Go Buses

Would be 5 stars but they blast horrible 90s saxophone MUZAK the whole way. Why they would think this is preferable to silence I have no idea. Otherwise clean, on time, polite, easy to buy tickets, free water (no outlets though) — sadly the intrusive noise pollution will keep me from ever using it again.

We got a bus ticket to nyc today and when we could not make the time specified we called the customer service line several times with no answer. When we finally got through to them they said they could not change it because we called after the scheduled bus time. They would not allow us to ride the next schedule bus unless we paid an extra fare. Most other buses give the common courtesy of allowing us on if the bus is not full. I will NEVER be using them again. Very unreasonable.

Took bus from Newton to NYC round trip. Bus was way too clean and air conditioning was perfect. Safe driving. Good legroom. I would definitely recommend it to my friends.

Customer Service: RUDE RUDE RUDE
I don’t think anyone deserves to be scolded, or have an attitude towards for any reason.
Yes we missed our first bus by 5 minutes one morning and of course that was a bummer, but we didn’t freak out we just called to see if we could get on another bus at another time. We took the blame so no worries.
The first women I talked to was very polite and helpful! Having never worked with this bus service before we had no clue how it operated. As we shouldn’t because we are the customers paying for a service.
Long story short she was very helpful but communication got lost on my part as well as hers And we lost our reservation for that day, but still had our tickets booked for the way back from New York.
So we got on our 12:00 bus and the driver yelled At everyone waiting to board because some people were too close to the curb. He got out and yelled «do you want to go to New York or do you want to go upstairs» is that a threat?
So then he checked tickets when we were seated and said we needed to buy a ticket again… Well I got refunded from missing our first bus, and we are scheduled for 12:00 today. Well I guess we were not… So I called to inquire and see how we can fix it… Women #2 was RUDE RUDE RUDE. She was decent on the phone and told us to get a ticket in the Newton stop… (I was unaware there was a ticket office there… So I inquired)
I get there and this is the convo:
Sweet me: Hi I need to buy a 12:00 ticket to New York
Women 2: were you the one I talked to on the phone.
Me: yes.
She walks away.
The bus driver Laughs at me: you missed your first bus
Me: Yes by 5 minutes! I’m just seeing if I can get a ticket
Women #2: YOU NEED TO BE PATIENT, she’s getting it for you. and points to a women in an office You should have been there 15 minutes before, the bus leaves right on time.
Me: I’m just stressed. I know we tried we got stuck in traffic
#2: You should have planned better traffic is bad blah blah blah.
Then I tried to pay and they said they put it back on my boyfriends card… They charged him double.
Who talks like that??? I am so turned off my this company. Corporate will be hearing from me.
***on our way back from NY the bus driver is efficient and quiet. Found plugs to charge our phones on this bus and we never had to deal with customer service. So good experience on the way home! :)

I waited at Alewife Station for a 7PM bus for 45 minutes. No one was there to inform us if the bus was delayed or even if it would ever arrive. I tried to call the customer service line but no one answered. After the journey, I wrote an email to the customer service team and no one responded. I suggest you take your business somewhere else!

Tried to buy a last minute ticket. The web interface is not easy to navigate, never received any confirmation and it was past the time their office was open to call them. However, they charged me for a ticket which I thought did not go through, and when I called them afterwards to fix they said there was no way to refund or even credit my account. Complete joke, do not use them.

I have done the NYC-​Boston trek for over 7 years. There isn’t a perfect way to do it, but Go Buses is my favorite. Amtrak is too expensive usually, and after spending 8 hours sitting on train tracks because of a power outage, I’m a little hesitant to do that again. I have learned the hard way — if a bus breaks down, they send you another one or at least someone could come and get you on the highway or at a rest stop. If a train breaks down in the middle of the tracks — you’re stuck.
Bolt Bus is nice and they offer rewards (something like every 10 trips you get 1 free). They pretend to be a bit more organized by giving you a boarding letter (A, B, or C) depending on when you bought your ticket. However, usually the lines of confused first timers are long and annoying and the Bolt Bus employees lack of communication at the points of departure gets old. It’s almost always a full bus and almost always stops somewhere in CT for 20 – 30 min (though they say it will only be 10 – 15). Bolt Bus also brings you into South Station, so if you are staying downtown, that might be the more convenient option. If you are headed to the suburbs, having a Newton or Cambridge drop off is often much easier. There are always cabs at riverside in Newton and plenty of places for people to park.
Go Buses are thus my favorite. They are affordable, they also offer a points system for discounts after a certain number of rides, and they have really good customer service. I have had to cancel a trip and you can do so up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. They were prompt, polite, and really easy to get an answer from. Their drivers have their stuff together and are clear with giving directions. Plus you get a bottle of water, which is a nice touch. Depending on the time and date of your travel, it is less likely for the bus to be full, which is nice. Every bus company is subject to breakdowns — just like every driver is — it’s going to happen. It’s just bad luck. On over 20 trips to and from NYC, I have never broken down on Go Bus, though I have twice on Bolt.

