ak08820

I was looking at the Megabus.com site and it simply states that "Bicycles are not permitted on megabus motorcoaches. "
The 1 piece of allowed luggage "must not exceed 62 inches when adding the total exterior dimensions of the piece (length + width + height) ". So, that leaves out bike boxes.

Has anyone used any bus service in the US and carried bikes on it? Seems that a folding bike or an S&S coupler equipped bike are the only options?

Cyclebum

I don't know anything about Megabus, but have taken boxed bikes aboard both Greyhound and Jefferson lines. I did once cram a DF into one of those 62" boxes that I had to construct myself. I don't think that restriction applies to the above lines, as I have ridden both with the bike in standard boxes. They will charge extra and you're suppose to load/unload the box yourself, in spite of it being "express." If there is too much luggage aboard to fit your box, it'll get booted and shipped express on another bus. They'll handle it then. Go figure. If you don't want to deal with the box, a tip and word to a baggage handler will probably do the trick.

axolotl

There are now a lot of bus lines which travel between New York and the DC area, as well as between NY and the Boston area. Most of them seem to have very liberal baggage policies and it's easy and free to take a bike. I've seen bike owners load their bikes themselves into one of the large luggage compartments. On the buses I've taken, nothing whatsoever needs to be done to the bike, i.e. no box and no turning of handlebars required.

I looked up bus lines going between LA & Las Vegas and I found a bus line which seemed to have a similar policy.

fietsbob

The same advantage Bike Friday has for air travel likely applies to this bus system , If it hides in a suitcase , its not a Bike .

axolotl

Here's the bike policy from the BoltBus website:

https://www.boltbus.com/faq.aspx

Can I take a bicycle or golf bag?

We do allow them and consider them to be oversize items as long as space is available in the baggage area. The oversize item will count as your one bag allowed under the coach. You’ll be responsible for placing the item in the baggage bin. We will not charge you an additional fee for oversized item provided it is within your limit of one bag under the coach. BOLTBUS is not responsible for damage to oversize items or items that are not placed in normal luggage or a carrying case.

krobinson103

Folder. In a bag/case its not a bike and is very compact.

JimDDD

Email and ask. I've investigated this for the Boston/NY route with the bus service which runs out of Alewife (end of the red line in Boston) to Manhatten. Not only was is the bike free, but it turns out the luggage area of the bus is always almost empty. The folks who take these buses tend to be young people traveling light. The only requirement was that the customer load and unload.

I am a bit worried about things sliding around in that big empty luggage space, but there are probably tie downs.

I haven't made the trip yet, but I hope to soon. I'm planning on riding down to Long Wharf, taking the fast ferry from Boston to Provincetown, riding down Cape Cod to one of the Long Island Ferries and crossing to the end of Long Island, then following one of the century routes into New York, then taking the bus back to Alewife, which is only eight miles from home.

indyfabz

Yes. New Jersey Transit, in fact. Ocean City, to Philadelphia in the cargo hold.

Different bus operators have different policies. Call and ask.

Bjforrestal

San Diego has a spot for 2 bikes on the front of the bus on a rack. If full and bus is empty, and racks were taken they let me bring it on.

LeeG

A couple years ago I took BoltBus from Baltimore to NY and a couple of young folks unloaded their one speeds and zoomed off with small backpacks. Great combo.

jabantik00

took my xtracycle on greyhound a couple years ago. made an extra-long box out of two boxes in order to avoid removing the xtracycle. it wasn't super sturdy, but i put it under the bus myself - it wasn't one of those airline apes throwing my box onto the conveyer. i think greyhound charged like $10 extra or something. it was pretty reasonable

*edit: i mention the xtracycle because the resulting box was quite large. it was probably >62" in the long dimension alone. i got some pics somewhere on crazyguy if anyone cares. i don't know if greyhound has a luggage dimension policy, but there is a lot of space under those buses. i doubt the driver could care, as long as the bus wasn't super full

Western Flyer 

I've taken my boxed bike on the Greyhound and unboxed on the Amtrak bus. I've heard that the Amtrak buses sometimes want it boxed in an Amtrak box (big).

indyfabz

Amtrak does not operate the Thruway Connecting Bus Service. That's why it's advisable to call the actual bus operator and ask what its policy is, whether taking a bus in connection with Amtrak or not.

The basis question posed by this thread seems to be "Do some bus companies transport bikes?" The answer is a resounding "yes."

john426

I just took a Megabus trip and there were no problems with my folder. However they did not look to see if my bike was a "real" folder so if you pack well enough you could get away with a regular bike. Look on-line, there are videos of how to pack a bike very small.