Wow..... how long did that trip take?
Was she able to sleep very much?

She was scheduled to leave at 5pm on one day and arrive at 9pm the next day. She had stops in Atlanta, Memphis, and Dallas. She says she has no problem sleeping on the bus.

Was it a single or double deck bus?

It's double deck.


She was scheduled to leave at 5pm on one day and arrive at 9pm the next day. She had stops in Atlanta, Memphis, and Dallas. She says she has no problem sleeping on the bus.

Hmm I guess it is good for those that would come to rely on such service. Probably won't find me on that long of a trip. I would either drive it myself or bite the bullet and pay the air fare.

I saw it going down Fourth last night and it was BIG. Perhaps it is a double decker.

Pictures of Megabus, some are from Europe http://www.whitegadget.com/pc-wallpapers/140877-megabus-post245707.html

Megabus adds express lines for OKC to Dallas, low as $1
By Celia Ampel
Oklahoman

You can now travel to Dallas for as little as $1. ?

Megabus.com, an express bus service, started a new route last week that runs three times a day from Oklahoma City to Dallas and back, with a stop in Norman.

Fares start at $1 each way if you book far enough in advance but begin to rise as the bus fills up, said Dale Moser, president and chief operating officer of Coach USA/Megabus.com. The most extreme procrastinator could pay as much as $20 or $25.

The bus will pick up and drop off Oklahoma City passengers in the parking lot at the northwest corner of N Hudson Avenue and NW 5 Street.

The Norman stop is the Lloyd Noble Center parking lot, 2900 N Jenkins.

The Oklahoma City to Dallas route takes three hours and 35 minutes, Moser said. The Norman to Dallas leg is two hours, 50 minutes.

The buses are brand new, 81-seat double-decker coaches, Moser said. They include free Wi-Fi, electrical outlets, reclining seats, a restroom and air conditioning.

Moser said Megabus.com has sold 6,000 tickets for trips along the new route since seats became available online. The Megabus route is part of the service's expansion into Texas and the southern United States. Moser said the company heard a "huge outcry" for service in Oklahoma.

"We've had some significant social network chatter that we've been monitoring," he said. ?

Megabus.com launched in 2006 in Chicago and is based in New Jersey.

I can't help but wonder how this company makes money. Do they get any kind of federal assistance? They can get people from OKC to Dallas cheaper than one person can ride in a cab for 1/8 of a mile. Are cab companies raking in that kind of profit?

We've had some significant social network chatter that we've been monitoring," he said

I would bet they have been reading this thread.

I would bet they have been reading this thread.

It sure sounds like they have.

She was scheduled to leave at 5pm on one day and arrive at 9pm the next day. She had stops in Atlanta, Memphis, and Dallas. She says she has no problem sleeping on the bus.

That's a nicer schedule than I could cobble together for Norman to Mobile, AL via Houston and NOLA. 40 odd hours including an overnight in Houston. Maybe I will take another look via a different route

Hmm I guess it is good for those that would come to rely on such service. Probably won't find me on that long of a trip. I would either drive it myself or bite the bullet and pay the air fare.

Yeah...long ride. I drove it last year. Took about 16-18 hours each way and cost $300+ for gas for the entire trip.

I saw it going down Fourth last night and it was BIG. Perhaps it is a double decker.

This is the exact bus I've seen operate in Norman, which does the extra leg up to OKC. The city names are printed on the side of the bus with Norman being the 2nd in the button row. Last I saw the bus OKC is not listed on them yet.

http://www.juanofwords.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/megabus.jpg

Was it a single or double deck bus?
It was a double decker... I saw it again today going through Downtown OKC headed towards Metro Transit.

I have got to wonder how well a double deck bus will handle in some of our high crosswinds and if a single deck bus might not be a better choice?



Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, is an honest line.

I have got to wonder how well a double deck bus will handle in some of our high crosswinds and if a single deck bus might not be a better choice?



Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, is an honest line.

They probably have to have the bigger passenger numbers with the double decker to make it work. So it could be a shaky ride.

We can probably forget about an OKC to Tulsa train if Megabus adds it’s cheap service between the 2 cities.

But I wouldn’t mind it if Oklahoma bumped its rural interstate / turnpike speeds to 80MPH.
Texas is in the process of increasing its rural speed limits.

It shouldn't be any more of an issue than driving a semi in the Oklahoma wind.

I have got to wonder how well a double deck bus will handle in some of our high crosswinds and if a single deck bus might not be a better choice?



Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, is an honest line.

They also weigh a ton, as long as they are not doing crazy maneuvers it should be fine. If they can get high utilization rates it is much cheaper per seat to operate a double decker than operating two single decked buses of similar length.

I looked into getting some tickets, but I could not figure out anything I would want to do in Grand Prairie.

Even if the location is temporary for the final stop it would have been much nicer to get a stop in the vicinity of a DART station, about 2/3rds of the stations are a shorter distance.

