70
votes
Accepted
Transiting through Switzerland by coach with lots of cash
Rarely does one see so many misconceptions in one question!
coach will definitely or almost certainly be stopped in Switzerland for checks on luggage and things, can I risk being seized all ...
61
votes
Accepted
Using oyster card in buses
They do not need to - there is a fixed fare per bus journey (£1.50 at the time of writing), no matter how long you travel.
It gets a little bit more complicated if taking more than one journey - with ...
- 1,381
60
votes
Accepted
Are there any rules of thumb for the most comfortable seats on a long distance bus?
If motion sickness is a consideration
As a child suffering from motion sickness I would always try to sit between or above the wheels. In modern buses you do not see the wheels but the area between ...
- 55.8k
59
votes
Accepted
Who goes first? Person disembarking bus or the bicycle?
The bicycle riders have to be careful and wait if necessary.
Here is a German newspaper article on the subject. The basis for the rule is § 20 of the German traffic regulations (StVO), whose first ...
- 9,165
53
votes
What's the longest scheduled public bus ride in the world?
I work at Busbud, where we're working to aggregate all the world's bus providers and routes. I had a look though our database. We're sure we don't know about everything yet, but we've found a lot of ...
- 12.4k
50
votes
Accepted
How to alert a bus driver to stop without pushing the stop button
The stop button is exactly there to ask the driver to stop at the next stop. If you can't get to a button, please politely request someone and they will be happy to press it for you.
Here is some ...
- 32.7k
49
votes
What is the cheapest way of travelling between London and Paris by public transportation?
If you are not time sensitive, then Eurostar Snap is an option. You pick a day and either morning or afternoon and then get told the train time the day before. (It lets them fill empty seats.)
There ...
- 4,494
44
votes
Accepted
Remedies when bus company makes me miss a flight
There are no remedies. Greyhound's terms and conditions explicitly disclaim liability for delays:
In no event shall carrier be liable for consequential or incidental damages for loss, damage or ...
- 37.3k
43
votes
Are there any rules of thumb for the most comfortable seats on a long distance bus?
One other thing to consider when choosing which side of the bus to sit on is where the sun will be during your trip, based on the time of day and overall direction of travel. Sitting on the sunny side ...
- 1,053
39
votes
Accepted
Why do we have to get out off the bus in a ferry?
You have to leave the coach to make evacuation easier.
Even in ferries where your coach stays on the top deck, you sometimes have to leave the vehicle.
This is because in case of accident, the fear ...
- 55.8k
39
votes
Transiting through Switzerland by coach with lots of cash
I decided to give my contribution here as I'm often crossing the border between Italy and Switzerland by train and sometimes by bus:
Border inspections both from Swiss and Italians authorities are ...
- 491
30
votes
Accepted
How to make sure that you get off at the correct bus stop in Thailand?
Even when I can read signs, it's not always easy to navigate public transport. [Try the New York subway system, although there may be announcements they are not always intelligible. Add in a few ...
- 4,107
30
votes
In 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow, would Amtrak be much faster than a bus?
One inch (2.5 cm) of falling snow changes pretty much nothing. Even more so for a heavy vehicle.
Snow melts easily by the passing of vehicles and so most motorways do not have more than a very thin ...
- 42k
28
votes
Identification for ticket collection
The Greyhound website says about remote purchasing of tickets:
Prepaid Ticket Orders (PTO)
A non-refundable $18 Prepaid Ticket Order fee will be applied at the time of purchase. This fee is per ...
- 10.7k
26
votes
Remedies when bus company makes me miss a flight
Transport does not work that way
If you book separate segments from separate companies, they don't owe you anything for a missed connection. They got you to the agreed location, their job is done.
...
25
votes
With '7-day Unlimited MetroCard' in NY do I have to wait 18 minutes to transfer from one line to another?
No. The 18 minute limit applies only in the same station. You can use the card in any other station as soon as you are able to get there.
The most common related problem encountered by tourists is ...
- 125k
23
votes
Bus failed to pick us up; must the operator refund our taxi fare?
This is a bit of a sensitive question. I believe there are some court cases (e.g. regarding maritime transportation) and sometimes divergent guidelines from national authorities but I am not familiar ...
- 101k
22
votes
First-Time Greyhound Traveller
Greyhound provides a locator on their website. Just type in the city where you're stopping and it will give you the station(s) there and their addresses, even phone number and hours.
That's tricky to ...
- 16.8k
22
votes
First-Time Greyhound Traveller
Welcome to bus travel! :-) I work for Busbud, a bus travel site.
This trip requires you to take three buses each way
A long trip on Greyhound from Toronto to Chicago, crossing the border at Windsor/...
- 12.4k
21
votes
Accepted
Heathrow to Gatwick and traffic jam
The roads are the M25 and M23 and early on a Sunday are quite likely to be deserted. There are no significant road works on either at present. Your transit time should be about 45 minutes. With heavy ...
- 28.3k
21
votes
Accepted
Can a tourist pre-book and travel with Indre Namdal Trafikk bus line 17-599 Namsskogan – Smalåsen?
I just asked the customer service and there is a bus service operating on demand between Namsskogan station and Smalåsen for every train stopping in Namsskogan.
The service must be ordered in advance,...
- 51.6k
20
votes
Accepted
Do bus stations have names in Latin letters in Tokyo
That's actually the bus line and its destination, and the Google Maps directions already convert both the starting and ending stops into English (well, romanized Japanese). For example, if going from ...
- 99.4k
20
votes
Accepted
Why do Transit Systems in the US Rarely Accept Direct Credit/Debit Card Payments
Some bus agencies have done as you propose, including, at one point in the past, Valley Metro Three in Phoenix (see page 33-34 for an explanation). Those readers have since been removed. A few points:
...
- 85.6k
19
votes
Why are Damri bus stations elevated?
The platform and high-entry door provide what is called 'Platform Level Boarding'.
Platform level boarding refers to a transport system (normally relevant to buses) where the doors are at the same ...
- 113k
18
votes
Accepted
How can I calculate the cost of Skyss bus tickets
Skyss must have one of the most complicated tariff systems for public transport, at least in Norway, if not world wide. After reading through the Norwegian information pages on their website, I still ...
- 51.6k
17
votes
Accepted
What's the longest scheduled public bus ride in the world?
Lima to Rio de Janeiro. Six hours more than Lima to São Paulo. DW has a documentary on this trip. My personal longest is SP to Recife - 54 hours (scheduled for 48 hours)
- 194
17
votes
Why are Damri bus stations elevated?
It looks like this is for Bali's BRT system (and Lombok has one too under trial), which is modelled on Jakarta's TransJakarta (Tije), a pioneering busway service that aims to provide metro-like ...
- 99.4k
17
votes
Accepted
Is paying for a bus in Paris by cash or card possible in 2022?
Parisian local here
Since the start of the COVID pandemic you can't buy tickets from the driver anymore (all have their separation shield out and ticket sales are not possible even though that's still ...
- 12.1k
16
votes
Are there any Postbuses left in the UK?
The only one I can find that still exists is Route 134, which runs Tongue-Talmine-Tongue-Lairg in Highland, Scotland. All other routes seem to have discontinued.
- 3,846
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible