Long story short, taking the Megabus is my new preferred way to get to Toronto if I have to.
You can get a one-way ticket from $18 to $55 a trip, and on average a ticket costs $38 for a half-filled bus.
If you go on off peak hours, or when people haven’t bought many tickets, then the price can go as low as $18.
I paid about $100 in total, but that’s because I miscalculated and had to come back a day early to start on a contract in another city…
Comparing it to driving to Toronto ($60 round trip by car)
- About the same length of time to get there (7 hours)
- Same cost of gas as well, but I booked my last ticket at $18!! ONE-WAY! Gas is at least $30
- Kind of sucks worse because you don’t have your own music or space
- …but you don’t have to try and stay awake to drive
- Also cannot bring more than 1 suitcase, 1 carry-on and 1 purse (not great if you were moving stuff, like us)
- Not great for people with motion sickness (me) because it rocks back and forth
- Can’t make any stop or rest anywhere you want to stretch your legs
- Internet is spotty on the bus, but at least you have it for free!!
- Has a table to work on in the lower level (it’s a double-decker) with power outlets
Comparing it to taking ViaRail ($180 round trip by train)
- ViaRail CLAIMS to get you there in 4-5 hours, but they’re 99% always delayed
- Only 2 hours more on the bus, and you’re paying less than half the price for a round trip
- In the end, the bus also drops you right on Bay & Dundas rather than at Union Station
- …which made for a much shorter TTC trip to get to my parents’
- The comfort level is the same — tables, plugs in the vehicle
- …and motion sickness is always a problem because both vehicles rock side to side
- Can’t make a stop or rest anywhere you want to stretch your legs
- The bus doesn’t offer food or snacks to buy, but if you’re organized, you don’t care
- Internet is $10 for 24 hours on the train, and is just as spotty as on the bus
- Both have bathrooms
In conclusion?
If you aren’t picky about amenities like food and drinks available to purchase on board, and don’t mind sitting still for about 3.5 hours (you get a 20 minute break in between halfway through), then go with the Megabus.
It wasn’t bad at all. It was better than I expected, and you even get both seats to yourself in a lot of cases!
I didn’t have to share my row with anyone, and I just listened to my iPod there and back with my Bose headphones to drown out the hum of the bus.
Highly recommended over the train, and on par with the car if you aren’t driving the whole 7 hours.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
Only take daytime non-rush hour buses. Megabus drivers are all horribly trained and/or must be paid crap. They have zero customer service training or they simply hate customers and know they get away with giving garbage service to public. They simply drive between stops without warning passengers to not hog extra seats nor threaten to evict loud unruly passengers, nor do they stop ipod users at night playing loud music. Disgusting management head office disregard to passenger needs because they don’t train drivers to treat customers properly.
Megabus lick my ass!
thats what happened today (3/01/2014) during the break in Kingston, Imagine: the driver after 6min of break start the engine, one man asks him to wait one more minute because his colleague is not yet come. The driver says literaly: “I don’t care” and move the bus. we can see the passanger comming but driver tells that he can only catch it if he run on the highway. his friend is calling him to do that but the driver stops just for 5 seconds not giving him a chance to reach it. he says once more that he doesnt care and goes on the highway. The guy was left on the street without his personal lagguage!
I have taken the same bus and I question the round trip price range. I did purchase a ticket on the day of travel and online the price was $45.00 from Kingston to Scarborough Town Centre one way. Upon arriving the online ordering system had screwed up my reservation requiring that I depart at 9:30PM rather than the time I selected on the online system, 3:30PM. The driver made me purchase a second ticket at the counter which cost me $65.00 (counter service cost). The funny thing was, because I made the purchase at 3:31PM they could not issue me a ticket for the 3:30 bus so the driver had me purchase a ticket for the 4:30PM bus and permitted me to ride the 3:30. If he could allow me to ride the 3:30 with a ticket for 4:30 then why wouldn’t he let me on with a ticket for the 3:30 with a ticket for the 9:30??? I have sent a request to Megabus asking for some form of refund but a week has passed and they simply say they have referred it to “their management team” for review. All in all it was the worst experience in travel possible. For $10.00 more than the online booking price you take the train. Faster, more comfortable, cleaner facilities and food available. NEVER AGAIN WILL I RIDE A MEGABUS!
