Its really hard to write a review for intercity bus lines. We take them mostly because we can't afford other ways to travel. While flying accommodations on planes are similar to inter-city buses (tight), the distance they travel in a given time-frame greatly makes up for the inconvenience. The cost factor on the other hand; is quite problematic,
Same thing for the intercity trains - they have the roomiest accommodations and are faster than the intercity buses, but the cost factor is also quite a challenge.
That brings us to the various types of intercity bus travel. Several different companies operate intercity travel, but they're collectively the least preferred method, yet most cost efficient.
Take Peter Pan bus lines for instance. They're an independent company, but have a route (and ticket) sharing agreement with Greyhound. I travel back and forth between NYC and Baltimore several times a year, and most buses I book through the Greyhound website actually tend to be Peter Pan buses.
Booking online through Peter Pan's (or Greyhound's) website is pretty easy so that's a plus. There is a $20 change fee once you purchase your ticket, so don't miss your bus or otherwise have to reschedule; that change fee stings. Also, you have to either print your ticket at home or elect to pick up your ticket from the will call window at the terminal. Note: you CANNOT elect to print your ticket at home then ask to have it printed at the window at the terminal when/if you forget to print your ticket at home. They will NOT let you show your ticket number or confirmation number from your phone.
Peter Pan and Greyhound pick up from Port Authority, which for all it's issues, is subway accessible, covered and temperature regulated (?), and has places to buy food and use the bathroom. The Baltimore terminal is (now) adjacent to the Horsehoe Casino and adjacent to a Holiday Inn hotel and Royal Farms. There's a bathroom and vending machines for snacks and food. Its relatively clean and they do have a TV that plays CNN or ESPN. The #27 Baltimore local bus also picks up here and takes you into downtown.
Depending on how far in advance you purchase your ticket, you'll be assigned a boarding number between 1 and 55 (the max # of seats on the bus). At the terminal you board by boarding group number (1-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40+). Most of the time they will check this, but not every time so be ready when you see your bus (especially in Baltimore where they have only one lane and group numbers are different parts of the same lane).
For the amount of time you spend with ticketing and waiting in the terminal, you spend so much more of it on the bus - so what's that experience like?
Well here's the good news for starters - the buses come with outlets and wifi. each of the seats has a little tray that folds up and down. The coaches have bathrooms.
Sounds reasonable enough. Here's the bad news - Peter Pan has the TIGHTEST SEATS between rows. After riding Greyhound, MegaBus, BoltBus and Peter Pan - Peter Pan has the tightest seats between rows. Now I'm pretty tall, 6'3, but us tall folks need options too. All the other bus lines have more room between seats. I prefer Greyhound's the best (but that's a separate review/update). I've never been impressed with wifi on any of the buses (or intercity trains for that matter), so if it works, nice. If it doesn't, I whip out my air card.
Overall, Peter Pan gets points for its Port Authority pickup and dropoff, outlets and cost relative to other methods of transportation (air, rail, car). It loses points for how tight the seats are, spotty wifi, and how tight the seats are combined with the spotty wifi and the length of the trip.
All that said, for my next trip to and from Baltimore, I'll probably be back on Peter Pan. read more