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Old 03-12-2013, 02:26 PM
 
14,612 posts, read 17,327,585 times
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PABT=Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan
There are three different bus lines from Eastern Pennsylvania
Martz picks up people in East Stroudsburg and in Delaware Water Gap and comes in on I80 to PABT.

Bieber Tourways limited commuting from Reading, Kutztown (in Berks Count), Wescosville (west Allentown), Hellertown, and on to PABT (about 18 buses per day). Only 10 buses go to Reading.

Transbridge Lines has the most extensive network with roughly 50 buses per day. The principal commuter pick up locations are near the airport in Hanover Township, and route 33 park and ride. In New Jersey 2 locations in Clinton (small town on I78) and Phillipsburg. In PA they have several pick alternative places. They have limited service to all three inner city locations (Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton).

Destinations for Transbridge
Primary is Port Authority Bus Terminal. But pretty good commuter service to Wall Street and several other locations downtown Manhattan. Two commuter buses go to Jersey City. They also have limited service to Newark and JFK Airports , and Manhattan piers.

Transbridge also runs the casino service from PABT: pay $25 for round trip bus service to the casino which will get them $30 in slot play. The smartest thing is to play you free play one time, and try and win back your bus fare. I believe that the bus tickets are good for an overnight stay.

There are similar deals from Chinatown and I assume from Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx (Call for pick up location). The following motor coach operators provide regular scheduled line runs to the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, but I don't think any of them have websites.

These places all have Brooklyn or Staten Island phone numbers
88 Bacarat Inc 347-839-9202
Golden Mega Enterprise 347-725-5377
Lucky 9 Enterprise 347-702-3322
Express 718-967-2900
Full House Travel 718-256-0887
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Old 03-14-2013, 10:30 AM
 
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I should add that the Transbridge Terminal near the ABE airport (2012 Industrial Drive Bethlehem, PA 18017) is the busiest bus terminal in the valley with roughly 32 buses per weekday and 22 on weekends. As the airport will shortly be embarking fewer than 700 people per day, the bus terminal is carrying more passengers than the airport.

Some people prefer getting on the bus here as the cars are safer when left along for 10 hours (not a guarantee, but it is always busy day and night and there is virtually no pedestrian traffic). There is no charge for parking.

The local bus does not service the Transbridge Intercity Terminal, but route 215 which connects Hellertown, Casino and South Bethlehem, Historic Bethlehem and ABE airport comes within a few hundred yards.

Get off the local bus at Schoenersville Rd. & Industrial Dr. Hanover, PA 18017 which is near the Extended Stay Hotel and the Burger King. The walk is about 1/4 mile.On the map it is halfway between stops #5 and #6.
http://www.lantabus.com/systemmap.html Click Link to see map


BUS TO NEWARK AIRPORT

Most of the flights out of Newark Airport are on United Airlines. United charters a bus to take people from ABE airport to Newark Airport (3 round trips per day), and the price is included in the airfare. The price of taking the bus to Newark and then flying to your destination may be almost the same as simply taking the flight from Newark and getting to the airport and parking on your own (parking is much cheaper at ABE than at EWR). United Airlines has cancelled all service to ABE except for Chicago ORD and this bus service to Newark Airport.

These times are unlikely to change much, as they connect to hundreds of flights. The bus times will always be more convenient for some people, and less for others.
ABE - EWR arrive - EWR depart - ABE (United Airlines only)
06:00 AM 07:30 AM 09:45 AM 11:15 AM
01:00 PM 02:30 PM 03:15 PM 04:40 PM
05:05 PM 06:30 PM 08:00 PM 09:25 PM


Buses from Transbridge Bus Terminal (near the ABE airport) to EWR airport may change times. These buses are all headed for the NYC Port Authority eventually, so there is no special room on-board for luggage (I believe you can put luggage in storage beneath the coach) and you are sharing bus with people going to NYC. These buses may make stops in Easton and will almost certainly stop in Clinton NJ.

Transbridge Terminal near ABE to EWR as of today
05:20 AM 07:00 AM
07:45 AM 09:30 AM
11:15 AM 12:55 PM
12:45 PM 02:30 PM
03:30 PM 05:30 PM
05:50 PM 07:30 PM
07:55 PM 09:45 PM

Confirm times with Transbridge and check return times

BUS TO JFK AIRPORT

There are usually 2 buses per day on Transbridge that go to JFK. These buses are the regular ones to Port Authority, they just continue on to the airport. As it takes well over 3 hours in transit time, and with only 2 buses per day you are almost certain to have a lengthy layover in the airport. This should be transportation of last resort, and in general it is the most difficult airport to fly into to get to Lehigh Valley.

BUS TO PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT

There are no buses to Philadelphia airport at all from anywhere in the Lehigh Valley. There are 5 small airplanes per day on USAir that fly from the airport. It is not clear if these 54 miles miniflights will survive the merger between USAir and AA.

BUS TO LAGUARDIA AIRPORT
No direct buses to La Guardia. Take local transportation (subways and buses ) to Port Authority and come to Lehigh Valley bus.

BUS TO TRENTON/MERCER AIRPORT
Trenton Mercer just added new low cost service to 10 destinations. As of right now you must go there by automobile as public transport would be so inconvenient as to be essentially useless.

As of April 8 it is much easier and cheaper to drive to this airport for nonstops to Chicago-Midway ,Columbus (OH) , Raleigh/Durham, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, New Orleans instead of flying from ABE and/or driving to EWR or PHL. Trenton may be cheaper than ABE for Atlanta , Detroit , Orlando,and Tampa. As of April 8 flights from ABE to Orlando will only go to the little used SFB airport, instead of the main airport, MCO, and flights from ABE do not go to Tampa airport TPA, but instead go to little used St. Petersburg airport, PIE.

