Long-distance bus travel in the United States Voyage Tips and guide

Long-distance bus travel can be an interesting, inexpensive, and convenient way to see the United States, especially for travelers who do not drive their own car. Buses reach more places across the nation with greater frequencies than trains in the United States.

Understand

Buses cover more of the country than trains and have more frequent departures; and unlike air travel, there is no hassle of security. Although it is not the fastest way, competition between the various operators makes bus travel generally inexpensive. It is even possible to obtain a trip between two cities for as little as $1.

Most intercity bus services use the interstate highway system for the majority of their routes, thereby taking the fastest route they possibly can.

Most long-distance buses are comfortable. Seats are spacious and sometimes have a small flip-down table, like on an airplane. On-board toilets for passengers are also more common than not. Some bus companies show movies on board. Power outlets and Wi-Fi for passengers' use is increasingly the norm. You can also bring food and drink onboard.

Shorter runs, sometimes up to several hours long, may have no intermediate stops. But on longer routes there will be scheduled stops, either in cities where passengers are picked up and offloaded and you can get off the bus for a few moments or at a truck stop where you can get off to eat and drink in a cafe or restaurant. Longer scheduled stops are usually printed on your ticket.

For travel within 200 mi (320 km) or to destinations with limited or no commercial air service, bus travel or driving would usually be most economical way to get there. Anything over 200 mi between metropolitan areas or across the country, and you will find the cost of air travel to rival or even undercut bus fares. The exceptions for using buses over longer distances are if you plan to travel point to point across the country with the need to hop on and off frequently or to get between places not well served by commercial airlines by combining bus with air travel. In the latter case, take the bus to the nearest city with a major airport, fly to the next city, and then take another bus to the final destination. For example, if traveling from Arcata, California, to Key West, Florida, the round trip airfare may be $850, whereas the airfare from San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami in South Florida may be just $240 round trip. Therefore, one would take a bus from Arcata to San Francisco, fly from San Francisco to South Florida, and transfer to another bus going to Key West. This saves money on the difference in airfare, the cost of airport parking in San Francisco, and the extra airport surcharges for renting a car from Ft. Lauderdale. In context of this example, if you are planning to stay in Key West, you can get around locally without a car! But this may not be true in other places, especially if you are going to a remote locale, like somewhere in the Florida Keys, off of the main highway, or to the Everglades from Miami. In some major airports, intercity bus/shuttle companies (including Greyhound) do offer airport pick-up/drop-off at the 'ground transportation' (or departure) zones of the terminals.

Companies

Greyhound Lines

Greyhound Lines (Flixbus), ☏ +1 214 849-8100, toll-free: +1 800-231-2222. Greyhound is the largest bus company serving over 2,000 locations in 40 states in the U.S. and over the border into Canada and Mexico. They also operate subsidiary brands to compete in different markets such as: (updated Oct 2015)

Flixbus, ☏ +1 855 626-8585. They dominate the German market and have grown rapidly in the U.S. and Europe through subcontracting all operations to other bus companies. Flixbus only owns one bus which has the downside for customers that the buses are not of a consistent style or quality. They started U.S. operations in California and Arizona and have since expanded to different regions of the country with plans to expand further including the purchase of Greyhound from First Group in October 2021. Both Greyhound and Flixbus still operate under separate brands, although since 2023, Flixbus's web site sells tickets for both Flixbus and Greyhound routes. (updated Feb 2024)
Autobus Americanos co-brand with the Mexican bus company, Grupo Estrella Blanca to operate cross-border bus services between the U.S. and Mexico from Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah to the US/Mexican border. In some cities they call at the Greyhound stations while in other places they have their own separate depots or stops. Greyhound also go further south from Laredo, Texas, to Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey in Mexico as Greyhound Mexico.
Cruceros USA operates cross border services between Los Angeles and Tijuana via Santa Ana, San Diego & San Ysidro.
Lucky Streak goes to the casinos of Atlantic City from Baltimore, New York City (including Brooklyn), Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Quick Link Quicklink is a subsidiary brand of Greyhound Lines to provide frequent local & regional commuter services between New York and Mt Laurel and from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.
Valley Transit Co Valley Transit is a full-service bus company serving South Central and Southeastern Texas and to Reynosa, Tamaulipas in Northern Mexico from McAllen TX.

