Flixbus is super cheap. The service fees are low (only $2 per transaction, not per fare like other companies may charge) and if you book early out enough, you can find some great $4.99 fares. The rides themselves, when adhering to schedule, are pretty pleasant and quick. I've only taken the Sacramento to SF round-trip connection, as it makes a stop in Oakland, so my review is reflective of this experience only. Megabus does not stop in Oakland so Flixbus seemed very convenient to me. In my experience the buses have been cleaner and felt newer than other private transit I've utilized before.
There are also more stops in general, which are both Flixbus's merit and downfall. If you book a trip from Sac to SF but then realize you need to get off before the bridge, you can just hop off in Oakland. I believe there's also a route that does LA to San Jose to SF to Oakland to Sac, so you get all those cities along the way if needed. However, this also makes the chance of delays way higher, as there are more stops to make, and each consecutive stop becomes more delayed if the one prior is late for any reason.
I have taken maybe 50 trips over Flixbux over the past year. I would do the Sac-Oak connection pretty much every weekend. Initially, it was great. Oakland is exactly where I need to be. It's much cheaper than Amtrak, less sketchy than Greyhound, and saves me a BART/Uber to/from the City as I would have to with Megabus. Seemed like an all-around great deal. And for the first 9 months or so, the service was great. Yes, there would be delays here and there, but typically no more than 30 minutes. (For reference, Megabus which seems most similar in service and price to Flixbus, is almost never delayed. I've taken Megabus about 30 times and only had trips that were delayed a handful of times).
A few months ago, probably around the beginning of summer 2019, let's say May, I noticed the delays were becoming longer and longer. The longest I'd stuck it out was and hour and a half. Unfortunately, Flixbus's customer service phone number is pretty much nonexistent. They keep you on hold forever, or tell you there are no agents available to help. So if your bus doesn't show up and you want to know where it is, you're out of luck. They do have a bus tracker which in theory is a fantastic idea in terms of figuring out where your bus is geographically at a certain point in time, but it almost never works. I think I've only seen it work for maybe 5 out of the ~50 trips I've taken. And I even have the app. This to me, is the biggest downside to Flixbus's service: the uncertainty. The feeling of standing alone with your luggage on a random sidewalk (not even a proper station with employees you can direct questions to), and wondering "Will my bus be here in 3 minutes or 3 hours?). If they could just be transparent about delays, I could occupy my time with something else. I could go grab a meal or go back home briefly so I don't have to wait in the cold (or worse, the 110° Sacramento summers). But they aren't. Often, you won't get a text or email about delays (I only do half the time). You have to go on the app or mobile site yourself and check, and often it's only updated AFTER the scheduled departure time. So what's the point?
This is problematic for multiple reasons. You aren't just wasting your money on your fare. You're spending additional money to get to your destination another way (for me, it's usually Amtrak which is the most expensive option, $29 one way, because I can't just NOT get home for the night). You're wasting your time waiting at a bus stop for a bus that may never come.
They do technically have a refund policy that you can contact via email form on their website. I've submitted about 10 claims at this point, but only have ever gotten ONE successful refund, ever. And it took about 30 business days to get that response--that's not a typo. 30 BUSINESS DAYS.
For these reasons, I cannot in good conscience recommend Flixbus as a company. If you are broke and this is the only method of transportation you can afford for longer distances, then okay, maybe you can risk the delays. If your money is more valuable than your time--sure, give them a shot.
But if you require reliability in a transportation service, or don't want to waste your time, or would prefer not to wait in the dark streets of West Oakland for 2 hours with no updates from the app and no way to contact customer service, then absolutely, 100% stay away from Flixbus. You have other options that do have their own advantages and disadvantages (my preference is Megabus, Amtrak, and Greyhound in that order) but at least one thing they all have in common is that their vehicles show up and get you to your destination relatively on time. And at least if Amtrak or Greyhound are delayed, you have a station with food, bathrooms, and employees around to service you, rather than being stranded in alone in a dark street with no notification or direction. read more