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| Stay Away from Bolt Bus! (173757) | |
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Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 07:51:07 2009 If you are the type of person that has a flexible schedule that can change on a whim, DO NOT USE BOLT BUS!I had a reservation booked for a round trip to Philly and my plans have changed. I called them about it, No Tickets Are Refundable. So pretty much if you need to cancel, you are out of however much your ticket was. Now my ticket was $25, I'm not gonna cry about $25 BUT it will be the last time I book anything with Bolt Bus. Loyal Customer Lost! -Trevor www.ttmg.org |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by kcram3500 on Fri Nov 20 08:43:08 2009, in response to Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 07:51:07 2009. Were you trying to change your dates or just cancel? Megabus does allow a change to reservations as long as it's more than 24 hours prior to the first trip of the itinerary, but they do not refund tickets on cancellation request either.Not having ridden with either operation, I just went to both websites and found those policies quickly... BoltBus under "FAQ" and Megabus under "Terms and Conditions". BoltBus: What happens if I need to change a trip I’ve already booked? Can I rebook my fare? Rebooking Services are Available by Phone: Passengers are allowed to rebook up to 24 hours from the original planned departure. However, rebooking incurs a $3 fee per passenger plus any fare differential. For example: if you have a $1 ticket and want a $20 ticket, you’ll be charged the difference of $19. Please note: it is possible your newly rebooked fare costs less than the original fare. Should this happen we apologize in advance, but it’s not our policy to issue credit for the difference. Can I change my ticket? Tickets are non-refundable and only good for travel on the schedule & date that you have purchased. Megabus: 2. Reservations with megabus.com may not be refunded except where megabus.com has materially failed in its delivery of the service offered by this site. 3. Customers can change a reservation more than 24 hours before the first trip they reserved is scheduled to depart. A US$1 fee (50¢ change fee and 50¢ new reservation fee) is charged for all reservations being changed. The cost of the initial reservation will be credited against the subsequent reservation, less the $1 fee. Should the subsequent reservation be less expensive than the initial reservation, no payment or further credit will be made to the customer and all unused credit will be forfeited. If the initial amount paid is less than the cost of the subsequent reservation the customer must pay the difference when completing their new reservation. |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by RailBus63 on Fri Nov 20 08:56:21 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by kcram3500 on Fri Nov 20 08:43:08 2009. These policies are understandable - given the price wars that are going on, the providers do not want people booking seats and then cancelling them at the last minute because they found another bus company a few dollars cheaper. |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by Triangle Junction on Fri Nov 20 09:20:52 2009, in response to Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 07:51:07 2009. For what they charge, I don't expect ANY perks. I'll treat it like a concert ticket or whatever |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Nov 20 10:40:10 2009, in response to Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 07:51:07 2009. Hmm! That's why I don't really use BoltBus/Megabus unless I can guarantee that I can make those connections.I already donated money to Bolt and Mega. I took them at a later date, but I'd rather have tickets that are refundable or useable on another trip. That's why Amtrak's awesome (if you make sure you print out your ticket). |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by Deaks on Fri Nov 20 10:40:59 2009, in response to Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 07:51:07 2009. Not ideal, but Bolt Bus are of course owned by a major player in the UK train business. The pactice here, both in terms of cheap train, coach and plane fares is that they are non-refundable. If you cancel or change your requirements, they aren't bothered and won't give you a penny refund. |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by metrolinecoach111 on Fri Nov 20 11:35:09 2009, in response to Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 07:51:07 2009. Trevor,What you should do is to call their general number (1-877-BOLTBUS), press option 2 and you can re-book your ticket for the charge of $3.50 - Mega has the same policy as well, it's not advertised because of their business practices, but it doesn't mean you have to lose the entire fare... It's the same with almost every curbside operator, the policy is that the tickets are non-refundable... |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by metrolinecoach111 on Fri Nov 20 11:45:49 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Nov 