Greyhound Helps You Beat Gas Prices for Cross-Country Travel

With gas prices around the $3 per gallon mark, people need alternatives to driving to visit family or see tourist attractions. In a fictional scenario, Roy wants to travel from his home in New York to Los Angeles. Roy has four choices, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The key issue for Roy is price. Roy wants the flexibility to see some of the sights along the way. He has up to 30 days to travel and see as many places as he can. Our plan has him leaving September 8th.

Greyhound Bus lines

NY, NY to Los Angeles,

Travel time 70 hrs (approximately)

$238.00 (7 day advance-Weekend)

$289.00 (Same day-Weekend)

$279.00 (same day-Mon-Thurs)

$218.00 (7 day advance-Mon-Thurs)

$569.00 (30 Day Discovery Pass)

$512.00 (30 Day Discounted Discovery Pass)

Advantages:

Needs no reservation

Travels almost everywhere

Price is constant

Scenic

Regular stops

Disadvantages:

Space limitation

Bathroom odor

Smaller towns have less service, so may have to wait up to 24 hours to get a bus out

Layovers can be several hours

Amtrak

NY, NY to Los Angeles,

Travel time 72 hrs (approximately)

$344 Round Trip (Coach)

North America Rail Pass (Requires one trip to Canada)

$766 Peak

$543 Off-Peak

$488 Discounts

Advantages:

Comfort

Scenic

Food available

Can walk around

Disadvantages:

Expensive for more than one person

Reservation required for best prices

Main service in large cities, would have to have another mode of transportation to go to other areas.

Car:

Average miles per gallon: 24

Gas: 3.00 per gallon

Round-trip miles from NY, NY to Los Angeles: 5686 miles

Gallons needed Round-trip 236.91

Cost: $710.75

Travel Time: 44 hrs (nonstop)

Advantages:

Flexibility

Can take more than one person to share cost

Disadvantages:

Vehicle wear and tear

Fluctuating gas prices

Plane:

American Airlines $453

Travel Time: 6 hrs

Advantages:

Speed

Comfort

Disadvantages:

No flexibility

Cancellation or delays

Discounts Available

Youth Hostels

$28.00 Annual Membership (4000 hostels worldwide)

Card can be used for discount travel on Greyhound and Amtrak

$25.00 Average cost per night

Works as a student discount card, but is not limited to students since Youth Hostels are open to all people.

Military Discount

Ranges from 10% to a set price of $198.00 on Greyhound

Student/Senior Discount

Usually 10% off of price

Must have id and pay a membership fee of around $15 to get the card

Which option would you choose for Roy? Our choice was the Greyhound Discovery Pass. With a membership to the Youth Hostels, it made it the most affordable way for Roy to travel and see some of the sights he wanted. It also allowed him to visit smaller cities, and put him in close proximity to public transportation in larger cities.