Sorry for posting twice, the first one did not show until after the second was posted.
Megabus my ass. more like megabust. What a horrible company!!! I am never
wasting my time or money on that rude, disorganized bunch of assholes
again. They have screwed me over so many times I can’t even count
anymore. In the end I would have saved money taking the train, and been comfortable as well. Also, what is the point of having a “customer
service” number when the only “service” they provide is to tell you that
they can’t do anything for you. Lesson learned, so done with them.
Megabus my ass. more like megabust. What a shit company!!! I am never
wasting my time or money on that rude, disorganized bunch of jerks
again. They have screwed me over more times than I can count now. In the end I would have saved money taking the train, and been
comfortable as well. Also, what is the point of having a “customer
service” number when the only “service” they provide is to tell you that
they can’t do anything for you. Lesson learned, so done with them.
THAT COUNTRY NEEDS HIGH SPEED TRAINS !!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey!
Thanks for this review. I am a student in Plattsburgh and is planning to take the greyhound up to Montreal then take the Megabus to Toronto.
Would like to ask whether that is possible? Is the Greyhound bus station close to the Megabus one?
Thanks in advance for the help!
Thanks for this helpful review. Am planning on taking a trip next week and was trying to weigh-up the options so this really helps.
Out of interest, what’s the legroom on the coach like compared to the train?
-Mike-
I think the bus is comfortable IF you get the seats with the table on the
bottom “floor” or the very first seats on the top “floor”.
Other than that, the space is about the same as on the train. A bit cramped
if you have a passenger beside you…
I should also note that bus drivers are notorious for accidents, so keep
that in mind.. Here in North America, they drive like maniacs to try and
“make the time” and cause a lot of accidents as of late.
Megabus can't suck my arse. If something comes up and I can't change the reservation they take my damn money. Don't take Megabus or Coach Canada. Greedy fuckers. If you're travelling in canada take Via rail or Greyhound, they both have refundable fares. Don't take Coach Canada or Megabus, I am so pissed off at them right now.
For the price, I don\’t expect too much of it. It\’s that or a ViaRail ticket for $60 instead of $28, or $16 with Megabus, so I\’m not kvetching.
I usually take the Toronto to Montreal, Montreal to Toronto bus route. I have switched to Grey hound which is an hour or two more but has refundable tickets. Megabus ticket to Montreal if you decide to buy tomorrow the 19th of October is $55 Canadian. Greyhound is $49 at the same time the same day for non-refundable and $63 not for refundable. I don't mind spending an extra $10 knowing that if I can't make the trip I can get my money back. But if anybody is planning a trip and is absolutely sure that they will be making it or have enough time to change the departure times I would also recommend going on Megabus. P.S. – You also get free Wi-Fi which is awesome !
Oh really? Okay you must take it way more than I do. I only take it on occasion from Montreal > Toronto, but if you can afford it, Via Rail seems to be a more comfortable ride.
I just wanted the cheapest possible and the 4 times I took it with that route, it was fine.
how can i get tickets low prices from montreal to toronto?
urgent
thanks
I just buy them online, 2 weeks – 5 weeks in advance for the lowest prices.
i'm a big fan of megabus!! i've taken it from toronto to NYC 3 times and don't have a complaint yet. i just booked another trip and the round trip cost me $14 !!!
I love the Megabus. I took it to Chicago for about $30 round-trip. I had the table section to myself (all 4 seats). I dont think there were more than 10 people on the bus, including the driver. I put my things on the inside seats, and stretched across the 2 facing seats to sleep for a good portion of the trip.
If you watch & your schedule is flexible, you can get seats for as low as $1. Some friends of mine did that – a day-trip to Chicago for about $30/person (bus fare, food, sight seeing). Cant beat it!
