Bye-Bye, Megabus

     Today I learned that Megabus has left Columbus.  And it's not coming back.  I'm a little bit in shock and a little bit heart-broken.
     For anybody who doesn't know what Megabus is, it's a low-cost bus service that provides transport between cities,

...with cheery, blue and yellow double-decker buses,

...for which the fare is determined by how far in advance one purchases one's ticket.  The fares start at $1.00 for the first few people who purchase tickets on any date, then the fares go up as the bus fills up.
     As anybody who regularly reads this blog knows, I love Megabus, and I travel by Megabus several times a year to Chicago to visit my daughter and her husband.
      Ever since I discovered this gem of of the public transportation genus,  I've been a regular right-down evangelist of the Megabus, singing its praises for, among other things, its economical pricing (we've paid as low as $45 for a round-trip ticket to Chicago),

...roomy, super-comfy, nap-inducing  seats,

...clean on-board restrooms, electrical outlets, free WIFI,

...glass sun roof,

...and the fact that we've never had a Megabus driver who wasn't friendly, helpful, and a bit of an entertainer (though I've always figured they must learn their schtick and funny lines  from the Megabus handbook, or something).

  Here's our favorite driver, Dwayne, who drove us on the Columbus-Chicago route several times.

     But last week Megabus ceased service to and from Columbus because, according the company, Columbus routes were not profitable.  
       So now I have to find another means of getting from Columbus to Chicago. 
      Oh, I know there are other available modes of transport between the two cities; people have traveled from Columbus to Chicago and back long before Megabus came on the scene and they will continue to do so now that it's gone.
       But the thing is,  for me a Megabus trip was more than just a means of getting from point A to Point B.
        I loved the whole process:
       Walking out the front door in the early morning, Tom and I carting our suitcases through the neighborhood

....here, as it used to look before they widened the road last year,

...to the stop for the COTA bus (as our city bus is known),

...then riding the COTA bus downtown,

...with a transfer in Whitehall along the way,

...arriving in downtown Columbus,

...stopping for breakfast across from the Ohio Statehouse at our favorite  bagel shop,

...then walking through town,

...to the Megabus stop, where we board with our fellow travelers.

     I enjoyed the ride,  watching the city go by  through the windows,

...and through the glass roof,

...then later, sitting back and reading,

...or working,

...or sleeping, 

...or watching the Ohio and Indiana scenery roll by.

       I enjoyed our quick truck-stop lunch break,

...so quick that we sometimes had to finish up on the bus, but it was all good.

     I liked traveling in community with my fellow journeyers, passing some time in conversation with one or another.

     One time we met Jesse Kharbanda, the passionate young Indiana environmental activist and former candidate for Indiana State Senate who was on his way to a conference in Chicago and who was taking the Megabus  -  which picks up passengers in Indianapolis - out of his commitment to public transportation and the environment.

     I liked arriving in Chicago in front of majestic Union Station,

...then taking the subway,

...to the Damen stop in Wicker Park, from where we'd walk to our final destination,

...one of the local hostels where we stay during our Chicago visits,

...the IHSP,

...or the Urban Holiday Lofts,

...where, after our long day's journey into night,

...we travelers can gratefully rest our heads.

...but after meeting Claire and Miguel somewhere for dinner, of course.

     (Sigh).  It all just won't be the same without the Megabus.
     Aw well.  Bye-bye Megabus.  Hello Greyhound, I guess.