We all know and love the Chinatown Buses of the American east coast. They ferry us from city to city from anything from $1 to $20 thus overcoming the tyranny of the expensive and ineffectual Amtrak railroads. Yet, in recent years, the choices of which bus to hop on have exploded, and so Pyrodes thought it good to list, rank, and review our favorite bus companies that spot the highways between New York and DC (For the NYC to Boston rankings, click here). These are the best NY-DC buses, so you won’t end up stuck on a 90 degree bus, 60 minutes late, and headed for Montreal instead of Manhattan (we hope). So, without further introductions, here be the list:

1. BOLT: Bolt Bus (Website Here) is quite the covert corporate coach. Actually owned and operated by Greyhound, it has sprung up on the east coast to stop the hemorrhaging of customers to the cheaper Chinatown buses. That aside, Bolt has proven its value with one word: Internet. All Bolt buses are new, air conditioned, and sport slow, but functional wireless internet to make sure you don’t go into technological withdrawal on your trip. Bolt will pick you up at Penn Station and Canal Street and drop you off near Metro Center, thus allowing you to avoid the central bus station of death in DC. The one downside is timelines, as we have quite often seen the buses 15 min-1 hour late in arriving, but build this time into your schedule, and you will surely be happy with the Bolt.

For Pyrodes’ other favorites and the bus company that meets your needs, whether you need different NY and DC drop off points or more time options, follow us after the jump…

2. VAMOOSE: Vamoose (Website Here) is a company with one good idea: DC is a big place, so let’s not drop everyone off at the center of it. And so, those who want to visit Northern Virginia and Maryland thank you, Vamoose. Indeed, while Vamoose will charge you a couple extra dollars over the competition, it has routes from NY’s Penn Station to both Arlington and Bethesda, thus freeing you from an extra 30 min trip on the DC metro. The Vamoose buses are standard, but good. No internet, but an express trip to Arlington may be worth it for the VA readers out there. And, as one of our readers noted, if you ride Vamoose 4 times, you get one free ride. Now, that’s a deal.

3. APEX: Apex (Website Here) is the classic Chinatown bus. It has infinite trips per day between the eastern seaboard cities, so no matter what your schedule, there is a bus for you. Apex has also followed the lead of Bolt and added internet to its buses, but it can be spotty at times, as can be the quality of the buses. Bottom line though, if you need a quick, unplanned ticket to NY or DC, this is your ride. Jump on and don’t worry about sell outs like those Bolt and Vamoose folks do. This is what Chinatown buses are all about.

4. PETER PAN: Peter Pan (Website Here) is part of the establishment; we admit it. But, hey, if you’re booking online and like a good movie on your trip, it just might work for you. They leave from Port Authority in NY and drop at the DC greyhound station, which can be sketchy late at night, so take care or use our other options here for twilight arrivals. If you use the Pan, book online because in a practice Pyrodes finds slightly discriminatory, the company will charge you almost three times as much for tickets not bought online. That aside, Peter Pan has many options throughout the day to many locations, so enjoy’em.

5. EASTERN TRAVEL: Eastern (Website Here) is all over the place. They have buses most any hour on some days, and you can just jump on and go without much worry about reservations, etc. They offer standard buses, cheap fares, and quick trips to DC’s Chinatown metro stop. You can find them in Chinatown or Penn Station in NY. So, if the others fail you, these guys will take you, and, hey, they’ll get you there in one piece faster than walking and safer than hitchhiking, so no complaints from Pyrodes.

Some Notable Mentions:

• MVP Bus (Premium): MVP (Website Here) offers the standard trips for the standard price. There are no bells and whistles and the schedule offers a few less trips, but they offer nice busses for a nice price.
• Today’s Bus: Today (Website Here) is also quite the normal Chinatown bus. Their website links on a lot of sites are dead, but if you do a search for them, you’ll find’em.
• Greyhound: Hey, shout out to the forefathers of the bus game. Go Greyhound. (Website)

Let us know your favorites, and Happy Travels!

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