Megabus will come back!!

Only after one month since I wrote the article, "Megabus abolished Megabus Abolished Newark, DE - New York Line",
it will come back from September 10th !!

I'm so glad that they restart the bus line again.
However, the schedule and price are not as good as before.
It seems Megabus fix the tickets price which leave 8:00AM  Newark, DE as $23.
The tickets return to Delaware is much cheaper than that though.

◆Departs Newark,DE

Monday-Thursday 12:30 PM,

Friday 8:00 AM, 6:10 PM, 

Saturday 8:00 AM, 

Sunday 1:00 PM,6:10 PM

◆Departs New York, NY

Monday-Thursday 5:30 PM, 

Friday- Saturday 12:30 PM, 4:30 PM, 

Sunday 4:30 PM, 5:30 PM

The parking in UD of lot #7 is $4 per day.  (visitor area)
You need buy permission online and print it out and put behind your car window.

I used to use Megabus for one day trip to NY all the time.
However,  now since the Megabus schedule and price have changed, I  prefer to use Grayhound Bus.
Grayhound have more selections of departure time and not so expensive, compare to new Megabus price.

Recently I realized, if you buy Round ticket, Grayhound will provide  some discount.
Also, if you buy more than one person's ticket together, you can also get some discount.

The parking right behind Amtrak station is $8 per 24 hours.
Sometimes it's occupied on weekdays, buy if you arrive earlier, you should find many space.
There are also another a little bit more expensive parking garages around the station.
About parking, refer my previous article "Wilmington Amtrak Station"

Anyway, I recommend to check both Megabus and Grayhound's HP, before you buy tickets.

A Saving Tip of NY Metro Card

Subway is essential for New York sight seeing.
You can buy single ride ticket, but buying Metro card is convenient.
Metro Card is used by charging money and swipe before you enter subway gate.
If you charge $10, you will get a little bonus of 50 cent.
This is also one of the saving money, but today I'm going to tell you more basic tip.

Metro card itself costs $1. If you are an honest person, you might buy one Metro card each.
However, you don't have to buy each ! One card for one group is enough!!

New York subway is a flat rate of $ 2.5, and you need to swipe a card before you enter the gate.
When exiting from the gate, you don't have to swipe the card again.
This means, you can share the card with your group.

After the first person swipe and go through the gate, pass the card to the next person behind,
and the person who received the card can do same way.
It seems just a one dollar saving, but this can save time as well.
Because when the balance is low, it eliminates the time to charge each card.

Megabus Abolished Newark, DE - New York Line

Megabus ended their service between Newark, DE and New York at the end of May,2014.
It was the cheapest way to go to NY from Delaware, even considering a parking fee.
However, they still keep other lines, such as Washington D.C., Baltimore and so on.
According to Newark post, insffecient of ridership is the reason.

Now, the choices left are going from Wilmington by Amtrak or Greyhound or Chinese Xinxi bus.

At Wilmington Amtrak station,Taxi is always available.
DART has a route between Newark Amtrak station and Wilmington Amtrak station.
However, time is limited like this.

Chinese Xinxi bus stop is a little bit far from Wilminton Amtrak station.
The address is 3 W 4th St Wilmington, DE 19801.

Wilmington Amtrak Station

I checked up parking near Wilmington Amtrak station, since I will go for a New York trip.



Someone told me the station was small, and actually it is small.
It is a little bit difficult to find out where the entrance is and where the pick up space is.

Inside the station is clean and polices stay there.
Since this is a only hall in the station, you will never get lost if you wait here.
Free wifi is available here.

However, outside of the station seems dangerous.
You must be careful especially at night.

★ About Parking

If you go just for pick up someone, you can park just in front of the station on the west side.
Parking garages might be safe if you park overnight, the price is from $11 to more per day.

Taxis are always waiting in front of the entrance.
I've never used DART (bus), but it's a one of selections to get the station.


①Parking Garage next to the station.


② Open air parking next to the staion. (Pre paid)



③ A big parking garage across the street.
    The east side of the parking is Grayhound bus sation.



④ North parking garage.



⑤  West parking garage, it takes minutes to the station. Close to Barcray bank.

※ This information is updated in July 2013.

How to book Amtrak tickets

Amtrak is a American bullet. We have Shinkansen in Japan and the tickets are expensive same as Amtrak.
The difference between Amtrak and Japanese Shinkansen is that if you book Amtrak tickets earlier, you can save the costs.

Amtrak tickets are recommended to book at least 2 weeks before you ride.

For example, I checked a price from New York to Wilmington 2 month before the dayr I take, the price was $44  at that time.
However I rechecked the same day and same time ticket 1 week before the day ride, the price had increased to $60.



Also, leaving early and late tickets are cheaper than busy day time tickets.
Some blogger says, unpopular lines are still cheap if you buy tickets just before you ride. However, the line between Washington D.C. and New York is one of the most popular lines in the U.S. So I believe it will never cheap just before you ride.

But don't worry. Tickets are easy to book and easy to change on line.
Amtrak E-tickets are not refundable. If you cancel your train, they will give you E-voucher.
You can use the voucher to book another train. Voucher expires the same cancellation day of next year.

Once, I didn't know about it and I booked another train before I cancel.
I didn't have plan to take Amtrak so I called customer service, and they helped me to use the voucher to the new book and the money was refunded. If you made same mistake as me, never give up and call customer service !

What is written above is the tips of Online booking.
I'm not sure about other ways to book tickets, since I don't have confidence to book ticket by phone, and to go Wilmington station to book is inconvenient for me. Anyway, good luck for your booking !