Megabus touts $1 bus rides to LA

Got a dollar? Awesome! Let’s hop on a bus to L.A. and meet with some producers about our screenplay. Or no, let’s take off up to Sacramento and get December 12 declared “SFBay Day” throughout the state.

Crazy ideas? As of today, every single one — except the one-dollar bus-ride.

Low-price provider Megabus is bringing its blue-and-yellow double-decker buses to California, kicking off service with routes connecting San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose with Los Angeles. Additional service links Los Angeles to Las Vegas and connects the Bay Area and Sacramento to Reno.

Megabus is offering promotional $1 fares on all seats and all trips for its first week in service. After that, most fares will range from $5 to $9, with some higher and some lower.

Even for the $1 trips, you won’t exactly be sitting on a pickle bucket holding a chicken cage on your lap. Megabus promises swanky buses with on-board Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and outlets to charge your laptops or smartphones.

Expanding to California is a bold play for Megabus parent Coach USA. The New York-based company tried in 2007 to crack the Golden State, but gave up after a year. Coach USA President Mike Alvich told the Trib:

“We think now is the time to expand to California. But there are no guarantees here. We are not subsidized. We are rolling the dice.”