TRANSPORTING A BIKE ON A BUS

[sprocketman]

Hi everyone,

I will be riding From Pennsylvania to Ottawa this July. I have to get back to NYC. I am considering Greyhound. I know they will take the bike on the bus, but has anyone ever done this? Do they have a separate compartment for bikes? Or do the bikes get stuffed in with the luggage? Are they picky about how the bike is packaged? Am I risking damage?

[FredHiltz]

This search might be a good place to start looking. And this one returns thousands of anecdotes.

Fred

[paddleboy17]

I think this could work out for you. 

Greyhound has a freight service, where they ship from bus depot to bus depot.  Pretty much all you need is to get a hold of bike box, box the bike up, and give the box to Greyhound.  At the time I researched this in 2008, it $50 to ship a bike from Detroit to Portland.  FedEx, UPS, and DHL wanted $150 for the same service.  Google Greyhound Freight.

[bktourer1]

Try this site:   http://www.bikeaccess.net/bikeaccess/

[Westinghouse]

If I were to cycle coast to coast again, and the only way to get  back were Greyhound bus, I would box all my stuff, haul it out to the highways and byways of America, and hitchhike to trucks. This is true. IMO the Dog is a Dog for long distance travel. If you can avoid Greyhound, avoid it.

[Susan]

My bike and I once travelled from Reno NV to Spokane WA on a Greyhound.  Bikes will only be accepted if packed in a box - took care of that at a bike shop and had to go by taxi ($$) from bike shop to bus station.  Spent 3 miserable days/nights in the full and cramped bus - there were plenty of pit stops at gas stations and fast food places - out of boredom I spent a fortune on snacks and gained 4 lbs., felt really gross by the time I got to Spokane.  After adding up all my expenses, flying with bike would've been cheaper and much more comfortable. 
Good luck!  Cheers!  Susan

[aggie]

You should take a look at the train.  You can catch the Canadian Via Railway.  They charge $20 to ship a bike.  That will take you from Ottawa to Montreal.  You can then catch Amtrak from Montreal to NYC.  It's way better than a bus.

[geegee]

....or just ride for a couple of days more from Ottawa to Montreal and catch Amtrak from there. If you don't mind riding on gravel, a rails-to-trail link was just completed last year from Ottawa to the Quebec border near Rigaud (also terminus of the suburban train to Montreal) If you prefer pavement there are quiet county roads in Eastern Ontario, or the Route Verte on the Quebec side of the Ottawa river.

One caveat with VIA Rail is they only take bikes if they have a boxcar, and many of the trains between Ottawa and Montreal don't have one in their composition.

Two years ago I did BikeNY's Five Borough ride and took the bus from Ottawa, but I took my Bike Friday — not in a suitcase but just quick-folded in a soft bag. No objections from the driver and it passed as free luggage. I also took a full-sized bike once from Toronto back to Ottawa on Greyhound, just wrapped in a plastic bag with pedals off and the handle bar turned and they seemed fine with it albeit with a charge. They will sell you a box if they have one.

Bon Voyage!

[indyfabz]

Amtrak's Adirondak service is a beautiful ride that includes the west shore of Lake Champlain and the east shore of the Hudson. Unfortunately, it appears that neither checked baggage service nor roll-on bike service is offered, which means no standard bikes.  Same appears true for the Vermonter.

[adventurepdx]

For those folks suggesting train: as far as I know, the only (only) Amtrak train that crosses the US/Canada border that allows trains is the Cascades train that runs from Vancouver BC to Seattle/Portland/Eugene. That's it. (VIA Rail does not cross the border.) No train that departs from Toronto or Montreal will get you across the border with a bike. That includes the Adirondack (Montreal-NYC), Maple Leaf (Toronto-NYC), or the Vermonter (bus from Montreal to St Albans, VT, train rest of way south Springfield-New Haven-NYC-DC). The Vermonter used to have a baggage car that allowed unboxed bicycles along with skis, but it got dropped many years ago.

If you got to either Albany or Buffalo, you can take the Lake Shore Limited, which has baggage service for a boxed bike. But you'd still have to get to Albany or Buffalo first.

More on bikes and Amtrak here:
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241337895554

[acewray]

We considered the Hound, but they considered the bikes oversize freight - very expensive.  That was in 2010 from Hatchita, NM to El Paso, TX, could be different in your area.   The train was expensive also.  Flying is still the cheapest.