For Burlington Trailways buses, is advance booking helpful and needed to be sure of a seat?

Question

Later this spring, I will probably travel by bus from Mount Pleasant to Iowa City (I'll be arriving by train from Denver). According to Burlington Trailways, there is a ticket counter at the Mount Pleasant bus stop. I could buy a ticket in advance for $18.50. Is it worth booking this ticket in advance? In general, I can think of two reasons to book in advance:

• Buses may get sold out. Is this a significant risk? The complete route is Chicago–Burlington–Mount Pleasant–Iowa City–Des Moines–Omaha. How full is this bus, typically?
• Tickets may get much more expensive. The same bus is also listed on Greyhound, but out of Advanced Purchase, Web Only, Standard, and Refundable, only Refundable is listed. The total distance is 50 mi / 80 km and the listed price is $18.50. Will I pay much more if I book at the counter just before departure?
• Thirdly, do I even gain anything? Does booking in advance guarantee a seat?

One argument against booking in advance is that I hope to meet someone on the train who's also travelling to Iowa City, and that I can possibly share a ride. Then I won't need the bus and will be in Iowa City much more quickly (it's five hours between the train arrival and the bus departure — that's good if the train is late, but a waste of time if it's not). If I book a ticket and not use it, I still need to go through the effort of cancelling it. Even if I can do this after the fact (that would surprise me), it's likely more effort than buying a ticket just before the bus departs.

Answer 1

I've traveled extensively by bus through this region, and while I'm aware that you've long since completed your travel, I'll answer this for the benefit of anyone who comes here in future...

As opposed to Greyhound, the largest US bus company, Trailways buses do not typically have reservations, and booking in advance does not guarantee you a seat. Seats are first-come, first served, at the time the bus arrives at your stop.

In this case, booking the ticket online makes no difference, though if you were starting or ending your trip here and it continued onward or if you transferred to/from Greyhound or another line, then you would want to book in advance due to the seating restrictions of those other carriers.

This bus shouldn't often be full, as it departs from Chicago westbound, and even if it is full leaving Chicago, it will typically discharge more passengers than are picked up, as most people in Iowa are traveling to and from Chicago, rather than points west. It's extremely unlikely that the bus would be full on arrival in Mount Pleasant. Furthermore, most people are taking the somewhat more direct Greyhound buses, which travel through Davenport (the much larger Quad Cities area) on the way out from Chicago.

There shouldn't be any significant difference in fares between booking online and at the counter, though the latter may be higher. It's worth calling the actual station in the departure city about this, as far as in advance as is practical, as fare prices change frequently and sometimes radically. You might also see a difference in fares between the Trailways website and the Greyhound website as well as buying at the counter.

Overall, I'd book in advance if possible, though if not, I wouldn't worry much about it. You'll still get where you are going.