Public transit from Philadelphia to New York ? (Penn: buy, cost)

[MrPointy]

What are the available options for Public transit from Philadelphia to New York ?
I'm looking to go on saturday, return around 10PM from New York.

I'm close to the 30th street station in Philly

[maf763]

The expensive way is Amtrak from 30th St. to Penn Station in NYC. The cheaper way is the R7 from 30th Street to Trenton and NJ Transit to Penn Station. You could also try the Boltbus or one of the other bus services.

[MrPointy]

Hmm Boltbus is full tomorrow morning, any other similar bus services ?

[maf763]

Google is your friend.

[CHIP72]

Megabus also stops next to 30th Street Station.

A full list of Philadelphia-New York ground transit options includes:

*Amtrak, both Acelas and Northeast Regionals (30th Street Station & Penn Station) - fastest but most expensive; run pretty much hourly most of the day with one overnight train
*SEPTA R7/NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line (all 3 Center City Philadelphia train stations & Penn Station) - probably the most popular option and run hourly or more frequent most of the day; the trains are timed in Trenton to faciliate the connection
*Greyhound (Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal next to Market East Station & Port Authority Bus Terminal) - buses run pretty much hourly all day (and there's an overnight bus too) with few or no intermediate stops; will probably have some shady-looking or smelly people on the bus
*BoltBus and Megabus (30th Street Station area & Penn Station area) - cheap, discount buses that are nice but have curbside pickup and only sell tickets over the internet; no intermediate stops
*Chinatown buses (usually near Philadelphia 11th-Filbert/Arch & New York Chinatown or Penn Station) - very cheap, discount buses operated by various carriers that run most hours of the day but may have buses with mechanical problems and drivers who don't speak English

[newmarlig]

I'm not sure if Bolt or Mega have returns as late as 10:00 p.m.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by CHIP72

Megabus also stops next to 30th Street Station.

A full list of Philadelphia-New York ground transit options includes:

*Amtrak, both Acelas and Northeast Regionals (30th Street Station & Penn Station) - fastest but most expensive; run pretty much hourly most of the day with one overnight train
*SEPTA R7/NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line (all 3 Center City Philadelphia train stations & Penn Station) - probably the most popular option and run hourly or more frequent most of the day; the trains are timed in Trenton to faciliate the connection
*Greyhound (Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal next to Market East Station & Port Authority Bus Terminal) - buses run pretty much hourly all day (and there's an overnight bus too) with few or no intermediate stops; will probably have some shady-looking or smelly people on the bus
*BoltBus and Megabus (30th Street Station area & Penn Station area) - cheap, discount buses that are nice but have curbside pickup and only sell tickets over the internet; no intermediate stops
*Chinatown buses (usually near Philadelphia 11th-Filbert/Arch & New York Chinatown or Penn Station) - very cheap, discount buses operated by various carriers that run most hours of the day but may have buses with mechanical problems and drivers who don't speak English

Great list! From my personal experience, I would say to avoid the Chinatown buses for the reasons stated above. If you're traveling on a strict budget then Bolt and Mega may be your best value (although I haven't personally rode on them yet.)

My preference is the SEPTA/NJ Transit train combo. The NJ Transit seats, at least, are almost as comfortable as Amtrak's. And you'll save around 50% for what would be a 30-minute shorter ride on non-Acela Amtrak trains.

[CHIP72]

I've personally used the Amtrak Regionals, SEPTA/NJ Transit, Greyhound, BoltBus, and Megabus (though I haven't used the latter 3 for Philadelphia-New York travel). If you are on a budget (i.e. don't want to use Amtrak, which is the best way to go if money isn't an object), I'd say SEPTA/NJT, BoltBus, and Megabus are all comparable in quality (and probably speed and cost too, in the latter case if you don't buy your tickets far in advance). BoltBus is a little nicer than Megabus but is also a shade more expensive and doesn't have as convenient a schedule (at least for DC-NYC trips). SEPTA/NJT provides the most flexibility and also avoids potential traffic on the NJ Turnpike and the Hudson River tunnels. On the flip side, both Megabus and especially BoltBus are probably a little more comfortable than SEPTA (almost definitely) and NJ Transit (probably). I also think BoltBus (which is owned by Greyhound) and Megabus have more comfortable seats than Greyhound, though Greyhound, like SEPTA/NJT, has a more flexible schedule.

[MrPointy]

Originally Posted by CHIP72

Megabus also stops next to 30th Street Station.

A full list of Philadelphia-New York ground transit options includes:

*Amtrak, both Acelas and Northeast Regionals (30th Street Station & Penn Station) - fastest but most expensive; run pretty much hourly most of the day with one overnight train
*SEPTA R7/NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line (all 3 Center City Philadelphia train stations & Penn Station) - probably the most popular option and run hourly or more frequent most of the day; the trains are timed in Trenton to faciliate the connection
*Greyhound (Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal next to Market East Station & Port Authority Bus Terminal) - buses run pretty much hourly all day (and there's an overnight bus too) with few or no intermediate stops; will probably have some shady-looking or smelly people on the bus
*BoltBus and Megabus (30th Street Station area & Penn Station area) - cheap, discount buses that are nice but have curbside pickup and only sell tickets over the internet; no intermediate stops
*Chinatown buses (usually near Philadelphia 11th-Filbert/Arch & New York Chinatown or Penn Station) - very cheap, discount buses operated by various carriers that run most hours of the day but may have buses with mechanical problems and drivers who don't speak English

Thanks ! I was looking at Septa/NJ, and according to the schedule, R7 reaches Trenton at 1134 AM and NJ transit leaves at 12:02 (the previous one at 11:30), so the connections dont seem to be timed ?

[CHIP72]

Hmm, I just looked at the SEPTA and NJ Transit schedules and they really AREN'T coordinated. That must be a recent phenomenon because they usually coordinated them as recently as a year or two ago. Maybe the powers that be want riders to check out the rebuilt Trenton train station (which is still in progress but already looks much nicer), but really...

I forgot there is one other Philadelphia-New York option, though it works better if you are located near the PATCO line and not so well if your origin/destination point is near 30th Street Station. That option is to take PATCO to Walter Rand TC/Broadway in Camden, take the NJ Transit River Line between Camden and Trenton, and then take the NJ Transit NEC Line between Trenton and New York. That trip is slower but cheaper than SEPTA and has a little more flexibility during the day than SEPTA R7/NJT NEC Line. Unfortunately, the River Line doesn't run particularly late, though on Saturdays it runs a little later than other nights. Also, though I think the Walter Rand Transportation Center area is fairly safe, it does have a seedy feel. You will need to be outside briefly to go between the River Line (which is an outdoor station) and PATCO (which has two separate buildings through which you can access the underground station; the one further from the River Line station also contains a NJT bus station).

One option is to take SEPTA R7/NJT NEC Line in one direction and PATCO/NJ River Line/NJT NEC Line in the other direction (or for that matter any one of the options I mentioned above - BoltBus, Megabus, etc. - for the trip to NYC and a different option for the return trip).