'The most comfortable ride of my life': luxury buses run from New York to Washington with motion sickness control

Correspondent Insider shared details of a luxury bus ride from New York to Washington, DC. In this article, we share his story, preserving the style of the author and the description of the service as much as possible.

I took a luxury bus ride from New York to Washington DC for $99. It was one of the most luxurious trips I have ever had.

I have never had pleasant intercity bus rides until now. But free snacks and drinks, fast Wi-Fi, and motion-compensated seats made the ride enjoyable and comfortable.

That was until I got sick. However, I will talk about this in more detail later.

I, like many others, travelers in the USA, there are no pleasant memories of sitting in long-distance buses like Greyhound or Megabus.

Jet is a luxury bus startup. It offers another option other than the uncomfortable budget buses.

Successful startup

Unlike the classic Flixbus or Greyhound, the Jet has comfy seats, treats along the way and fast Wi-Fi, among other perks. It's more expensive, but the company is betting that passengers who can afford it will pay for luxury and exclusivity.

On the subject: A cruise ship that left New York got stuck in the ocean: the company canceled the tour in the middle of the trip and abandoned the tourists

Chad Scarborough, founder and CEO of Jet, predicts the company's riders make up between one and 2% of bus riders, or "people who want the best option" but don't want to pay for Amtrak, he said the first time I made the trip on one of their buses at the end of 2021.

The concept is not new

The startup is not a new concept: luxury buses like the Vonlane have done well in other markets, Scarborough notes.

But Vonlane operates primarily in Texas. Jet is targeting two cities with low car ownership rates: New York and Washington, DC.

The Tripperbus, which also calls itself a "first-class bus service," runs a similar route from Arlington, Virginia and Bethesda, Maryland to New York.

But Jet brings passengers and picks up right in the center of DC, at the Metro Center, about a 10-minute walk from the White House.

On January 7, the morning after New York's first snow of the new year, I decided to take a five-hour plane ride from New York to Washington, D.C. to test his proposal.

Jet only has two departure times from New York: 11:00 am and 18:30 pm. I booked the first one hoping to get some work done on my Friday afternoon trip.

Jet leaves from Hudson Yards. This open exit from either terminal means there is no need to navigate the large, often busy corridors inside the station. It also means boarding passengers from the side of the road like discount carrier Megabus.

What's special about Jet buses

A 14m black coach with "THE JET" embossed on the side told me I was on the right track. I arrived early so I had enough time to have breakfast. Then I checked in with the flight attendant.

I had already booked a seat on the 14 seater bus, so there was no need to rush in the hope of getting a better seat or luggage space.

And the rows of seats are 1,8 meters apart in accordance with COVID-19 protocols. This provides enough legroom and space for my bags.

“Some people have told us that [it] feels safer than riding by train or by plane because there are few people,” Scarborough said in 2021.

I agree. Besides me, there were only nine people on the bus, including the driver and the flight attendant. Everyone had to wear a mask unless they were eating or drinking.

There is also a UV filtration system that sanitizes the air every 10 minutes, the company says.

Except for the person sitting next to me (with whom I live), everyone was at a distance from my seat. I felt safer here than on a plane during COVID-19. And, unlike airplanes, Jet also now enforces the vaccination mandate.

Pre-booked seats, ample space and a friendly escort made the boarding one of the safest and most relaxing I have ever experienced on any form of transportation.

What is offered on the bus

All I had to do was get on the bus, drop my bags on the floor in front of me, confirm my seat with a friendly staff member, and be on my way.

During the bus ride, a staff member checked on passengers and offered us free snacks, water, wine, beer, coffee, and sodas. And at the end of the bus trip, she collected our garbage.

I don't drink soda and turned down free drinks (I was still working, after all). But the presence of these options made the Jet more luxurious than an economy seat on an airplane.

We were offered to use The Jet brand blankets during the bus ride. But I was already wrapped in a thick sweater, so I refused.

There is a toilet at the back of the bus, next to the staff galley. The clean toilet, although smaller than the Amtrak, had the bare necessities. Toilet, sink, mirror and hand sanitizer.

But because it was cold last night, the pipes in the cabin froze. Therefore, the porcelain throne failed for the first half of the journey.

Luckily, our driver planned a short stop halfway through. This was perfect for a quick stretch.

Snacks and a clean toilet are great, but Jet has one more thing. What sets it apart from any other luxury bus or transport is the “air cushion seats” that prevent impacts.

The main feature is the seats

These seats are the highlight of the Jet and its main attraction.

The seats use suspension technology developed by Bose. It blocks 90% of uncomfortable bumps and movements on the bus.

The technology is most commonly found in the long-haul truck industry, the company says. Jet is the "world's first" bus with anti-shock seats.

These seats made road travel more like flying, but even better.

The gel and memory foam seats are 56cm wide and are softer than my home sofa.

When my seat was fully reclined to 45 degrees, I could sleep soundly.

And since there are 1,8 meters between each row, I didn't have to worry about leaning back too far.

Luckily, there's a table built into the armrests of the seats, allowing you to lean back while working on your laptop.

But, unfortunately, I had to work, and I could not take a nap, which I so dreamed of.

The buses are equipped with the same Wi-Fi as Google and Facebook employee shuttles, as Scarborough previously explained.

All amenities

Wifi was what you need. It was reliable and the fastest internet I have ever used.

Almost all passengers during the trip banged on the keyboards of their laptops. But there was no network outage even when I was streaming music and video.

The seats also have outlets that kept my laptop running throughout the trip.

So far so good, up to about a two hour drive. It was then that I encountered the first metaphorical blow on the road.

The seats did a great job of blocking small bumps. But I still felt the rocking of the bus. This was to be expected, and otherwise everything would have been fine if I hadn't looked at my laptop.

The longer I stared at the screen, the more difficult it became to read small blocks of text. This side effect reminded me of a concussion I got four months ago.

The longer I worked, the more nausea I got from car sickness. A familiar feeling in frequent traffic jams, but never on long bus rides.

Headache, dizziness, and stomach churning made the remaining almost two hours unbearable.

But when I looked around, most of the other passengers were still sitting with their laptops and phones. So no one else felt as bad as me.

Finally, after about five hours on the road, we arrived in Washington around 16:00 pm. I quickly packed my things, said thank you and ran out for some fresh air.

But to be honest, despite my car sickness, the Jet was the most comfortable intercity travel I've ever had. I will note that I have never used luxury buses before.

Getting on and off the bus in a sparsely populated open area was an underestimated luxury.

Looks like I'm not alone in enjoying Jet

In December, more than 70% of passengers used the startup on average. Rates peaked at 86% during Thanksgiving week, Scarborough said.

January passenger traffic was "lower" at about 40% ahead of the weekend in the middle of the month. But this is still higher than the company's initial forecasts.

Scarborough believes Jet is "well prepared" for the spring and summer tourism boom.

The cost of a Jet ranges from almost $100 to almost $150. As of January 14, tickets for the 11:00 flight on Friday, January 28 start at $99.

A business class ticket for the Amtrak Acela departing at 11 am costs from $90. A ticket for the Northeast Regional bus at 11:35 costs almost $50. It's also worth noting that Amtrak on the same route is about an hour and a half to two hours faster, and it won't have to stop for traffic jams or to go to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, the cheapest bus ticket for 11:00 am (Flixbus) on the same day is only $18. That is, it is about five times cheaper than a Jet ticket.

If you're looking for luxury, Jet might be your best bet. While slower and more expensive, it is unarguably the most convenient option.