Coach USA

Coach USA. A subsidiary of the Scottish Stagecoach Group operating commuter routes, university express, airport shuttles, casino shuttles and intercity services under different brands such as: (updated Oct 2015)

Megabus operates mainly in the midwest and the eastern half of the country to rival Greyhound and the Chinatown buses. They operate between the hub cities of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando, Milwaukee, New York and Washington DC with other surrounding cities in the region.
Community Coach scheduled commuter service from Morris and Essex Counties in New Jersey to New York City.
Dillons offers bus charter and commuter services between Baltimore, Washington DC, Annapolis, and Bethesda in Maryland.
Kerrville university express service between Texas A&M in College Station, Dallas, Grand Prairie, Houston, Katy & Texas State University in San Marcos in Texas
Olympia Trails operates commuter services across the Hudson between Manhattan and northern New Jersey. They also operate local services in/around Hudson County, New Jersey (Jersey City) under the Red & Tan Brand (may of been discontinued); in/around Essex County, New Jersey as the Orange Newark Elizabeth Bus (ONE Bus); between mid-town Manhattan and Plainfield, New Jersey as the Westfield Commuter; and the Newark Airport Express between Manhattan and the Newark Airport. They also operate select Megabus routes out of New York to Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Albany, Ridgewood New Jersey and Toronto.
Rockland Coaches operates commuter bus service between New York City and points in Bergen County, NJ and Rockland County, NY. They also provide local bus service within both locales.
Shortline scheduled services from New York City to Woodbury Common, Upstate NY points, Colleges, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, Bergen and Pike Counties in New York state
Suburban Trails offers commuter, casino, and charter services in Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset Counties, New Jersey.
Van Galder Madison, Janesville, South Beloit and Rockford in Wisconsin to Chicago O'Hare along the I-39/90 corridor.
Wisconsin Coach Lines operates 15 times daily to O'Hare Airport (ORD^IATA), and Mitchell Airport (MKE^IATA) from Waukesha, Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha.

A number of the Coach USA brands have been independent companies that were bought out by or had merged with Coach USA but kept the same name they have before the merger. The Megabus brand is a brand already operating in the UK by Stagecoach Group that was imported to compete in the American & Canadian markets.

Trailways

Trailways. A franchise group of 70 independent franchisees with bases across the country. Most only offer chartered services (for hire) while others offer casino trips and/or bus tours for sightseeing or to scheduled events. The below are the few Trailways franchisees that sell individual tickets for scheduled transportation from 'A' to 'Z': (updated Jun 2016)

Arrow Trailways of Texas (Southwestern Stagelines), ☏ +1 254 634-3843. From Killeen to Temple, Waco, Round Rock, Austin and Houston in Texas. (updated Jun 2016)
Burlington Trailways, toll-free: 1 800 992-4618. Connects several cities in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska on multiple routes. (updated Jun 2016)
Fullington Trailways. Daily scheduled departures from Central Pennsylvania to end points in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (updated Jul 2016)
Martz Group, ☏ +1 570 821-3838. Commuter & intercity routes between New York City, Hackettstown, Panther Valley Mall, Atlantic City, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Stroudsburg, Poconos & Philadelphia (NJ, NY& PA). They also have affiliate brands operating scheduled services from Washington DC to surrounding areas in Maryland & Virginia as Martz Gold Line & Martz Group Virginia. (updated Jun 2016)
Trailways of New York (Adirondack & Pine Hill Trailways), ☏ +1 716 855-7533, toll-free: +1-800-858-8555. Trailways of New York includes Adirondack Trailways, Pine Hill Trailways, and New York Trailways in New York state and to Toronto & Montreal in Canada on multiple routes. (updated Jun 2016)
Northwestern Trailways, toll-free: +1-800-366-3830. Travels across Washington state & northern Idaho from their base in Spokane WA to Seattle, Boise (via Lewiston) and Coeur d'Alene in several directions on multiple routes. Another route travels between Ellensburg, WA and Omak, WA; along US Hwy 97, on contract with the state DOT as the Apple Line.
Orange Belt Stages (Trailways), ☏ +1 559 733-4408, toll-free: 1 800-266-7433. Regular scheduled service between Lemoore, CA and Santa Maria, CA through Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo. They also offer day trips to different places for sightseeing and to scheduled events throughout California. (updated May 2016)
Silver State Mainline Trailways, ☏ +1 702 726-4100, toll-free: +1 888 213-8330. Connects Doyle, CA to Las Vegas, NV through Reno, Carson City, Hawthorne, Tonopah, Beatty and Pahrump (updated Jan 2018)