I used Megabus too when I was heading to DC (I live in NYC) for a mini-vacation and they had a free fare special (only $0.50 fee for reservations)~ Saved myself quite a few bucks there. 🙂
I have to say my first experience with Megabus wasn't great at all… Our bus broke down and our schedule was delayed by a few hours while having to wait for another bus.. But my trip back was more pleasant since we didn't encounter such an issue. I hope you never have to encounter such issues! Have you looked into Bolt bus as well? Their fares are pretty much the same as Megabus'
Lily and I are twins. I have taken Megabus a few times to go down to DC. I also have taken Bolt Bus. Is that in Canada yet?
Bolt? I don’t think so 🙂
Nice comparison! Though I personally prefer Via even with the extra cost, because I can't stand sitting for extended periods and there's more room in the train cars to walk around compared with buses.
That’s a good point
I can’t get up and walk around on Via, because the rocking makes me SO sick that it isn’t worth it.
Hmm have you tried stuff like Gravol? Or do you just sleep the entire trip if possible?
I try to sleep the entire trip. Gravol tends to do funny things to me. I usually can’t get off the effects for 48 hours… but I do agree that it works!!! I just don’t like the after effects
First of all, I really like your blog! This is my first time commenting.
I have never taken 7 hours to drive from Montreal to Toronto. 5.5 hours MAX… And I've done the drive MANY times (I live in both cities). If I don't fly, driving is my preferred method of transportation… the freedom of stopping when you want, eating what you want (the only thing available at that stupid stop in the middle of nowhere is the Tim Hortons), and singing to the car radio or to the iPod is so worth it.
Megabus can be good though… I've gotten $1 trips before, which is not too bad. I tell myself that the agony of spending that much time on a bus is worth the $1.
I think that the 99% delay rate you described for ViaRail is grossly exaggerated. I've taken the train maybe 10 times between the cities, and it has never been delayed. Maybe I'm the lucky 1%?
Otherwise, flying is my preferred method. You're there in 50 minutes to an hour, and you can buy a Porter pass, 10 flights for $1,100.25 taxes included. That is only $110.00 per flight! Porter has that great downtown island airport, so it is super convenient, and there is never any huge lineups to check in or go through security.
So when I take a quick trip to Montreal on a weekend, this gives me an extra 10 hours to spend with my family and friends. Can't put a price on that!
Flying is definitely my favourite if it’s 2 hours versus 7 in this case
But I’m cheap 🙂
I think you’re the lucky 1% because I took the train twice a week to Montreal for 8 months, and they were ALWAYS late. Perhaps it was just my particular schedule/run …?
I can speak to this. Hubby and I just finished a 15-month commute between Ottawa and Toronto, and we tried forms of transportation!
Driving- This is my own particular thing, but I hate driving that route, especially in winter. The weather can be dicey, you're at the mercy of every traffic jam in the land, and they've closed a bunch of rest stops along the way. It also left one of us without a car during the week (since we only have one).
VIA- Seemed like a great idea when we started out, and was quickly jettisoned. Our late-rate was pretty close to FB's. I think the official statistic is 86% late. The schedule was also a problem- for hubby to come home for the weekend, VIA (in all their infinite lateness) could only get him home at 11:30 pm on Friday, and the last train out on Sunday was at 5:30 pm. Basically we lost a whole half day with each other each way. On the other hand, you could stretch out, relax, and get work done, unlike the car.
Greyhound (haven't tried Megabus yet): Basically combined those two.
Porter- Man, I love Porter. The Porter Pass is genius (110 every included) and we earned a TON of free flights. Our flights to the US (NYC and Chicago- which can be PRICEY) are covered for the next year or so. They were also great about changing the flights forward or backwards if we were early or late (no charge), so we didn't feel as bound by their schedule. I also loved that they let you off right at teh subway, and the in-laws are just a few stops up from there. I can see, FB, if your family is further out, the appeal of the Megabus stop.
So, how does Megabus compare with something like Greyhound? I did the Greyhound thing when I was 17-18 and it was a real eye-opener. We recently noticed that airfares from Newcastle (England) to Toronto are a bargain, so knowing how to travel from there onto other destinations would be useful. In the spirit of being frugal, I asked Bill "What about a Greyhound bus?" He said not with someone else's bargepole…. Is this outdated or still pretty much understandable?
It’s the same, really.
To me, all coach buses are the same. I found the Megabus to be quite pleasant! Then again, I am not really expecting anything fancy 🙂