Is a Skedaddle bus to the Women's March a good idea?
January 15, 2017 12:26 PM   Subscribe

Hi, we're planning to board a bus in Bangor, Maine on Friday night, drive 10 hours to RFK Stadium, get out and march and so forth, then go back to the bus and ride back to Maine. The vehicle is a 12-seater arranged by Skedaddle ... no sanitary facilities. Online reviews are scarce and the company supplies no specifics about the vehicle; we're concerned about reliability, safety, comfort, et cetera. Does anybody have any relevant experience or information? Will this be a good trip? (Sleep will be important because we have responsible work before and after.) Thanks!
posted by Beginner's Mind to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)
 
I guess it depends on whether or not you guys are generally good at sleeping in difficult conditions but I wouldn't go into this plan expecting to be comfortable or well-rested at any point. It sounds like a really rough trip. That's not to say don't do it but go in with your eyes open.
posted by bleep at 1:13 PM on January 15, 2017


Response by poster: Thanks bleep. I guess I don't see the conditions being worse than Maine to California by airplane (long hours, uncomfortable seats, brown bag lunch) ... except that I know that an airline is legit. Maybe I should have been more specific: to wit, is a Skedaddle experience likely to be better or worse than we might otherwise expect? Maybe somebody has done Skedaddle before and has some idea?
posted by Beginner's Mind at 2:01 PM on January 15, 2017


Pretty sure Skedaddle just contracts with local bus companies; you might want to ask them who will actually be providing the bus and look for reviews of that company.
posted by mskyle at 2:50 PM on January 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


I'd be concerned that your bus driver is getting enough rest to be safe. Driving overnight for 10 hours, sleeping on the bus all day and then driving 10 hours back sounds like a recipe for falling asleep on the road.
posted by monotreme at 3:36 PM on January 15, 2017 [3 favorites]


Skedaddle was profiled in the New York Times about this very event: Women’s March Gives Boost to Start-Up for Bus Sharing (if you can't access the article using the link, search Google for the headline and you can click through).

From the article: "Once a route has at least 10 people, Skedaddle works with a local transportation company to provide the appropriate van or bus. The company works with higher-end, luxury transportation companies."
posted by reeddavid at 6:19 PM on January 15, 2017


No bathroom on the bus? That would be a deal breaker for me, personally. I'm carpooling to the march from Boston and I expect to make 2 bathroom stops and 1 lunch stop, so plan to add maybe a total of an hour each way into your trip time to account for potty breaks. Bus seats are small and uncomfortable, if you're good at sleeping anywhere, I would still agree with the answer above about not expecting to be well-rested. The last time I took a longish bus trip on a cheap bus (Boston-NYC) I vowed never to do that again because it was so uncomfortable, and that was only 4 hours. I do admire your dedication! If you decide the long bus ride isn't worth it, you can do a shorter drive to Boston and join the sister march in Boston that day, it sounds like it's going to be a robust march here.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 4:55 AM on January 16, 2017


I have taken many bus trips between Boston and DC as a younger, more energetic person who was great at sleeping anywhere, some for marches. My advice is don't count on feeling rested at all. The lack of bathroom is workable if you have enough stops, but that is going to be a long bus ride.
posted by goggie at 9:19 AM on January 16, 2017


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