20 10:40:10 2009. In terms of flexibility though, something Bolt does that other companies do not allow is if you have a reservation for a particular bus and you opt to try to leave earlier or you missed your connection, you will be placed on stand-by and given priority to take an earlier (or later) bus as long as it's the same day...and as long as there are extra seats (little secret from both observation and from working on the inside: every bus has an available seat (even if its sold out), you'll always have late people and people who were booked on the bus who left earlier or re-booked)... |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by Hank Eisenstein on Fri Nov 20 11:47:59 2009, in response to Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 07:51:07 2009. Their terms and conditions are set forth quite clearly when you book. |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by Terrapin Station on Fri Nov 20 12:39:50 2009, in response to Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 07:51:07 2009. How come you didn't look up the refund policy before booking? I always do that. I just did it yesterday when I booked some Amtrak tix. |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by RailBus63 on Fri Nov 20 12:54:18 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Nov 20 10:40:10 2009. I already donated money to Bolt and Mega. I took them at a later date, but I'd rather have tickets that are refundable or useable on another trip.That's why Amtrak's awesome (if you make sure you print out your ticket). That's also one reason why Amtrak is a lot more expensive than Bolt or Mega. |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 14:35:48 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by metrolinecoach111 on Fri Nov 20 11:35:09 2009. The trip planned may or may not happen again so that is not happening. So it a loss I will take but I will not use this kind of operation again. I will go back to what I was doing and that is using Amtrak or Peter Pan for my corridor needs. Not using the bargain basement service again.Just one of those little life's lessons -Trevor |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by Hank Eisenstein on Fri Nov 20 15:05:20 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 14:35:48 2009. Yeah, but those other options could cost you more money. And even more if you change your reservation. As I said, their site clearly spells out their terms and conditions, and you should have known when buying the ticket you'd lose the money if you didn't take the trip or reschedule in a timely manner.However, if you paid by credit card, you may have travel insurance built into it, so you may be able to get a credit from them. |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Nov 20 15:36:28 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by metrolinecoach111 on Fri Nov 20 11:45:49 2009. Hmm, I honestly wasn't aware of that. Thanks for that information, I feel a little better about the Bolt!When I did ride it, I was pleased to be able to use WiFi (on my PSP!) on my way home. It surely helps keep me at ease, for riding buses for long periods of time (particularly if I have a stanger sit next to me), makes me quite a bit anxious if I don't have entertaining distractions. |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by Terrapin Station on Fri Nov 20 15:38:23 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by Hank Eisenstein on Fri Nov 20 15:05:20 2009. IAWTP |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by BusMgr on Fri Nov 20 16:47:31 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by rionOne on Fri Nov 20 14:35:48 2009. Greyhound Lines itself recently recognized that while some travelers can plan specific trips in advance, others need flexibility. It had been for some time that all redeemed Greyhound Lines tickets incurred a 15 percent cancellation fee, but now the company has both non-refundable and refundable with 20 percent cancellation fee. There is no charge to change the travel time and date on refundable tickets, but there is a $15.00 fee to change the travel time and date on non-refundable tickets.Looking at midweek travel Greyhound Lines offers these fares between New York City and Philadelphia: $12.00 Non-refundable web-only $14.00 Non-refundable 14-day advance purchase $17.00 Non-refundable 7-day advance purchase $19.00 Non-refundable no advance purchase $16.00 Refundable web-only $23.00 Refundable no advance purchase |
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Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus! |
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Posted by rionOne on Sat Nov 21 00:22:56 2009, in response to Re: Stay Away from Bolt Bus!, posted by Hank Eisenstein on Fri Nov 20 15:05:20 2009. In which I did...But I D K if my CC has travel insurance, but again, its just a lesson learned. I don't have a issue paying more for the convenience of flexibility, I'd figure I'd use Bolt Bus this time because of the short distance of the trip and the short notice for the trip.-Trevor |
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