Wish I would have read all of these reviews sooner. After doing so, I’ve found out that the problem my bus experienced this past Sunday, apparently happens all the time.
The engine kept over heating and automatically shutting off. We we’re coming from Cambridge to NYC and spent two and a half hours at a Burger King in New Haven, while the driver continued (for the entirety of that wait) to say his boss would not tell him, when a bus was coming or where it might be coming from. Half of our bus, I actually counted thirty people, called Ubers to the nearest train station and decided it wasn’t worth waiting in limbo. I wish I had been one of them.
I don’t blame the driver and I felt bad for him. But this company doesn’t care at all about their customers or their employees. The driver even mentioned that Academy/​Gobuses decided to put buses on the road that weren’t used to long trips because it was the holiday weekend. What the hell? No wonder we experienced problems.
I also just called the customer service line and asked for a refund. The supervisor I spoke to Crystal, was very polite but wasn’t allowed to offer a refund. They only do bus credits. So now I have voucher for my next trip… which hardly matters, as I don’t plan on ever taking this company’s bus again.

Bus left and arrived on time, seats were more comfortable than on Megabus and bathroom didn’t smell. Plus they gave out bottled water.

Bus broke down on the way into Manhattan a couple months ago. Driver told us nothing for 20-​minutes as we sat stuck in the middle of the roadway; heard him on the phone say, «It’s the same thing that happened last time, bus stopped working.»
When I called to ask, I was told no refunds were being issued.
No water bottles even once in 4-​months leaving from Newton/​Cambridge (so they should stop advertising they have them).
Wifi is so slow it takes 20-​seconds or more to email through gmail.
They used to be good when they were WorldWide Buses, but are terrible now that GoBuses owns them.

The trip was OK but customer service is absolutely terrible by anyone who’s not a driver. Even the girl who checked us in was quite rude, but what can you expect from a teenager who appears new and unkept at her job? From «customer service» operators with one word answers to support not offered after certain times, it’s ridiculous for a traveler to not be able to contact their traveling company. If you want to use a bus from a company that you cannot contact unless its M-​F and hard to find Saturday and when reached you find incompetence of an answer, you should definitely choose this winner.
We had a bus trip scheduled for Sunday 7:30pm. They state that you can contact by 24 hours to refund or cancel. Funny enough, their offices closed at 6pm on Saturday. Meaning you DO NOT have 24 hours in advance since their service is not up to par with other companies. Choose another company if you want good customer service and a company that actually communicates with their customer.
BTW for the WIFI users, their DNS blocks anything entertainment-​wise such as Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, iTunes, etc. As an enterprise service, they don’t offer even enterprise WIFI to handle streaming from a half full bus.
P. S. reached a customer service agent today and asked her about this lack of contact available for this company, her answer was «OK,» incompetence at its finest.

Great alternative to train! Its convenient to me and very affordable. I recommended it to a friend recently who had no issues with it as well. The only downside is the timing. If you during rush hour, it will take longer… obviously.

Deplorable customer service, 1 hour hold up en route, and no WiFi
We were delayed 60 – 70 minutes in Newton, MA because a warning light came on and the bus had to «regenerate» at high idle.
While we were waiting the WiFi signal was lost. When I asked an employee she told me the driver had turned it off and then gabbed with another Go Bus employee and the driver on the curb for the next (and the previous, for that matter) 25 minutes. After we left the driver couldn’t turn it on and told me «they did something to it» in Newton (we had WiFi for 20 minutes from Cambridge to Newton).
So we had no WiFi the whole way to NYC for four hours because wasting 25 minutes chatting (and apparently not mentioning the lost WiFi to the driver, or the two mechanics) with one’s co-​workers is more important than providing customer service –even when asked.
I would think that her sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs and requests of passengers would have been heightened under these circumstances.

So they don’t stop on the way anymore and it’s good for saving time, but bad on your own blood circulation… Great, calm drivers!

DO NOT USE THIS BUS COMPANY
Please bare with me as I tell you of this horrifying experience we had last night.
GO BUS has ABSOLUTELY no regard for safety so if you value your life NEVER BOOK WITH THEM.
It was our drivers first day which he noted while getting on the bus. Our bus had no GPS but the company encouraged him to go the route with out. They basically asked him to drive any unknown route with nothing but a cell phone. At no point did the company reach out to help him along the way.
After leaving the city in a strange way we found ourselves in NJ and then finally on track towards CT. Once in CT our driver got off the highway being rerouted to Merritt Parkway which buses can not take. Next thing you know we are driving around the neighborhoods of CT. (yes I am serious about this one)
Everyone in the front of the Bus used GPS to help our driver get onto the main Highway to take back to Boston. (newton)
At this point we are about an hour and half behind schedule. Not to mention this is the last bus out of NYC — Boston and its 9:00pm at night.
Let me remind you that even with all of this ciaos, the driver has reached out to dispatch MULTIPLE TIMES with no response.
After going though the tolls in the Sturbridge the driver pulls off at a rest station. He tells us that he has had little to no control of the steering during 90 percent of the ride. YES HIS STEERING HAD FAILED HIM. He calls into dispatch again with no response.
WAIT IT GETS BETTER…
I call my fiancé for a ride since this is about 40 minutes to where we live. And boy am I glad I did.
Just a few moments later the bus driver notifies us that his boss has asked him to drive the bus (yes LIMP THE BUS HOME) at 25 miles per hour the rest of the way with out control of the steering.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! SO UNPROFESSIONAL AND DANGEROUS!
At no point do I blame the driver he honestly did the best he could.
This company is horrible they do not train their employees, neither do they help them in emergency situations.
I have no idea what happened to the rest of the crew on the bus last night but if you don’t want this to happen to you DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

