Amtrak vs Bus? I Ride Both Constantly. Here’s How I Choose.

I’ve lived without a car for over seven years, and almost every trip I take out of New York is on a train or a bus. So I get some version of this question a lot.

Should I take Amtrak or the bus?

All else equal, I take the train. Every time. Even when that Amtrak train is slower on paper.

But all else is almost never equal. The bus is often cheaper, has more options, is sometimes faster, and just goes places Amtrak doesn’t. I ride buses all the time, and I’ve reviewed most of the ones running in the Northeast, from Peter Pan to Greyhound to the Dartmouth Coach.

In this article, I’ll break down how the two compare on comfort, speed, reliability and price, plus the simple way I decide which one to book.

My Short Checklist

• Comfort goes to Amtrak, easily. Even the nicest “business class” buses don’t match a standard Amtrak coach seat, especially one with a cafe car.
• Price usually goes to the bus, especially last-minute. Amtrak’s dynamic pricing can turn a $30 ticket into a $150 one.
• Speed varies. But even if the Amtrak is slower on paper, I prefer it.
• Reliability is a toss-up. Buses get stuck in traffic. Amtrak gets stuck on old infrastructure. The risk depends on the route.
• Frequency and coverage often go to the bus, with a few exceptions.

	Amtrak	Bus
Comfort	Wide seats, real legroom, smooth ride, room to walk around	Tighter legroom and a bumpier ride
Price	Swings wildly. Cheap early or off-peak, but can be pretty pricey last-minute	Usually cheaper, and usually swings less
Speed	Toss-up	Competitive on express routes, but it’s slower in traffic
Delays	Aging tracks, mechanical problems, freight traffic	Highway traffic, especially near big cities
Working onboard	Tray tables, outlets, cafe car	Small or no tray table, and a recipe for motion sickness
Food	Cafe car on most routes	Bring your own. Many routes don’t stop
Bathroom	Bigger, with a sink	Tight, usually just hand sanitizer
Where it goes	Real stations, fewer routes	More towns, more curbside stops

All Else Equal, I’m Taking the Train

It’s just more comfortable, and it’s not close.

A standard Amtrak coach seat is wide, my knees don’t touch the seat in front of me, and there’s a real tray table. I can get up, walk to the cafe car and grab a coffee. The bathroom has a sink. On a four-hour trip, all of that adds up.

I’ve ridden a lot of buses that try to close the gap. The Dartmouth Coach to New York is the best bus experience I’ve had in the U.S. It has single seats, the best legroom I’ve seen on a bus, and a Keurig machine on board. I loved it.

And it’s still not as comfortable as a regular Amtrak coach seat. While the Keurig machine is cool, Amtrak has hot coffee and hot (if mediocre) food.

A business class bus is a great bus. Regular coach on a train is still better in terms of comfort.

Regular buses like Peter Pan or Greyhound are a step further down. The seats are fine. The legroom is a little cramped. And there’s only so much any bus company can do about a vehicle on rubber tires bouncing down the interstate.

Trying to Work on a Bus Is How I Get Bus-Sick

This one is personal. I work while I travel a lot, and I clearly remember being on a Chinatown-style bus where I had to keep my laptop screen close to me. I started to get motion sickness. I had to close my laptop and stare out the window for an hour to recover.

Trains run on rails, so the ride is smoother. There’s less stop-and-go, fewer lane changes and fewer potholes, which is what makes staring at a screen on a bus so rough. Add a real tray table and I can put in a few solid hours on the train.

On a bus, I’m usually working off my lap. (I use my travel pillow as a lap desk, which I wrote about in my tips for working remotely on transit.)

So when I compare prices, I’m not comparing a ticket to a ticket. I’m comparing a ride where I can get work done to a ride where I mostly can’t. On the train, it’s much easier to get the time back.

If you get motion sick easily, the train is the clear answer. And if you end up on a bus anyway, look out the window instead of at your phone.

Buses Get Stuck in Traffic. Trains Get Stuck for Other Reasons.

Keep traffic in mind any time you book a bus. It’s the one thing no bus company can control.

Between Boston and D.C., traffic on I-95 can easily add an hour or more. One time I booked Peter Pan from Boston to New York on a Sunday afternoon. I won’t do that again. It took 90 minutes longer than scheduled. For traffic-prone hours, try to avoid the buses.

Bus companies pad the schedule for departures around rush hour, but it’s still a gamble.

Amtrak doesn’t sit in traffic, but it isn’t immune to delays. On the Northeast Corridor, a lot of the infrastructure is over a century old, and one breakdown can ripple through every train behind it. Off the corridor, most Amtrak trains run on tracks owned by freight railroads, which is part of why my beloved Vermonter has such shaky on-time performance.