Other major companies

Jefferson Lines, toll-free: +1 800 451-5333. Second largest bus company, serving Arkansas, Iowa, northern Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Nebraska ; North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin; Spokane, Washington (from Billings); Wisconsin, Wyoming; and Winnipeg, Manitoba (from Fargo), where Greyhound services are limited or unavailable. (updated Jun 2016)
Academy Bus, ☏ +1 201 420-7000, toll-free: +1 800 442-7272. Operates commuter services from New York to Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey; Casino Express from New York to Atlantic City. They also operate the: (updated Aug 2016)

Go Bus, toll-free: +1 855 888-7160. Regularly scheduled bus services by Academy Bus Lines for travel from Manhattan to Cambridge (in the Boston area), Providence, Hartford, Newton, New Haven and Brown University on multiple routes; south to Manassas and Fairfax/Vienna, VA from New York; and to Washington DC on another route from New York. They also offer regularly scheduled services from Ft Lauderdale Airport and from Miami & Miami Beach to Key West. The Go brand also include door to door shuttles (operated by franchisees) to/from the airports in many cities across the country. (updated Sep 2017)

Ally Charter Bus, toll-free: +1 866-625-7682, [email protected]. 24/7. Offers point-to-point group transportation from Virginia to Maine. (updated Nov 2018)
Concord Coach Lines, ☏ +1 603 228-3300, toll-free: +1-800-639-3317. Goes up from Boston to several cities & towns in Maine and New Hampshire on multiple routes and an express route from New York to Portland, ME in New England.
Express Arrow (Black Hills Stage Lines), ☏ +1 402 371-3850, toll-free: +1-877-779-2999. Travels between several cities & towns in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska & Wyoming on multiple routes. (updated Jul 2015)
Groome Transportation. Scheduled Airport shuttle buses (and vans) from several major airports to outlying cities in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming at varying distances. More to come as the company expand. (updated Nov 2023)
Indian Trails and Michigan Flyer, toll-free: +1 800 292-3831. Connects Michigan to Chicago, Gary and Milwaukee and intrastate bus services within Michigan and Wisconsin. The Michigan Flyer Line connects Detroit Metropolitan Airport to East Lansing and Ann Harbor 12-13 times daily. (updated Oct 2017)
Miller Transportation (Hoosier Ride), (office) 111 Outer Loop, Louisville, KY 40214, ☏ +1 502 368-5644. Miller Transportation operates scheduled bus services throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee as Hoosier Ride. (updated Jan 2018)
New Jersey Transit, ☏ +1 973 275-5555. Operates commuter and long distances buses to places in New Jersey from New York and Philadelphia, such as the #319 from New York to Atlantic City; and #313/315 from Philadelphia to Cape May. They also operate intrastate routes from Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, and Elizabeth to various townships and locally within a township in New Jersey. Some of their local and commuter routes are operated by subsidiaries of Coach USA. (updated May 2018)
Omnibus la Cubana, ☏ +1 212 740-6870, toll-free: +1-800-365-8001. Comes up from Miami to New York through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington, DC; Elkton, MD; Philadelphia and New Jersey. (updated Jun 2016)
OurBus, ☏ +1 844-800-6828. Goes mainly on routes in the Northeast (Boston, Richmond, Washington, Buffalo, Niagara Falls), plus routes in Indiana, Chicago, and Florida. (updated Nov 2019)
Peter Pan & Bonanza, toll-free: +1-800-349-9999. Operates buses between multiple cities & towns in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Philadelphia, PA; New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Washington DC, in the northeastern part of the country. (updated Jun 2016)
