Extreme Megabus trip takes friends from New York City to San Antonio
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
From New York City to San Antonio on a Megabus. Photos: Courtesy of Jeremy Zorek
Two days, more than 2,000 miles and lots of Buc-ee's billboards later, Miles Taylor and Jeremy Zorek completed the longest Megabus route, from New York City to San Antonio.
State of play: The friends left a Megabus stop near Hudson Yards in New York around 2am Friday and arrived at Wonderland of the Americas just before 3pm Sunday.
- The route is exclusively operated by Megabus, unlike potentially lengthier options that might use buses from the company's partners, Taylor explains.
- They stopped in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Memphis and Dallas along the way.
Context: Taylor and Zorek are transit enthusiasts who share their journeys on X, formerly known as Twitter, and YouTube.
- "The tagline that I quote is 'Push transit to its limits while attempting to be entertaining.' I feel like we probably accomplished that on this particular journey," Taylor says.
- They once traveled from the southernmost tip of New Jersey to the northern state line, exclusively riding local buses.
By the numbers: Since Taylor booked his trip in March, he was able to snag one of Megabus' limited $1 fares. Zorek did not.
- Taylor paid $8.49 (with fees) for the entire trip.
- Zorek paid $245.
- Together they traveled 2,005 miles, according to our stop-to-stop calculations.
Texas' favorite beaver was a highlight of their in-state experience, even if they didn't have a chance to experience a Buc-ees store firsthand.
- "Every time a Buc-ees ad went by, we filmed it," Taylor says.
What they found: Once in San Antonio, the travelers used VIA's Prímo route to get from the Crossroads Park and Ride to downtown. They then walked to see the Alamo, hopped on a river barge tour and ate at Rio Rio.
- Taylor says the VIA service exceeded their expectations.
- "The observation I had is that in terms of amenities and facilities, VIA is very people-friendly. Like the seats on the buses are really kind of plush and comfortable," he says.
- Zorek enjoyed the air conditioning in the transit centers as well as the shade and seating at bus shelters, which he says isn't the norm in other cities.
What's next: Taylor and Zorek are flying back home to Boston and New York. Taylor will upload a video of the complete journey to his YouTube channel soon.