Fall Break Fiasco

I was incredibly excited for fall break. As much as I have loved meeting new people and being on grounds here at UVA, it was time for a change of scene. I was planning on visiting a friend from high school at school at American University, so I'd booked my tickets through Amtrak to go up by bus, back by train. After nearly missing the trolley, I arrived at the station with plenty of time before my 4:50 departure time. The bus still hadn't arrived by 5:15, but the guys working the ticket counter said this wasn't unusual, and that traffic had probably been bad on the way down. By about 5:45, they started seeming less sure it was just traffic, and gave the Greyhound company a call. No answer. By 6:00, they received a call back that the Greyhound bus had finally arrived at the Greyhound station, and would be by to pick us all up in five short minutes. By this time, the fifteen or so college students all waiting to get out of town and on to their breaks had all started to get frustrated, grumpy, and a little stressed. Most of them had to make connections in DC, and were on pace to miss them. Finally, by 6:50, the ticket guys got off the phone and said, "Ok, here's the deal. You guys aren't taking a bus to DC. We're putting you all in cabs." Apparently, the bus had broken down somewhere, and it's replacement was lost somewhere between DC and Charlottesville. According to the employees, they frequently have similar problems when working with Greyhound busses. So, sure enough we all piled in to three cabs, and headed to the city (my driver wasn't sure how to get there, and we had to call someone with a computer to look up a route). Two hours after my scheduled arrive time, I did in fact get to DC, but it was not a pleasant experience. However, I took an Amtrak train back to Charlottesville, and not only left on time, but arrived half an hour early. Tickets for Greyhound and Amtrak transportation to DC are equally priced (about $45 round trip), but the experiences were vastly different. I'd definitely recommend avoiding Greyhound if possible! I certainly won't be taking it for a very long time.

Amtrak trains stop in DC, several locations in Virginia, and many of the surrounding states! Book at ticket at amtrak.com