So reliability is a toss-up. If you can go in the middle of the day, the bus is usually less delayed.

It’s a shame that a bus moving 50 people at once waits in the same lane as 50 cars. Bus-only lanes would improve a lot of this, but I’ll save that soapbox for another day.

Slower on Paper Doesn’t Scare Me Off the Train

New York to Boston on the Northeast Regional takes about 4 hours and 20 minutes. Peter Pan is scheduled at 4 hours and 35 to 50 minutes. New York to New Haven is 2 hours and 6 minutes on Metro-North and about an hour and 45 minutes on Peter Pan.

Up north, the Dartmouth Coach uses the interstate and beats the Vermonter, which crawls along 19th-century tracks. When I rode the early-morning VT Translines bus from Burlington, it reached Albany in the same four and a half hours as the Ethan Allen Express. Same speed, just five hours earlier.

Amtrak takes 7 hours and 43 minutes from D.C. to Pittsburgh, while Greyhound does it in about 6 hours and 15 minutes.

Even so, I’ll take the train when the schedule lines up. A four-and-a-half-hour train ride where I work, eat and stretch my legs beats a four-hour bus ride staring at the seat in front of me.

Where the Bus Wins

More departures (sometimes)

On a lot of routes, the bus simply runs more often. There’s one train a day from Boston to Springfield (and it’s a long-distance train, so don’t take it), but Peter Pan runs a bus every few hours. The Vermonter comes once a day. The Dartmouth Coach runs two or three times a day to New York. Vamoose runs about eight buses a day to Bethesda on Fridays through Sundays.

But it depends. Between New York and Philly, Amtrak runs trains all day, but so do the buses, so there you have options.

Places Amtrak doesn’t go

Buses fill in the map. Peter Pan is the best transit option to Cape Cod, and it’s how I got from New York straight to Worcester. It also runs from Logan Airport directly to Hartford. Vamoose goes straight to Bethesda and Arlington, so you skip the Metro ride out from Union Station. The Dartmouth Coach is the only direct transit between Hanover and New York.

Yeah, okay, I live in NYC

Here are the routes where I regularly pick Peter Pan over Amtrak.

• NYC to Philly. Peter Pan usually runs $18 to $30. Amtrak can hit $80 to $100 at bad times. Here’s my full NYC to Philly guide.
• NYC to Hartford. Peter Pan is about $35 to $40, while a last-minute Amtrak can top $100. (My real favorite is Metro-North plus the Hartford Line, which I explain in my NYC to Hartford guide.)
• NYC to Boston. Peter Pan runs $25 to $50, and the price doesn’t jump around like Amtrak’s. Here’s my NYC to Boston guide.
• NYC to D.C. Morning Peter Pan buses can be under $20. I once saw a Tuesday afternoon Amtrak for $180. Here’s my NYC to D.C. guide.

Usually this is because of price, as Amtrak’s dynamic pricing pushes me onto buses. This brings me to my next point.

The Biggest Difference Is How They Price Tickets

Amtrak has adopted the dynamic pricing model of the airlines. The Northeast Corridor has strong demand and not enough trains, so Amtrak raises the price. If you book a few weeks out for an early-morning train, you can get a great deal. But if you book the day before for a Friday afternoon, expect to pay a premium or take the bus. (I wrote up my strategies for getting cheap Amtrak tickets if you want to beat this.)

Dynamic pricing varies by bus company and route, but in my experience, bus fares don’t swing nearly as much.

With that said, Greyhound and FlixBus have adopted dynamic pricing as well, and they’re not ashamed to shaft you on price. But in general, more bus companies still use fixed pricing, and when it’s dynamic, it’s not as crazy as Amtrak’s pricing.

Think of the bus as a price ceiling

This is the way I’ve come to think about it. The bus isn’t always the cheap option. It’s the predictable option.

When I took VT Translines and then Amtrak from Burlington to New York, it cost me $85.50 total. The Ethan Allen on a quiet weekday usually runs about $75, so the train is often cheaper. But the Ethan Allen regularly climbs to $100 to $125, while the bus fare never moves. On those days, the bus caps what I’ll pay.

My rule of thumb

If Amtrak is within about $30 to $40 of the bus, I take the train.

When I see a $70 Northeast Regional to D.C. against a $35 Peter Pan, that’s $35 more for a ride that’s about an hour faster, a lot more comfortable and immune to traffic. I’ll pay it. When it’s $150 against $35, I won’t.

Don’t forget the trains that aren’t Amtrak

Commuter rail gets you most of the train’s comfort with none of the dynamic pricing. To Philly, NJ Transit to Trenton plus SEPTA costs $28.55 (at time of writing) no matter when you buy it. To Hartford, I take Metro-North to New Haven and then the Hartford Line. These are slower, and you have to transfer, but they never sit in traffic and the price never spikes.