On time departure. They have outlets on the car which is great!!! Free Wifi is available as well even I don’t really need it cuz our awesome Verizon data plan.

I write this as I’m standing in the rain and cold, waiting for my Go Bus. It’s 40 minutes late. One of our two busses is here (#6598 — you are great sir) and the driver keeps calling and can’t get in touch with anyone at the company. Not even close to worth it to ride this bus.
Edit: We saw the bus coming up over the horizon, and our group erupted into cheers… And then he took a wrong turn.
Edit again: Bus was supposed to pick us up at 7pm in NYC. We stood in the rain for another hour, and he arrived around 8:00pm. I’m never taking this bus again.

I feel like there are so many things that can go horribly wrong with a bus ride from Boston to New York, but GoBuses managed to pull off my trip without any snags!
I went from Alewife to Manhattan on 6am Saturday, and came back on 7pm Sunday.
On the way in to NY we left Alewife right at 6, hit no traffic, and got there on time. On the way back, we left about 10 minutes late due to some confusion about seating, hit some traffic, and arrived about 30 minutes late. We had the same bus driver both times; he was friendly and drove safely and conservatively (always in right or middle lane) the entire time. We made each trip in less than 5 hours.
I agree with other reviewers that it is very frustrating to get into New York State by 9 and then spend the better part of 2 hours inching along the city streets, but I don’t think that that’s the fault of the bus company.
In my experience, the buses DO have outlets, do NOT have wifi. On my particular trips we did not make a stop (except at Riverside, obviously), which was fine with me.
I found a coupon code online and it came to $ 50 round trip.
I would definitely take GoBuses again. The Alewife location is much more convenient for me than dragging my stuff in to South Station, and the drop off point next to Penn Station is well located and relatively calm as well. The seats aren’t luxurious or anything, but it’s the cheapest ticket I found. (P.S. Do $ 10 buses actually exist? I guess it’s worth the extra $ 40 for the free water bottle they give you?)

While it is really convenient for me — I live in Somerville — I will not be traveling Gobus again. Our driver was a lunatic.
He tailgated other drivers (gotta love being 2 meters behind another car while at 80mph!), horned anyone who wouldn’t get out of the way and drove at terrifying speed the entire journey, frequently swearing loudly at other drivers.
Basically acted as if he were driving a rally car, not a bus with 50+ ppl, many of whom were trying to sleep.
He also pulled off the highway suddenly, stopped the bus on the shoulder and, without making any announcement, proceeded to the bathroom where he remained for 5ish minutes. Everyone was totally confused about what was happening.
He also stopped the bus at a Burger King nr Hartford for 20ish minutes but made no announcement before he disembarked and walked off to get a whopper.
He abused a woman who was trying to get her luggage out at Newton.
He horned and shouted at a guy who was briefly blocking the bus from turning (for about 5 seconds) in Newton. The guy said «do you have to be such a jerk about it?» Our driver’s response: «F*ck you.»
My gut? Our driver was stoned or something. Just an incredibly bizarre and unsettling experience. Avoid these guys until they start hiring competent, sane drivers.

Je m’attendais vraiment à mieux. Le bus est arrivé avec 20 minutes de retard. Il n’est pas en très bon état, le wifi fonctionne à peine et il y fait un froid de canard. Prévoyez échappe et pull même en plein été.
Le conducteur roule vraiment très très mal, freine d’un seul coup au dernier moment à chaque fois, bref je déconseille cette compagnie !

There are 2 different Go Buses listings, so I’m sharing mine with both.
Go Buses will leave before they’re scheduled to leave, but the overall quality of the ride trumps this, IMO. You should plan on arriving 30 minutes prior to your departure, because the bus will leave when it’s near capacity or if it’s picking up passengers in Newton.
Why 5 stars?
— clean buses
— wifi
— non-​stop most of the time
— outlets between seats
— free water
— price depends on when you book, and time of day
So, 5 stars because of these things?
Yep! You really cannot guarantee other major bus lines to offer the same. With other buses, sometimes the buses are old, sometimes they have wifi, sometimes they have outlets, and they never have free water. Go Bus has been consistently great ever since the Chinatown buses went out of business.
I’d love if the tickets were cheaper, but it’s awesome that I can show a print out or even just my email. You don’t always have that with the other companies. Also, if you book it far enough out, price is lower.