When you board your PETER PAN BUS LINES bus, the announcement tells you that the company is a “fourth generation family owned business” and “Your driver is highly skilled and one of the best in the industry” plus “This bus is one of the most modern in operation.” Well, two out of three seemed to be true.
We used Peter Pan Bus Lines 5 times to help us travel across New England and our experience was mostly positive - but unlike journeys by bus 5 years ago, the price wasn't low.
The total we spent on their services was $333.93 and we travelled approximately 383 miles with them in total. That's nearly $1 a mile!
(1). NEW YORK TO NEW HAVEN (WED JUL 31 2024)
🚐 2 adults = $46.00
😖 Booking fee = $3.99 via Megabus
💰 Total = $49.99
🪑 COMFORT RATING: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (4/5)
⏳ JOURNEY TIME: 1 hr 49 mins
08:31 - departed the Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York
10:20 - arrived at Union Station, New Haven, Connecticut
It was a challenge to find the correct bus stand as the signage was insufficient and also misleading at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. The journey out of Manhattan took us up to Washington Heights, across the Alexander Hamilton Bridge into The Bronx then northeast to New Haven. 90 minutes into the journey we crossed and got a good view of the Housatonic River, Connecticut.
(2). NEW HAVEN TO DOWNTOWN PROVIDENCE (THUR AUG 1 2024)
🚐 2 adults = $72.00
😖 Booking fee = $3.99 via Megabus
💰 Total = $75.99
🪑 COMFORT RATING: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (3/5)
⏳ JOURNEY TIME: 1 hr 50 mins
10:38 - bus arrived at New Haven Union Station, late.
10:42 - departed Union Station (17 mins late)
12:27 - bad congestion on the outskirts of Downtown Providence
12:32 - arrived at Downtown Providence, Rhode Island
There were no signs at Union Station telling you where to wait and board, but thankfully we knew where, as we had got off the same bus the day before upon arriving in New Haven, and we were able to reassure fellow passengers about this. We looked inside the historic New Haven Union Station and took advantage of the small Dunkin’ Donuts inside.
The bus arrived 17 minutes late but we didn’t mind waiting in the sunshine and we shared our cold cans of Coca-Cola and water with others waiting there. The bus was quite full, which we had a feeling it would be, so we ended up squashed on the back row alongside the toilet door and another passenger. We got talking to him and he gave us some good tips and advice about New England, as well as sharing stories about his time working in LA and New York plus his visits to Martha’s Vineyard. He explained he was a stand-up comedian and it just shows you never know who you might meet on public transportation!
(3). PROVIDENCE BUS TERMINAL TO BOSTON (FRI AUG 2 2024)
🚐 2 adults = $64.09
😖 Booking fee = $3.99
💰 Total = $67.99
🪑 COMFORT RATING: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (5/5)
⏳ JOURNEY TIME: 58 mins
09:07 - departed the Peter Pan Transportation Center, Providence, Rhode Island
09:16 - crossed the Rhode Island Massachusetts state line
10:05 - arrived at Boston South Station
The Peter Pan Transportation Center was a short Uber ride away from Downtown Providence and we waited there a few minutes for the bus to arrive. We have some custom to Dan’s Depot Cafe inside and the owner told us he had only being trading a short while but was pleased to now be his own boss. Dan’s coffee was good and reasonably priced, but we had to dash when our bus arrived.
As the bus pulled away we got to see other parts of Providence including the huge North Burial Ground, and a bit more exciting - a Coca-Cola truck finally!
(4). BOSTON TO WOODS HOLE (MON AUG 5 2024)
🚐 COST: $69.98 for 2 seats
🪑 COMFORT RATING: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (4/5)
⏳ JOURNEY TIME: 1 hr 37 mins
10:04 - departed Boston South Station
11:13 - Bourne, Cape Cod, MA
11:31 - Falmouth, MA
11:41 - arrived at Woods Hole, MA (4 mins early)
We struggled to book this trip on the Megabus website, despite using multiple cell phones, cellular data and WiFi to try and eliminate the problem. We think it didn’t like it being booked as a roundtrip, so we took a chance and booked it one way on the same day we travelled. Luckily we got seats!
(5). WOODS HOLE TO BOSTON (WED AUG 7 2024)
🚐 COST: $69.98 for 2 seats
🪑 COMFORT RATING: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (4/5)
⏳ JOURNEY TIME: 2 hrs 14 mins
16:51 - departed Woods Hole (late by 6 mins)
17:05 - arrived at Falmouth Station
17:13 - departed Falmouth Station
17:47 - Bourne (almost an hour after we left Woods Hole; the other day, the same journey in the opposite direction took only 28 mins)
17:52 - departed Bourne
19:05 - arrived at Boston South Station (late by 35 mins)
We booked directly with Peter Pan Bus Lines again, as had lost faith in using the glitchy Megabus website.
At Woods Hole ferry terminal, we stood alongside the parked bus in good time. The driver went through a weird rigmarole of loading passenger luggage into the hold (on previous trips you pop your own case in); he worked from the back of the line to the front, and stood studying the holds. When a passenger arrived late he whinged a bit, not that we were going anywhere fast.
The passenger power sockets and WiFi were not working on this trip; fortunately we always carry a couple of charged power banks as a backup.
📌 PETER PAN BUS LINES, 1 Peter Pan Way, Providence, RI 02904
See all our Peter Pan Bus Lines photographs in a special album on our Facebook page >>> P&K USA
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