Pacific Crest Bus Lines (PCBL), ☏ +1 541-382-4193, [email protected]. Pacific Crest Bus Lines operates 6 routes from Eugene to Bend, Eugene to Florence, Eugene to Oakridge, Bend to Klamath Falls, Klamath Falls to Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass, Grants Pass to Brookings, and Bend to Portland via Salem. Prices vary. (updated Mar 2023)
Salt Lake Express, ☏ +1 208 656-8824. Serves multiple locations in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming from Salt Lake City. They also include connections to Truckee, CA and Beaver Dam, AZ from Salt Lake City; from Boise to Seattle via Spokane and Everette (on Northwestern Trailways routes); and to Furnace Jct, CA on its route between Fallon, NV and Las Vegas. (updated Jul 2015)
Shofur offers bus charter and rental services for group travel in over 250 cities within the United States.
Southeastern Stages, ☏ +1 404 591-2750, toll-free: +1-877-837-9709, fax: +1 404 591-2745. Southeastern Stages operates daily scheduled service between cities in the Southeast including: Atlanta, GA; Asheville, NC; Charleston, SC; Columbia, SC; Myrtle Beach, SC; Savannah, GA; Fayetteville, NC and other cities and towns surrounding and between those cities in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. They also have interline agreements with Greyhound & other bus companies to offer service to additional places in the Southeast. (updated Jul 2015)
Vamoose, ☏ +1 212 695-6766, +1 301 718-0036. Connects Midtown Manhattan in New York to Bethesda, MD; Arlington, VA & Lorton, VA. (updated Jun 2016)
Falcon Charter Bus, toll-free: +1 866-217-2168, [email protected]. 24/7. Provides connecting services in over 20 cities in the Southeast. (updated Nov 2018)

The above list is not complete as there are numerous publicly operated buses as public transportation in urban and rural areas and privately owned & operated (for profit) companies traveling across longer distances. Some cross state lines (or international lines to Canada or Mexico) while others operate within a single state. See By bus under Get in, in a city or town article and under Get around and/or Get in, in a state article for a list of additional bus companies traveling to or through that location. A number of the Trailways and other bus lines have interline agreements with Greyhound Lines & each other to allow travelers to buy another bus company's ticket on Greyhound.com or their respective websites for contiguous travel. Under such agreements they usually use shared bus station facilities but not always the case either.

Chinatown buses

Chinatown Buses. A group of small independent discount bus companies operated by Chinese American entrepreneurs since 1998 to provide cheap transportation for the Chinese communities in Boston & New York. They have since expanded to provide bus services from New York to Atlantic City, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond and a number of other cities on the East Coast to as far south as Orlando and to as far west as Cleveland by various small, loosely 'affiliated', independent companies transporting other travelers in addition to the Chinese populace. There are additional companies marketing as a "Chinatown bus" in the West Coast. Because they're cheap, a number of them have questionable standards of safety and do not provide great service. Some had even gone out of business or have been being shut down by regulators as a result while others crop up to take their places. See GoToBus.com and ILikeBus.com to look them up and buy tickets. (updated Jun 2016)

Mexican buses

Some Mexican bus companies offer cross-border transportation between U.S. and Mexico as far north as Chicago and far south as Mexico City from the U.S./Mexico border areas. Some of the cross-border buses are subsidiaries of a larger Mexican bus company while others are smaller American- or Mexican-owned companies serving the regions near the border on one or both sides.

