DC2NY Bus Company Enjoys 35% Growth in Last 12 Months

Photo courtesy of
‘DC2NY’
courtesy of ‘Luc Van Braekel’

Living at 10th and M, I’m right in the center of DC to NY bus travel, as Bolt Bus (owned by Greyhound), MegaBus, and Eastern Travel Company (now owned by CoachUSA-parent company of Megabus) all run their operation from the parking lot that now sits where the old convention center used to be. But it appears that I’ve been taking the wrong buses because DC2NY bus lines, which leaves from closer to Midtown/Golden Triangle reported yesterday that they’ve enjoyed a 35 percent growth in its business over the last 12 months with a weekly ridership of 2,500 passengers at an average ticket price of $26, according to Washington Business Journal.  This is pretty strong growth for a company that’s only 2 years old – especially in this economy.

What I didn’t know was just how much they differentiated themselves from their larger competitors. WBJ reports that “DC2NY advertises itself as “The Upscale Bus” and offers riders free wireless Internet, bottled water, electrical plugs and table seating.” Bottled water? You mean I don’t have to spend $4.50 on a bottle of Vasa at a shitty reststop anymore? I suppose I’m paying for it anyways if a ticket is $26 vs. the $21 I usually spend to travel to the Big Apple, but table seating and electrical outlets are a definite plus. I couldn’t find any info on strong growth for either of the competitors, so it looks like DC2NY is doing something right – I might have to give them a shot next time I head north. What say you, WLDC readers?

Liam Darmody moved to DC in 2001 by way of Boston, Beverly Hills, and Toronto, Canada (his home and native land) to pursue his dream of becoming a politician. He changed his dream upon meeting actual politicians and has since been seen eating, drinking, shopping, golfing (poorly), blogging, and goofing off in general around our fair city. By day he works socially as a product manager, and by night he’s all over the place. Connect with him digitally via Twitter, Yelp, LinkedIn, or Facebook, or by e-mail at ldarmody at welovedc dot com.

5 thoughts on “DC2NY Bus Company Enjoys 35% Growth in Last 12 Months”

  2. I took DC2NY once last summer and was pleased… they gave out not only bottled water, but snack-size bags of cookies or crackers. The employees were also friendly and helpful. I didn’t have a laptop with me though, so I can’t speak to the quality of their wireless internet.

  3. I took DC2NY shortly after it started operating back in 2007 (I even got a deal for being one of their first riders). Back then I think I did it for $40 round trip. Can’t say if it’s changed at all since then, but my trip was not too bad.

  5. I’ve taken DC2NY before. The wifi was good, but so was Megabus (operated by Eastern) when I took them. The table seating must be new on DC2NY, I’ll have to give that a try.