Wifi in transit between DC and NYC
April 9, 2018 8:19 AM Subscribe
Which transit option between DC and NYC has the most reliable wifi? Amtrak, Bolt Bus, Megabus, another bus service I am not listing? If Amtrak, is there a difference in wifi quality between Acela and the regular slower trains?
I know they're probably all lousy and may just Not Work, but I'll have tethering on my phone as backup, so I'll be OK even if the wifi doesn't work. But I wanna at least try.
If Amtrak indeed has the best wifi, is there a difference between the wifi on Acela and the regular Northeast Corridor trains? I am hoping to avoid the cost of the Acela.
My work is cloud-based and I'll need to access Salesforce to do basically anything, but I'm not planning on anything like streaming media or doing video calls.
I've ridden Amtrak many times and MegaBus once (just not while doing cloud-based work), but I've heard plenty of horror stories about the buses in general, so I mostly know what I'm getting myself into in terms of potential delays and meltdowns and such.
I know they're probably all lousy and may just Not Work, but I'll have tethering on my phone as backup, so I'll be OK even if the wifi doesn't work. But I wanna at least try.
If Amtrak indeed has the best wifi, is there a difference between the wifi on Acela and the regular Northeast Corridor trains? I am hoping to avoid the cost of the Acela.
My work is cloud-based and I'll need to access Salesforce to do basically anything, but I'm not planning on anything like streaming media or doing video calls.
I've ridden Amtrak many times and MegaBus once (just not while doing cloud-based work), but I've heard plenty of horror stories about the buses in general, so I mostly know what I'm getting myself into in terms of potential delays and meltdowns and such.
Did this trip a lot. Amtrak wi-fi with tethering backup is likely best. I had better luck midweek and on the late-night trains that were less crowded.
Known wi-fi dead spots from what I can recall: a baffling above-ground section north of Baltimore Penn, going underground into Philadelphia 30th Street, Newark Penn to New York Penn because of the tunnel.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 8:41 AM on April 9, 2018
Known wi-fi dead spots from what I can recall: a baffling above-ground section north of Baltimore Penn, going underground into Philadelphia 30th Street, Newark Penn to New York Penn because of the tunnel.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 8:41 AM on April 9, 2018
There’s a whole bunch of fancy bus services between DC and NY, some of which should offer decent WFi. I used to use DC2NY pretty frequently (I think this bus service is called BestBus now). The rub is that the fancier buses are more expensive than Bolt or Megabus.
posted by forkisbetter at 9:05 AM on April 9, 2018
posted by forkisbetter at 9:05 AM on April 9, 2018
I take the BOS-NYC Acela a couple of times a year, and the wifi usually works well enough for me to work through most of the trip, but it can be slow and it sometimes, but not often, drops out. The seats on the Northeast Corridor local are so uncomfortable compared the Acela. I've only done NE Corridor local once, and it wasn't for work, but I have a fuzzy memory of the wifi not really working on my phone.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 11:59 AM on April 9, 2018
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 11:59 AM on April 9, 2018
Amtrak WiFi is not great, but more often than not, on both Bolt and MegaBus, the WiFi has been down altogether for the entirety of my trip, so I'd say your odds are better with Amtrak.
posted by halation at 1:56 PM on April 9, 2018
posted by halation at 1:56 PM on April 9, 2018
It's less common now, but there was a time when one out of three buses on this route just wouldn't have WiFi up, no explanation. Amtrak is still more likely to guarantee you some, albeit a crappy, signal.
It's challenging to use a laptop on the seatback tray on the Northeast Regional. Acela is a little better at the seats and, if you can grab a spot at a table, much better. You'll see people with their laptops out on the buses, but it's hard to imagine getting serious work done in that setup for an extended period, except maybe for the one bus (I think it's Mega) that has a couple of tables up front that cost more. But then you're just as likely to get stuck with three partying friends.
posted by praemunire at 2:18 PM on April 9, 2018
It's challenging to use a laptop on the seatback tray on the Northeast Regional. Acela is a little better at the seats and, if you can grab a spot at a table, much better. You'll see people with their laptops out on the buses, but it's hard to imagine getting serious work done in that setup for an extended period, except maybe for the one bus (I think it's Mega) that has a couple of tables up front that cost more. But then you're just as likely to get stuck with three partying friends.
posted by praemunire at 2:18 PM on April 9, 2018
Depending on dates and your final destination on either end, it may be cheaper to fly than to Acela. Then you'd get airport wifi, a shorter period of in transit wifi and possibly more reliable airplane wifi than train Wifi?
posted by Jahaza at 2:52 PM on April 9, 2018
posted by Jahaza at 2:52 PM on April 9, 2018
The regular Amtrak has tables as well, it isn’t unique to the Acela.
Also, the Northeast Regional train I was on the other day had brand new seats! Unless your work is paying, I’ve never felt that the Acela is demonstrably nice or fast enough to justify the upcharge.
posted by cakelite at 7:14 AM on April 10, 2018
Also, the Northeast Regional train I was on the other day had brand new seats! Unless your work is paying, I’ve never felt that the Acela is demonstrably nice or fast enough to justify the upcharge.
posted by cakelite at 7:14 AM on April 10, 2018
The regular Amtrak has tables as well, it isn’t unique to the Acela.
Regular Amtrak has tables immediately adjacent to the cafe car. Unless they've done some serious upgrades recently, they don't have them in every car, as Acela does. If the space was not crowded, I wouldn't feel bad about occupying a table on the NR for hours, but they're pretty plainly meant for eating, not as a "main seat."
posted by praemunire at 8:00 AM on April 10, 2018
Regular Amtrak has tables immediately adjacent to the cafe car. Unless they've done some serious upgrades recently, they don't have them in every car, as Acela does. If the space was not crowded, I wouldn't feel bad about occupying a table on the NR for hours, but they're pretty plainly meant for eating, not as a "main seat."
posted by praemunire at 8:00 AM on April 10, 2018
If the space was not crowded, I wouldn't feel bad about occupying a table on the NR for hours, but they're pretty plainly meant for eating, not as a "main seat."
It's become a main seat with as crowded as those trains are.
Did this on NE Regional Friday and Palmetto Sunday. In both cases, wifi resembled late 90s dial up
posted by TravellingCari at 10:10 AM on April 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's become a main seat with as crowded as those trains are.
Did this on NE Regional Friday and Palmetto Sunday. In both cases, wifi resembled late 90s dial up
posted by TravellingCari at 10:10 AM on April 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by cakelite at 8:28 AM on April 9, 2018