As I was deciding to fly or drive to San Francisco (SF) from Los Angeles (LA) an article for the new BoltBus LA to SF bus-line came to my attention. So, I decided to make this an adventure and try out the new service.

$29 Dollar round trip ticket: LA Union Station to West Oakland BART station $14 each way plus $1 service charge. Seriously? This I gotta try.

The bus arrived on time to only five guest and myself. I was pleased. Although, I could see it could have been like flying economy class if it was full. The seats are leather, and sit high – luxury styled with no wheel well seats. The bathroom is stainless steel and airliner small. No surprises. Additional amenities; cup holders, spring loaded foot rest, ample overhead storage, two plugs for each pair of seats, air conditioned, free Wi-fi, and a distinctive new bus smell.

The ride itself was smooth and stayed on time. Driver was no-nonsense and quick to board. There was a thirty minute half-way point break in Coalinga, CA. – Burger King parking lot. Thank goodness I packed my own meal and snacks. Heading out again at 1:10 PM.  There was a brief ten minuet stop in San Jose. Then, directly onto West Oakland BART Station.

The reverse trip home was an identical experience with a few more people. The only real complaint I have about both trips is the Wi-fi connection is not as fast as I would have liked and they blocked Netflix.com.  Even other streaming video sites required major buffering time. However, the connection was still fast enough to do my online work.

But, don’t kid yourself, you are sitting for six and a half hours. Then again, for twenty-nine bucks and you get to enjoy the California scenery fly by on your way to San Francisco or Los Angeles! I highly recommend.

Happy Adventuring!

Update: since my experience in November 2012, BoltBus has added an additional stop in San Francisco on this line.