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New York businessman Joel Azumah wrote to DCist today to let us know that his discount bus line, modestly dubbed TransportAzumah, will be launching several new routes servicing D.C. this month. Refreshingly, these routes will not be servicing New York. Instead, Azumah plans to offer non-stop bus service from D.C. to Wilmington, Philadelphia and Boston.
TransportAzumah's sorry looking web site doesn't instill a lot of confidence, but given that cheapo bus giants Bolt and Mega, not to mention DC2NY or Washington Deluxe, seem to think that Washingtonians only want to travel to New York and nowhere else, we're guessing many of our readers will want to give Azumah a shot.
Here's what Azumah says to expect: D.C. to Philly and D.C. to Boston routes will start on Friday, November 20, while D.C. to Wilmington service starts on Tuesday, November 24. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, service to Philadelphia will operate hourly, while Boston and Wilmington buses will leave four times a day. TransportAzumah plans to service D.C. at a stop near Union Station.
Most fares will be in the $20 range, which isn't the cheapest option out there, but it's roughly in line with the competition. Azumah also says that promotional fares starting at $2 can also be had by using the booking code "CRAZYFARES".
As for how TransportAzumah's features stack up to the competition (between D.C. and Philly, that's only New Century and Apex), they offer guaranteed seats with advance purchase, but no power outlets or wireless internet, at least at the beginning. Azumah did say that he hopes to have wifi installed sometime in 2010.
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No wifi?!? What is he trying to make, a retro greyhound?
Most of the buses that go from DC to Philly have no wifi, Cardozomite. You NYC travelers don't know how good you've got it. This will still be a huge step up from New Century and the very-intermittent Apex service to Philly.
Wow! Wilmington! I want to visit a screen door factory!
Wilmington has some fine..ahem.."gentlemen's clubs", or so I've heard.
You can also buy cigs and lottery tickets at "Butts & Bets"
Ha, "The Next Generation In Mass Transport". It's a bus.
Coach operators make $10/hr?
Do his drivers know the proper directions to Philly? Do they know to say "Philadelphia" or "Philly"? If so, he's already head and shoulders above Apex.
I feel you, Bethesdaist. We'll just have to see. I can promise one of us DCists will be trying this out as soon as it's launched and will report back.
Non-stop service to Boston? I wonder what they mean by that exactly. On a good day, the drive to Boston is 8 hours. You figure the bus will have to stop at least once for gas, then maybe at least one other time for the driver to take a break. If you get anything more than the usual traffic around NYC, you could be looking at a trip of 10 hours or more.
I've taken buses from Boston to DC before, but I always had to change buses in NYC. Even if things go smoothly it makes for a very, very long day.
Is there really demand for a Wilmington shuttle?
until there is a direct shuttle to metropark (and nowhere else), i won't be satiated!
Any word on why the DC/Boston line isn't listed on their website? Several of the other lines listed have November 20 and 24 start dates, so it's not that. Are they really doing direct DC to Boston ?
All of these cheap bus routes have the same problem: the last one leaves NYC or Philly at 10pm or 11pm. If I could get a cheap bus ride back at 2am or 3am (like I can with the train), I'd be on these buses every month. The only way to deal with an eight hour bus ride is with eight hours of sleep.
"No wifi?!? What is he trying to make, a retro greyhound?"
Not quite. The purpose is to make sure that our contractors are up to the task. All of them are on "probation". Once we are sure that they can handle the work on a long term basis, then we will start putting in the routers in 1st or 2nd quarter 2010.
"Do his drivers know the proper directions to Philly? Do they know to say "Philadelphia" or "Philly"? If so, he's already head and shoulders above Apex."
This is a huge issue in the discount bus market and it is one of things that Greyhound and Peter Pan use to beat the whole industry over the head. If I am not better, I won't make money.
"Non-stop service to Boston? I wonder what they mean by that exactly. On a good day, the drive to Boston is 8 hours. You figure the bus will have to stop at least once for gas, then maybe at least one other time for the driver to take a break. If you get anything more than the usual traffic around NYC, you could be looking at a trip of 10 hours or more."
The bus has a 200+ gallon fuel tank and gets 5-6 miles to the gallon. We will not need to refuel on the way. Furthermore, these buses have no stops except DC and Boston, so there are numerous ways to avoid NYC.
"Is there really demand for a Wilmington shuttle?"
Wilmington moves over 700,000 Amtrak passengers per year. We believe that there is some demand to DC. I should note that this line is an old-fashioned local, so if 20 people ride DC > Wilmington and another 20 ride Wilmington > NYC, we will be ok.
"Any word on why the DC/Boston line isn't listed on their website? Several of the other lines listed have November 20 and 24 start dates, so it's not that. Are they really doing direct DC to Boston ?"
Yes (the link has been added to the main page): http://www.transportazumah.com/WASBOS
"All of these cheap bus routes have the same problem: the last one leaves NYC or Philly at 10pm or 11pm. If I could get a cheap bus ride back at 2am or 3am (like I can with the train), I'd be on these buses every month."
The issue is that rides to/from bus stops are difficult to get at 3AM.