Last edited by toobusytoday; 10-27-2013 at 08:08 AM.. Reason: Please post links instead of copyrighted graphics
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Old 10-26-2013, 05:13 PM
 
28 posts, read 65,151 times
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Hi,

Thank you for all of the excellent information. I was just wondering if people have a stronger preference for Bieber versus Transbridge to NYC (Port Authority)? I was looking at their websites and the posts here and this is what I've gathered:

Bieber
Advantages
-Fewer stops and after Hellertown it's a straight shot to NYC so the commute will be shorter.
-Online ticketing so in theory you can buy your ticket ahead of time and be guaranteed a seat.
-Marginally cheaper depending on where you get on.

Disadvantages
-No wifi
-Since there are fewer stops it might be more inconvenient to get to the bus
-Parking is potentially more sketchy?

Transbridge
Advantages
-Wifi!
-More stops so it's more likely that you'll live closer to one compared to Bieber
-More stops around NYC, including Newark airport
-The main terminals have safer parking (I'm thinking of the Bethlehem terminal near the airport)
-If you're a senior citizen the discount is fantastic

Disadvantages
-More stops so the bus is potentially more crowded?
-On the weekend a lot of the Lehigh Valley stops may be skipped. If you forget to tell the driver when you board and then fall asleep you might miss your stop?

So for those who are veterans of the bus what have I forgotten/gotten wrong? Personally I'm more likely to go into NYC on the weekend so I'm wondering about potentially missing my stop on the way back. Does it ever happen?
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Old 10-26-2013, 06:37 PM
 
14,612 posts, read 17,327,585 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by workingstiff View Post
Personally I'm more likely to go into NYC on the weekend so I'm wondering about potentially missing my stop on the way back. Does it ever happen?
I think most people choose the bus which has the closest terminal to them.

I am sure that someone falls asleep on the bus daily. I have gone hours out of my way by falling asleep on a bus late at night.

But evaluating all factors as equal except for safety of the automobile, I would go to the Transbridge terminal by the airport. There is activity there at all times so it the safest place to leave your car.

If you want to go downtown Manhattan on weekday, Jersey City, Newark or JFK airport, then Transbridge is the way to go.

One other consideration is that you always run a risk getting on a bus at the last stop. With Transbridge that is usually Clinton. With Bieber they stop at Kutztown, Wescosville, and sometimes Reading before getting to Hellertown. They rarely calculate so badly that you will have to stand if you get on before the last stop.

Bus passengers are not trying to be helpful. Most of them are trying various tricks to claim two seats and fail to make eye contact. There is a big advantage to being in the first group to get on a bus.

If you want to add some gambling entertainment and someone will drop you off and pick you up at bus terminals, have someone drop you off somewhere and buy a 1 way ticket into NYC. On return buy a round trip ticket to Sands Casino at 7:15PM for $23. When you get to the casino they will give you $29 in free play. If you play the money one time, you will probably get most of your $23 back, and you may get lucky. It is perfectly legal, but you can't buy an eastbound ticket at the casino. That's why you need a buddy.
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Old 10-27-2013, 08:16 AM
 
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My personal preference is Bieber. I have seen the bus exclude people because it was too full, but every time, except once, there has also been a bus behind. The drivers know when they leave Wescosville how many seats they have left so they will send a bus to pick up the overflow in Hellertown. I can see why cars would be vandalized in the lot since it's not a secure one, and is right off of route 78, but for us, it's so much closer and it's a big free lot, that we'll take our chances.
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Old 10-27-2013, 01:40 PM
 
14,612 posts, read 17,327,585 times
Reputation: 7781
Quote:
Originally Posted by toobusytoday View Post
I can see why cars would be vandalized in the lot since it's not a secure one, and is right off of route 78, but for us, it's so much closer and it's a big free lot, that we'll take our chances.
Nothing is risk free, and I can't think of any absolute reason not to use any location (even downtown Allentown) if it is convenient.

But everything else being equal, I would go for the airport lot for Transbridge based on
(1) security for automobiles,
(2) you usually get your choice of seats as it is first boarding,
(3) they will wake you up because it is the end of the line for most trips,
(4) frequency of trips per day gives you leeway for last minute schedule changes.


Do Not do this to Save Money! It is only if you like gambling!
Updated information on Sands Casino
$45 Slot Free Play daily
$30 Special Introductory Reduced Round Trip Fare from New York City

New York PABT Leaves
8:30a 11:45a 1:30p 7:15p 11:45p

You must pay $24 to go to NYC one way, on your return trip you can buy a $30 round trip fare back to the Casino. You are not required to board the bus back to NYC. You can give away the trip back to NYC, but it must be used in limited time (I think you have 24 hours).

You probably won't lose any money as you are very unlikely not to win back at least $6 on your $45 in free play. Then your return trip would cost the same as if you had bought a bus ticket.

However, you must coordinate with a friend to drop you off in one location in the valley, and then pick you up at the casino. It's probably not worth the effort to save money, but if you want to gamble then take advantage of this opportunity.

The casino won't mind, as some people will not be able to control themselves and lose hundreds of dollars. They are not crazy enough to sell you a round trip starting from the casino, but they will take their chances on the return.

Last edited by PacoMartin; 10-27-2013 at 02:16 PM..
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