Megabus, Adirondack Trailways NYC to Albany

There are a couple of buses going from New York city to Albany or vice versa: Megabus, Adirondack Trailways, Grayhound or Chinese bus. I usually take Megabus just because it is most likely cheaper, having wifi service inside the bus. However, sometimes Adirondack Trailways or Grayhound is cheaper and convenient. I've never taken Chinese bus yet but I heard it is also cheap but not preferable.


1. Megabus

You can go various places from NYC by taking Megabus: Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo etc. The bus has second floor, most seats are located in second floor. Seats are pretty comfortable and you can use WIFI in the bus during your journey, although it is very slow.
You can buy a ticket only in their website(www.megabus.com), and take your bus at 34St., 11Ave. in Manhattan(about 10 minutes from Penn station).

Fare is different from when you buy a ticket. If you buy a ticket earlier than other people, you would only pay $1. However, it would cost more than $22~25 if you buy it later than most of buyers. Here is an example for fares going from NYC to Albany.

Megabus going from NYC to Albany has two destinations. One is SUNY Albany and another is Rensselaer Station. It takes 2hours 45minutes to Rensselaer Station and 3hours 5minutes to SUNY Albany(without traffic). Normally, it takes longer than it is supposed to be because of traffic in NYC.

The schedules going from Albany to NYC are similar and you would land off at 34St., 11Ave.(same place where you took it). You can check your schedules and fare on Megabus website(www.megabus.com).



2. Adirondack Trailways 

The fare of Adirondack Trailways  is fixed. It is always either $35~39(online) or $44~45(offline). Unlike Megabus, Adirondack Trailways stops by Albany downtown bus terminal. If you want to go downtown Albany, I would recommend this bus rather than Megabus. It also goes to SUNY Albany but you should check its schedule before you buy ticket because there are only few lines gong to SUNY Albany during the day.
You can take it at 42St., Port Authority Bus Terminal in Mahattan(about 5minutes from Penn Station). You can buy a ticket either on website (http://www.trailwaysny.com/) or at ticket box.