It shouldn't be any more of an issue than driving a semi in the Oklahoma wind.

Have you ever driven / ridden in a Semi on a very windy day. I have, it’s not a great ride at all.
But hey this bus is cheap so I guess we can be too picky.:o

Even if the location is temporary for the final stop it would have been much nicer to get a stop in the vicinity of a DART station, about 2/3rds of the stations are a shorter distance.

yeah, that grand prairie location is a killer right now. hopefully they'll get a stop in downtown dallas worked out soon.

I have now taken 2 round trips to San Antonio, TX on Megabus. The first trip cost the wife and I a grand total of $18.50 (Yes total for 2 round trip seats!). The second trip was with my daughter and was a little more expensive as I only booked about a week before. It cost a total of $54.50 again that was the total for both seats.

We left OKC at 8:00AM and got to Dallas (Grand Prarie) around 11:30AM. We ate lunch at a Wendy's that was within walking distance of the Grand Prarie stop. We boarded the next bus at 1:00PM and arrived in San Antonio at about 6:30PM. Both trips arrived on time and the last one into San Antonio arrived about 20 minutes early. Most of the MegaBus employees were great except for one driver on one leg of my last trip. The driver didn't seem to like kids and before we left Grand Prarie she came to the upper level of the bus where my 6 year old and I were sitting and made a long speech about keeping children quiet and in their seats at all times blah, blah. My daughter was the only child on this particular bus so the driver might as well have just come over and spoke directly to me. My daughter didn't need the lecture as she knows how to behave on a bus.

The only other rude employee was also encountered in Grand Prarie. She barked orders for people to line up in a straight line and specifically called out people and asked them "Do you know what a straight line is?" if they were not in a single file straight line. Uncalled for and unnecessary in my opinion.

All other employees and drivers that we encountered were great and super nice. The buses were all very nice and brand new of corse since this is a new route. Don't count on the free WiFi to work though, I could only get it to work sporadically throughout my trips.

All in all very well worth getting to San Antonio for much cheaper than I would spend in gas for my car. And the stop in San Antonio is right downtown. It was about a half mile walk to our hotel. It couldn't have been in a better spot for us!

The Grand Prarie stop would be a little out of the way if you are trying to get somewhere in the DFW area, there is really not much in the way of transportation right around the stop that I could see except for taxi cabs. Overall I am very pleased and will ride again especially to San Antonio.

Thanks for the trip report!

Were there many people on the buses?

Youngest grown son rode it back to Grand Prairie last night. He had come up earlier in the week with a friend who was passing through Norman in route to his own hometown. The report I got was it was workable comfort, even for his lanky 6' plus frame. Only bout 20 total on board, with only a handful of passengers besides himself opting for the upper level seats.

Bus arrived at Lloyd Noble a few minutes late but then sat there several more, even though my son was the only passenger to load and no one exited the bus (not surprising all in all.) We did our hugs, stepped back to the car and popped over to the nearby 7/11 to grab a soda and some fuel. Two Diet DP's in hand and several gallons of fuel later, we still were out of there before the bus left LNC so we exchanged texts that all was in order and it left soon after.

He thought the ride was ok all in all, but departing late and then having some traffic snarl-up after reaching the DFW end of his trip wasn't a smile inducer for him. Definitely his least expensive RT since he moved last summer.

Looks like a Megabus was in a bad accident... http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/us/illinois-bus-crash/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Megabus in OKC, they drop people off at a parking lot. 5th and Hudson. No shade, no seats, no water. Why don't they drop people off at the Metro Bus Station across the street?

I presume they don't have permission to use those facilities.

Megabus in OKC, they drop people off at a parking lot. 5th and Hudson. No shade, no seats, no water. Why don't they drop people off at the Metro Bus Station across the street?

That is how they operate. They they can offer very low fares by keeping their costs down... no money spent on stations, shade, seats, etc.

they do the same thing here in Seattle for the Megabus going to Vancouver and Portland.

Just took a one-way trip from OKC to Dallas on Megabus last week. Ticket cost me $6.00 + $0.50 service charge. Yeah the pick up location at 5th and Hudson can be a pain if you get dropped off, and it's really hot outside or really cold out as there is no shelter. Fortunately, my buddy waited till the bus arrived, so I could sit in his truck. I took the 7PM leg, and the driver arrived about 5-10 minutes late. We literally boarded and took off right away, I guess he needed to make up time. Got to Lloyd Noble and picked up a couple of passengers. We had a total of maybe 9-10 passagers; not really sure how they're making money. Before we left Norman, the driver pulled over at 7-11 for anyone that needed to use the restroom or buy food/drink. As for the bus itself, it was really nice. It was super clean, but this was expected considering how new it is, and how few people seem to travel from OKC to Dallas on it. It was fairly comfortable. The seats reclined back but not super far, probably a little further back than you can recline on an airplane. Every seat had it's own outlet and I did use the wifi as well; however, the wifi got pretty spotty as we got further and further from OKC. It was nice to be able to pull out the laptop and get some work done though. The only complaint I really have is that about midway through the trip, I started to get really cold. I was in t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops though. So next time, I'll def put on more appropriate clothing. As for the the Grand Prairie stop, it is a little out of the way. But, my ride was coming from Valley Ranch so it would've been just as bad if she came to pick me up downtown Dallas. The stop isn't as scary people make it sound, but I've never been really that scared of being in bad parts of town. Just don't act like you don't belong there. There's a Taco Bell, I think it is, right across the street from where you get dropped off.... so you can head over there and hang out if you don't feel comfortable waiting outside. For $6.50, I think it is well worth it. And the total trip time took us about 3 hours 45 minutes, which isn't terribly longer than making the drive. Cheaper than paying for gas and putting wear/tear on your car, and you can actually get stuff done that you can't while driving. I'll definitely look at taking it again in the future.

