Vamoose Bus

Never Again — Vamoose. Liars — they tell you they will give you refund after a terrible service and then they treat you as a liar when they give you the number to call.

This is such a convenient service. They pick you up right in Bethesda (the closest location for me — there are others), in a set, non-​sketchy location (unlike the Chinatown buses) at a specific time (also unlike the Chinatown buses). There is a Montgomery county parking lot right nearby, where you can park for the whole weekend, for free! The prices are totally reasonable and the buses are almost always on time. The seats are clean and comfortable and the other passengers are almost always respectful. I’m not sure if they do this anymore, but they used to have sort of a punch card system, where if you traveled a certain number of times, you earned one way free, which was a nice deal. All-​in-​all, it’s about the best of the NYC-​DC bus services.

What? How have I not written about the über-​impressive, nary-​a-​few-​minutes-​late, politely staffed, ever-​so-​convenient, Vamoose Bus?
Consider that wrong, righted.
During the years that I lived in DC, I traveled via many methods.
1) Plane: expensive, not-​so-​time-​saving
2) Train: ditto
3) Automobile: rentals + traffic = not enjoyable
4) Greyhound: Do YOU like stopping multiple times in what should be a relatively short journey? Also — there was that story about the dude who machete’d his seat mates head off… that has me slightly hesitant for another round. Also, refunds: not so easy to acquire.
5) Megabus: You may end up chanting «Serenity NOW.» For further explanation:
6) Boltbus: Honestly not a terrible option. But Vamoose is very convenient if you live in VA or Bethesda/​neighboring areas and don’t feel like trekking into DC.
But to the point: VAMOOSE
It’s quick, it’s SUPER reliable, efficient, friendly staff at both the Bethesda and the NYC locations, clean, has wi-​fi, and in Bethesda, is conveniently parked near a Starbucks, a sandwich shop and even a McDonalds. NYC side: right in front of a deli, and down the street from another Starbucks. If you want to prep for your trip, you’re golden. If you want to sit inside until your bus comes, also an option — though i’d recommend waiting on the quick-​moving line for the seat of your choice.
Bottom line: Vamoose it.
Oh wait: I did review it.

Travelled from Bethesda to NYC on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, returning on Saturday, ¹¹⁄₂₆. I have travelled two other bus companies from DC to NYC and this was by far the best experience. It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty darn good!
The bus stop in Bethesda is about a block from the Bethesda metro, and on the day we left it was raining. But, no worries, because the bus stop sits at the entrance to an office complex, so the waiting area is covered. It is also across the street from a Starbucks which helps while you are waiting!
The boarding process is extremely organized and efficient. Your luggage is taken and loaded by helpful and friendly personnel right before you get on the bus, and the bus on the way up was really very nice. The seats felt spacious, there was a cupholder on the back of the seat, seat pockets where you could put your phone or newspaper, a free NYTimes, seat belts, and plastic trash bags were hung on the arm rests of most seats to hold the food/​beverages that people brought on. On the trip up, we left 5 minutes late, stopped for 15 minutes at the Delaware rest stop, and still made it to our stop by Penn Station within 10 minutes of the expected arrival. I’ve been on busses that have been a lot later than that. (This was a 10:10 am bus from Bethesda.) The bus was quiet and filled with a mixture of travellers — young, old, families. The bathroom was extremely clean.
On the return trip, we took the 9 am bus from NYC. The stop was clearly marked and the line up process was orderly and again very efficient. This time, however, the bus was a big come down from the bus we rode to New York. There were no cupholders (and we saw several drinks spilled), no plastic bags, no seat pockets, no NYTimes, and more importantly to me — no seat belts. The driver was an excellent driver and we arrived 5 minutes early, but this bus wasn’t nearly as comfortable. There is something to be said for uniformity and I would like to know in the future that I was going to get the same type bus whether I was coming or going to New York.
Because it was the holiday weekend, they may have added extra busses to account for heavier traffic, but if so, it would be helpful to alert riders to the fact that all busses are not the same! The lack of the very helpful amenities on the second bus kept this from being a 5 star review, but as an organized, safe, and sane way to travel over the holiday weekend, it was hard to beat. I’ll use Vamoose again.

