers. I waited until the bus pulled off and balance myself as the shocks on the bus cried out for replacement. This company should be put out of operations. I know some are saying 120 round trip, you get what you pay for, but really. They have a total disregard for basic protocol. You can spend 60.00 more and greyhound is more applicable not they don't need some competition. My trip from NYC to Atlanta. The bus was smelly. No Wi-Fi and no outlets. We had to change bus before we left NYC. This bus was not smelly. This bus had Wi-Fi ,but the signal was so weak, what was the point. We now are riding in the dark until day break. No lights over head. No tissue in the bathroom. No sanitizers. A long ride turned into a stinky mess with poor ventilation. Our projected arrival into Atlanta was for 10:15 am. It was not even close to being late. It was off schedule. We arrived at 1:27 pm. You have been forewarned. Show the Chinese bus company that, it is unacceptable to operate in this manner. read more

Really bad experience, they delayed for half of hour and they took all local routes going to New York from DC which took us almost 6.5 hours getting there! Seriously, I went with DC deluxe from New York to DC and spent only 4 hours!! No Chinese bus anymore if you value your time!! Super bad service! read more

I use to take the other bus service down the block but this by far kicks there butt. Nice, clean bus(yes clean) it even had a ac wall output for devices. I love it! read more

What a NIGHTMARE! I ordered tickets from www.gotobus.com for a two day trip from NY to Niagara Falls, and within the first five minutes, I wanted to go home. The first stop was Chinatown, where another bus was going to pick us up. Chinatown is not the most attractive or pleasant stop, and they kept us there for more than 10 minutes :( The bus that picked us up did not give us a smooth ride, but instead jumped over invisible pot holes. The air conditioner kept leaking on me and other passengers,and the driver got lost. The hotel we stayed at felt like a motel, and the food places we stopped at were really gross. They did not give us enough time to explore Niagara Falls before we left. I shudder whenever I think of this trip, and I am now afraid of bus tours. I DO NOT recommend this. read more

I often use this bus from New York to DC and there were mostly Chinese passengers with a few people of other ethnicity's waiting to board. When the bus pulls up there is always a pushing match to get on, for some reason they have never addressed this issue buy asking the passengers to line up like civilized humans and board in an orderly fashion. One of the passengers was an elderly African American woman, and when I say elderly she was in her 70's. The front seating is designated by US law for handicap use and when she stated this to the two men sitting there is turned into a whole issue that became racist. The bus driver acted as if he did not care and told her that he could do nothing about it, and then proceeds to say several things in Chinese to the other passengers about Obama and they all start laughing. The only thing this woman and Obama have In common is their ethnicity and there is nothing funny about that. This was racist, disrespectful, and sad is this how they treat their elders in China? I was on a previous trip with this company when the bus driver made a little boy who was too young to sit in the front seat move, so why is it an issue that turned racist when a handicap passengers asks for the same thing? P.S. If you are not comfortable with your driver talking on the phone for 70% of the drive, use another company. read more

This bus is not worth taking. All of the staff is incredibly rude. Both the manager and the driver got in fights with passengers. They blare movies the entire time so it is impossible to sleep and it is not fully equipped with outlets. We were two hours late in arriving. read more

I took a GoToBus from Columbus, Ohio to Chinatown in NYC. Horrible! The bus was VERY bouncy and swerving which tells me the shocks were defective. They only leave at midnight and knew this would be trouble but that was my choice. No promised WIFI or power outlets. Narrow, undivided seats that barely tilted back. WARNING! if you are late, the driver will sell your seat to someone else - cash slipped into his palm. Drivers are rude to customers.... treated more like cattle. Never again! read more

My parents travel often from DC to NY; Eastern Bus is their 1st choice. I want to especially show my gratitude to their bus driver & excellent customer service on Nov 11, 2013 8am bus from DC to NY. Old people tend to forget things. My mom left her iPad in the bus after departs. That's her most entertainment piece; imaging how upset she was. I called the office with less hope to find the iPad. To my surprise, bus driver had already brought the iPad to the office. After verification, my mom got her iPad back! I'm writing to share the great experience we had with this company. Keep up the superb job. read more

While I did first try out the competition (around the corner), I'd figure it couldn't get much worse right? I was proven wrong. The police "harassment" was due to locals living on the block (so I was told). I found it confusing since their actual stop is further down the block then at this location on 3 Pike street. I found myself standing here where I was flagged down by a lady with minimal comprehension of the English language. With the police presence on the block, the bus does not show up. So i was forced to wait longer then I had anticipated in the sweltering heat with no shelter. And then it started to pour like I was standing underneath Niagara Falls. This is what I paid for, a cheap ticket to DC in wet clothing. read more

I took the 6pm bus from Washington DC to New York on May 12, 2013 and the ride was very scary. The way that the driver changed lanes was very unsafe. He abruptly changed lanes and every time he did, the bus would feel like it was going to tip over. and I was terrified the entire time as were other passengers. I take the bus quite often and have never had a driver change lanes the way that made the bus feel like it was going to tip over. read more