Connections from Texas hubs to the Midwest including Chicago, the Southeast and Mexico are offered by Tornado Bus, El Expreso, Omnibus Mexicanos and Turimex Internacional. Service in and out of Florida is offered by the Chilean JetSet, Argentinian RedCoach, and Cuban-American La Cubana. In California and the Southwest operators include FuturaNet, Tufesa, InterCalifornias^{[dead link]} and El Paso-Los Angeles Limousines, which may have tickets starting from $1.

El Expreso, (company office) 812 Delano St, Houston, TX, toll-free: 1 800 601-6559. They operate buses to Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North and South Carolina and Alabama and within Texas from Houston. At the US/Mexican border they serve Laredo/Nuevo Laredo; Matamoros/Brownsville; Reynosa/McAllen and more along the Rio Grande (where Texas borders Mexico). El Expreso partners with Grupo Estrella Blanca, ADO and other Mexican bus companies for onward services south of the border. They also operate the Tornado Bus brand to compliment El Expreso. (updated Jun 2016)
El Paso Los Angeles Limousine Express, ☏ +1 213 623-2323, +1 915 532-4061. Travels across the southwest, along I-10 from El Paso to Los Angeles via Phoenix; I-10/I-25 to Denver via Las Cruces and Albuquerque; and from El Paso towards Torreon via Cd Juarez, Chihuahua (City) and Delicias along Mex Fed Hwy 45 as Los Limousines. They also have additional routes to Las Vegas from Los Angeles & Phoenix. (updated Apr 2016)
Omnibus Express, toll-free: 01 800 765-66-36 (MX), +1-800-923-1799 (US). A subsidiary of the Mexican bus company, Omnibus Mexicanos, provides transportation from Texas towards Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana in the U.S. and to Aguascaliente, Colima, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, DF, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michocoan, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas states in Mexico. They also offer intrastate travel within Texas. (updated Jun 2016)
Tufesa, ☏ +1 213 489-8079. Connects Los Angeles to Sacramento (via Bakersfield, Fresno, etc.); to Salt Lake City (via Barstow, Las Vegas, St George, etc); to Hermosillo (via Phoenix, Tucson, Nogales); San Francisco Bay Area; to Salt Lake City via (Las Vegas, St George, etc.) and to Tijuana (via Santa Ana, San Diego/San Ysidro). From Hermosillo it travels north towards the US state of Arizona and south towards Mazatlan along the Hwy 15 corridor in Sinaloa & Sonora states. Prices vary depending on your destination.
Turimex Internacional, toll-free: +1-800-733-7330 (US), 01 800 890-90-90 (Mexico). A subsidiary of the Mexican bus company Grupo Senda provides transportation from Texas to Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia in the U.S. and to Aguascaliente, Colima, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michocoan, Nuevo Leon, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas states in Mexico. (updated Oct 2015)

Tickets

Tickets can often be purchased online with many of the bus companies, some offering discounts for buying online while others require the tickets can only be bought online. Others with established stations and stops at hotels and convenience stores may sell the tickets at the station or through the store or hotel front desk on a contract basis. The companies with only a curbside stop may require tickets be purchased online, printed and presented to the driver prior to boarding as the drivers cannot accept payment or carry any cash. See their websites as to what the policy may be.

Station amenities

Inside a Greyhound Lines station in Nashville, Tennessee

Layovers are a part of longer bus journeys. Some last only 10 minutes, but they can be several hours long. If you have the energy, longer layovers can be used to explore the city. Some travelers may choose to break a long journey to stay overnight in a hotel next to the bus station/stop to be able to shower and get some rest before continuing on the next bus for the rest of the trip.