My youngest son will ride in tomorrow afternoon from Dallas/Grand Prairie and then will roll back via the bus on Sunday or early Monday am. He needs to get a new DL, and has a hankering for his mama's southwest soup. It's way cheaper, and easier on his car, to come in for the soup, see the folks and some local friends, than it would be to just tool up to Love county and hit the first tag agent and go back to school.

A little extra time invoolved, but mama's cooking and saving money out beats extra road time any day.

It is good news that Oklahoma will benefit from a new travel option.

But keep in mind Megabus is indeed subsidized. Motor bus operators are exempt from federal fuel taxes and hence use billions of dollars worth of government roads at little cost.

It looks like Megabuss adds service from OKC / Norman /Dallas to Saint Louis and Chicago.
megabus.com | Now serving over 20 million bus customers in North America (http://us.megabus.com/?utm_source=chango&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=retargeting)

Motor bus operators are exempt from federal fuel taxes and hence use billions of dollars worth of government roads at little cost.

This is a bunch of ****. And yet people whine all the time about the subsidies train service would require.

It looks like Megabuss adds service from OKC / Norman /Dallas to Saint Louis and Chicago.
megabus.com | Now serving over 20 million bus customers in North America (http://us.megabus.com/?utm_source=chango&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=retargeting)

Cool. It seems odd that they are apparently going to pass right through Tulsa without even stopping.

Megabus in OKC, they drop people off at a parking lot. 5th and Hudson. No shade, no seats, no water. Why don't they drop people off at the Metro Bus Station across the street?

Well you could always walk across the street and sit at the metro bus station depending on the time.

They've cancelled service in OKC :-(

Sucks. I was looking forward to trying them.

Maybe I'll take the train :)

Strange. especially after they had the st. louis route, the buses my son rode between norman and dallas were usually packed

Looks like it was just Oklahoma they axed. Must have been something else going on that either didn't make it feasible anymore or just flat out unprofitable - well outside their $1 fares. LOL

The $1 fare has been gone a spell. Last several trips my son made were were 14-19 each way. Still not bad.
It's more than just OK though. You can't go from Dallas-FW to St Louis anymore, and try as I might, I could not book a ticket from Dallas-FW to either Chicago or Champiagn in IL.

However, after checking Greyhound anew, we did discover the advance purchase option and web only options between Norman and DT Dallas are not vastly different than the most current prices paid on Megabus. And the greydawg's Monday schedule is workable for my lad to visit his friends on the weekend and have viable options for coming back on Mondays.

It sucks they no longer offer that service. A lot of people fly into Dallas and then took the bus to OKC because that was much cheaper than flying directly into OKC. I had a feeling it wouldn't last though.

not surprising, since the trip to Dallas isn't as exciting (nor necessary) as it once used to be.

not surprising, since the trip to Dallas isn't as exciting (nor necessary) as it once used to be.

Agreed! as OKC continues to grow and develop Dallas is just not as enticing a location as it once was. Megabus in my opinion would have done better giving the city options into Mo and Colo. Texas esp Dallas at least for me has lost a lot of it luster as a destination. one way trip into texas are pretty routine

not surprising, since the trip to Dallas isn't as exciting (nor necessary) as it once used to be.

Agreed - in some ways Dallas is still a somewhat necessary trip (for actual Indian food and IKEA). But in those cases you'd drive and not take the bus. Not too surprising that Megabus pulled out. This part of the country just doesn't have the population density to support multiple bus lines like the east coast.

Agreed - in some ways Dallas is still a somewhat necessary trip (for actual Indian food and IKEA). But in those cases you'd drive and not take the bus. Not too surprising that Megabus pulled out. This part of the country just doesn't have the population density to support multiple bus lines like the east coast.

I can definitely see taking the trip to Dallas for IKEA. However, as far as I know there are several Indian Food restaurants in the OKC metro.

I can definitely see taking the trip to Dallas for IKEA. However, as far as I know there are several Indian Food restaurants in the OKC metro.

Oh there are. However "Indian food" and actual Indian food are two very different things.