So I have mixed reviews for this bus service. I like the fact that they are very organized. And by that I mean, they have staff at each departure point helping to take your luggage and with enough technology to make the boarding process easier. The costumer service phone line is very effective and I was able to prove it in the worst case scenario: a bus breakdown! Ugh!
This is the part where I was so tempted to just give them a 2 star. But I have used this bus before without problems and I want to be fair. However, I think that they need to do a better job and keeping their buses. From what I learned from other passengers, this was not the first time they had this problem with their buses.
I was going to NYC for an appointment and missed it because we had a 2+ hours delay. The part I was not appreciative is that the bus driver told us another bus was coming to pick 15 of us (with the highest priority) within 20 – 30 minutes. I almost put my head on chopping block that said bus passed us by, driver looked, and kept going. Thank you very much!
It took 2 hours for a replacement bus to arrive to where we were. So, I had to go all the way to NYC, knowing full well that I had lost my appointment, just so I could catch a bus back. No bueno! This is the part where I was able to call their costumer service and change my reservation to an earlier bus. I must notice that they were responsive when I complained about the whole mess and I was not only given a free one way ticket, but I was reimbursed for the botched trip. So, great staff to deal with, if only they could make sure this wouldn’t happen as often as some other riders claim this happens…

My usual bus company was booked solid, so I decided to take Vamoose bus for my recent trip from NYC to MD. The $ 30 one-​way fare was slightly more than I’ve paid on other bus lines, but I figured Vamoose must be offering extra perks to justify the higher cost.
I arrived at the pickup location about forty minutes prior to the departure time and there were already at least twenty people ahead of me on the line. Soon after I arrived, one of the Vamoose representatives began checking names off on his list. He handed a boarding pass to each person after confirming his or her reservation.
We started boarding the bus thirty minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. About ten minutes later, every seat was occupied and we were on our way – a whole twenty minutes ahead of schedule. There wasn’t anything fancy about the bus — just your standard seats, zero power outlets, no seat belts or wifi. In other words, no bells and whistles!
The bus ride to Bethesda was four hours long with no rest stop. Fortunately, I got off at the first stop in Bethesda, but the bus was also scheduled to make a second stop in Arlington.
Vamoose Bus has an organized ticketing and boarding process, but the higher fare comes with less amenities than other bus lines. Side note: Vamoose does have a fleet of Gold buses equipped with amenities such as leather seats, a tray table, and more leg room, but at a cost of $ 50 for a one-​way trip from NYC to MD, I’ll pass.

I have used Bolt, MegaBus, and Vamoose and Vamoose is by far the best! I even prefer it to the train. It is just as comfortable, clean, and just about as fast.

Over promising leads to disappointing customers which is part of the reason for my mediocre review. The website advertisement lead me to believe I would have a larger seat than on a plane and more leg room than most other charter buses however I’d have to disagree. The double price ticket (I usually prefer using Washington Deluxe or DC2NY) of a one way or roundtrip ticket was not worth it in my opinion.
Some of the perks that it does have are cup holders, wi-​fi, power outlets, seat belt, lights, fan, foot rest, small overhead storage, and bathroom all available for passengers. Bringing food and drinks on the bus is permissible and they did have small trash bags hanging on every other row for use. The employees were very helpful and unloaded bags at each location from under the bus. Signs were also clearly labeled which helped find my loading zone in the city. Overall a nice bus experience traveling from New York City however I had been expecting something much different.
Drop off in Bethesda and Arlington, pick up also available at Union Station.
Bethesda:
7490 Waverly St, between East-​West Hwy. & Montgomery Avenue.
The Bethesda Station, red line metro is one block away.
Arlington:
1801 N Lynn St, between 19 St N and Wilson Blvd.
The Rosslyn Station blue orange line is one block away.
New York City drop off location is only at 31^st and 7^th, Madison Square Garden, or two blocks from Penn Station which is where travelers can pick up the subway.

I travel to NYC often. Vamoose while way cheaper than Amtrak (who isn’t?), needs to step it up on service. One example is the owners inability to let their staff deal with the crowds in NYC, preferring instead to show up, take over and herd their passengers into old, noisy, buses, irregardless of who has an e-​ticket or who walked up to purchase at the last minute, or who is on standby from previous or later reservations. As annoyed as the street vendor who’s Vamoose crowds are not only purchasing his stale looking food, but are also blocking anyone else from it with the mass herding being done, so too is the consumer who purchased their tickets early, in advance, only to discover its solely based on their place in line, as to how they board. Equally, if not more annoying is the inconsistency in positive service (monitors that hang down but don’t show movies; drivers that may or may not stop for a break; and seats that may or may not have outlets). This might not be so bad, but there is competition around the corner both in NY and VA. I’d like to see Vamoose kick it up a notch, install a better boarding procedure, let their capable staff do their job, or hire staff who will and consider doing direct buses from VA and MD (no MD stops for VA riders and better seat selections for MD riders).

Took the Vamoose Bus from Arlington to 31^st and 7^th (Madison Square Garden, NYC). This company is an organized and well run machine. First of all the employees are polite and efficient, the driver had a roster of all the reservation for the bus and carefully checked and recounted the passengers. The bus was clean and comfortable (even had underseat footrests). We made one stop for 15 mins which allowed for a quick snack and/​or restroom break. I did use the on-​board toilet on my return trip and found it at least clean. Want an adventure try using the toilet on any motor coach. We were right on schedule and the drop-​off points are convenient. I will definitely take this bus again. (One tip: the on-​board overhead storage is extremely minimal so just plan on storing small articles overhead only; no carry-​ons).