 IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
 ·Comcast
 ·Verizon Broadban..
| [Chat] Amtrak Downeaster vs Peter Pan bus connectivity I am on my way home to Springfield, MA and I took the Amtrak Downeaster from Biddeford/Saco, Maine (Grandma lives in Biddeford) and I use my Verizon Wireless Pantech UML 290 USB modem to connect my MacBook pro to the internet while on the train and the bus. While on the train the Verizon reception is spotty at best and keeps cutting out. I finally got to Boston and went from North Station to South Station on the Orange/Red lines and went to catch the Peter Pan Bus to Springfield. I had a hard time purchasing my bus ticket as the kiosk at the South Station Bus Terminal was slow. I had less than ten minutes to spare as I got there at 3:50 and the bus left at four. I finally made my bus and the Verizon reception on the MassPike is excellent. Goes to show that the cell providers build their networks around the interstate system and not the rail network. I am using the train/bus because I borrowed my grandmother's husband's pickup truck and I had to return it to Maine as my car is finally fixed.
The train ride is usually enjoyable and they have good food available for purchase on the Downeaster (except today when it was crowded and their were a group of passengers that were both intoxicated, loud, and obnoxious and an adjacent passenger had offensive body odor). The Peter Pan bus aka. Land Steerage is another story. Their buses are cramped, have worse legroom than economy class on a commercial airline, and they are operating a fleet of aging and dirty coaches. I am only 5' 5" and the legroom on those coaches is an issue for me. Not to mention that using a computer is a nightmare (and it is only 13" MacBook Pro).
I guess there is a trade off horrible legroom on the bus and good cellular data reception on my VZW mobile broadband card or comfortable seat (with the option of business class and good food available for purchase and spotty VZW mobile broadband reception.
Most of the bus ride had 4G coverage but the train was mostly 3G (if I was lucky) and at times had no signal or was 1xrtt only (which is worse than my WebTV days in the '90s. |
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 vaxvmsferroequine fanPremium
join:2005-03-01
Wormtown
·Charter
| preface: The last time I rode in a long haul bus they were pulled by horses....
I go by the Worcester bus station daily and see lots of Peter Pan buses. The majority of the ones I've seen are relatively new - less than 5 years old. Seating on a bus will NEVER be as nice as a train. Not no way Not no how.
The MBTA trains from South Station to Worcester have WiFi. I think it's provided by Verizon.
I dunno about buses but many Amtrak coach cars (MBTA too?) have 110V outlets at the seats.
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After Monday & Tuesday even the calendar says W.T.F.
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IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon Broadban..
| Most of the Peter Pan buses have 120 Volt outlets but they are not always turned on. One time I asked the driver to turn them on at the terminal and the switch is in the baggage compartment and not on the driver's console. I could take the train all the way home but I would have to leave Biddeford at 8:00 AM (I'm not an early riser) because the Lake Shore limited (only train with Boston to Springfield Service leaves South Station at Noon.
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All of my CPE (including my EMTA) is customer owned. The only Comcast owned equipment in my house is the CableCards in the two TiVO boxes I own. |
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 SarahPremium,ExMod 2002-05
join:2001-01-09
Cambridge, MA
kudos:5
 ·MegaNet Communic..
| reply to IowaCowboy
Supposedly you can get wi-fi on many Amtrak trains and many bus lines now. I know they had it on the Greyhound bus I had to take last year. Not sure how the quality is, though.
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