Amtrak runs buses too

Here’s a twist. Amtrak sells connecting Thruway buses on routes where the train doesn’t go. Booking one as part of an Amtrak trip guarantees your connection. But when I priced the VT Translines bus as an Amtrak connection, it came out more expensive than booking the two legs separately.

Check Where the Bus Picks You Up

Another advantage of the train, although not always, is that it’s more likely to pick you up and drop you off at a station with waiting rooms, bathrooms and food. Even if it’s just a platform, that beats the mixed bag of bus stops.

Even in New York, tons of buses just drop you off or pick you up on a curb, and if there’s a bus shelter, it’s because of the city, not because of the bus company.

Outside of big cities, buses will very often drop you off in sketchy suburban strip malls.

My tip is to look up the pickup and drop-off address on a map before you book. Is it a real station, a downtown curb or a strip mall parking lot out by the highway? If it’s a strip mall parking lot and it’s dark at night, do you have a plan? Is your friend dropping you off, and will they let you wait in the car?

The Little Things That Add Up

• Food. Amtrak has a cafe car on most routes. Many buses, including Vamoose and VT Translines, don’t let you off along the way, so bring your own. I keep separate lists for what I pack on Amtrak and what I pack for a long bus trip.
• Bathrooms. Amtrak’s are bigger and have a sink. Most bus bathrooms are tight with hand sanitizer only, and sometimes it’s empty.
• Wifi. Both run on cell service, so both drop out in rural areas. I plan on using my phone’s hotspot either way.
• Luggage. Both are generous compared to flying. Most buses put one or two big bags underneath for free.
• Sleeping. Much easier on the train. Here’s how I sleep in Amtrak coach.
• Rewards. Amtrak Guest Rewards can add up if you ride a lot. Some bus companies have programs too. With Vamoose’s, I get about 16% back.

What About the Environment?

Either one is a huge win over driving alone or flying.

Between the two, it’s closer than you might think. Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor trains are electric, which is great. But a full diesel coach bus spreads its emissions over dozens of people, which makes it one of the most efficient ways to travel. A 2013 study found per-passenger particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions were about 80% lower on motorcoaches than on Amtrak trips, though it left out the electrified Northeast Corridor. Take that with a grain of salt, since the bus industry helped pay for it.

The point stands, though. Don’t let the environment talk you out of the bus. Pick whichever one keeps you out of a car and off a plane.

How I Decide Between Amtrak and the Bus

1. Check Amtrak first. Sometimes the train is the cheapest option, especially weeks out or early in the morning.
2. If Amtrak is within about $30 to $40 of the bus, book the train.
3. Leaving a city at rush hour or on a Friday or Sunday afternoon? Lean toward the train.
4. If the train’s schedule doesn’t work, or it doesn’t go where I’m going, take the bus.
5. Pick the best bus, not the cheapest. If Peter Pan is within a few bucks of Greyhound, I take Peter Pan.
6. Compare everything at once. I use Busbud to see buses and trains side by side.
7. Look up the pickup address before you book.

We Need Both, and Both Need to Be Better

Amtrak’s sky-high fares aren’t a sign of greed so much as a sign of a corridor that’s out of room, after decades of underinvestment. More trains would mean lower prices. I’ve written about the problems Amtrak faces and why transit shouldn’t have to make a profit.

Buses, meanwhile, run on highways our taxes already built. Give them their own lanes into the cities and they’d be faster and more reliable overnight.

I’m rooting for both. Every person on a train or a bus is one less car on the road and one less seat on a short flight. That’s how living without a car gets easier for everyone.

FAQ

Is Amtrak faster than the bus?

Usually, but not always. In the Northeast, Amtrak is a bit faster on most routes, and much faster when there’s traffic. On some routes, like New York to New Haven or Hanover to New York, the bus is faster.

Is Amtrak more expensive than the bus?

Often, especially last-minute. Amtrak uses dynamic pricing, so a ticket booked weeks ahead for an off-peak train can be as cheap as a bus. Bus fares tend to stay steadier.

Is the train or the bus better if I get motion sick?

The train. The ride is smoother, you can get up and walk around, and you’re not dealing with stop-and-go traffic.

Which is more reliable, Amtrak or the bus?

It’s a toss-up. Buses get small, frequent delays from traffic. Amtrak delays are less common but can be much longer when they happen.

What’s the best bus company in the Northeast?

For a standard bus, I’d pick Peter Pan. For a premium ride, the Dartmouth Coach is the best bus I’ve taken in the U.S.

Is the bus or the train better for the environment?

Both are far better than driving or flying. Electric trains on the Northeast Corridor are very clean, and a full coach bus is one of the most efficient ways to travel per passenger.

Which do you usually pick, the train or the bus? Tell me in the comments.