In many cities Greyhound Lines have closed their large monumental stations and sold them. They have since downsized to curbside stops (like in Portland, Oregon) or into shared facilities with Amtrak trains & local public transportation (Los Angeles, Denver, San Jose, etc) or with local public transportation only (known as 'transit centers' as in Las Vegas). In smaller towns, they have contracted with convenience stores and truck stops (Love's, Travel Centers of America, Pilot's Flying 'J', AM/PM, etc) or hotels to serve as a pick-up/drop-off stop or as a de-facto station. In other places (Seattle, Sacramento, Orlando, Daytona Beach, etc) Greyhound still maintain and operate full service bus station but in smaller building which may or may not eventually close. Other companies have only designated curbside stops or maintain their own separate bus stations in smaller buildings or a "hole in the wall" storefront (such as the 'chinatown' bus companies in New York). They (including Greyhound) also offer airport pick-up/drop-off at the 'ground transportation' (or departure) zones at a major airport or somewhere nearby such as in Buffalo, Miami, Seattle, Orlando, Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, etc. Since the acquisition of Greyhound Lines by Flixbus they now have the same shared stops and stations as well as additional stop(s) for Flixbus.

Therefore, amenities vary according to the location. Gone are the days of the large open indoor waiting room with a small TV set on the armrest at each seat, with a restaurant inside the station. Curbside stops require passengers to reserve, pre-pay and print their tickets or be able to generate a QR code on a mobile device prior to travel as drivers cannot accept cash or card payments and can refuse passengers without a pre-paid ticket. Even at a retail store/truck stop the store may only provide space for the bus to pull in and load/unload passengers only while others may sell tickets and/or provide indoor seating for bus passengers. The remaining functioning bus stations (and those in Amtrak stations) still sell tickets over the counter and offer an indoor waiting room which are small and basic in comparison to the past Greyhound stations. Food and overnight stay options will vary depending on the availability of stores, restaurants, cafes and/or hotels surrounding the stop or station. Some of which are in sketchy neighborhoods with unsavory characters loitering around these establishments while the nearby hotels/motels can be used as dens for prostitution, drug dealing and other criminal activities.

Local public transportation vary in their frequencies and routing. In urban areas the same bus station or stop may be served by multiple local public transportation routes on more frequent schedules while in remote rural locations services are limited and less frequent. Some rural public transportation companies may only operate on certain days or every other week rather than daily. Check their schedules closely if planning to use local public transportation. Otherwise arriving passengers will have to arrange for taxi, ride-share (Uber, Lyft, etc), or with a known contact for pick-up prior to arrival as the stop or station can be in sketchy neighborhoods in an unfamiliar location. In some places a car rental office (Usually Avis, Enterprise or Hertz) can be nearby the bus stop or station for car rental.

If you choose to spend your layover time sampling nearby bars do not get drunk as you will not be allowed on the bus. Even the smell of alcohol in your breath may be enough for a driver to disallow you back on the bus.

Rules

Generally, the few rules imposed on bus travelers are very basic and largely common sense. Smoking and alcohol consumption are always forbidden. Some buses have signs banning eating and drinking, but this is rarely enforced; if you do eat or drink try to clean up after yourself. Try to keep noise to a minimum - no-one wants to hear other people's conversations or music. Unlike air travel, security checks are rare, but there are occasional inspections for 'banned' items, though items that are obvious hazards such as firearms may not be brought on board. Each company has its own guidelines regarding live animals.

Stay safe

In the United States, the security risks in long-distance bus travel can be related to the behavior of other passengers and maintaining order on the buses.

There have been several reported incidents where threatening or violent situations have occurred between passengers on long-distance buses. In these cases, the risk is directed at other passengers and the bus staff.

Problems can be caused by, for example:

Substance abuse on buses
Disruptive behavior from those with mental health issues
Arguments and fights between passengers
Possession of weapons on buses
Disruptive behavior from youth gangs

The openness of long-distance buses and the large number of certain types of passengers increase the risk of such situations compared to, for example, air travel.

Bus companies try to address these issues with security personnel and passenger screenings, but it is difficult to guarantee complete safety in all situations.

In any case, the threat of situations caused by other passengers is an unfortunate security risk in long-distance bus travel in the United States.