"Absurd" New Trailways Bus Policy Infuriates the Hudson Valley

Trailways buses are like haybales and Dunkin' Donuts: you can hardly drive for ten minutes without seeing one in the Hudson Valley. A new pricing plan, however, has many residents up in arms. Is this capitalism at work, or a sneaky way to squeeze more money out of commuters?

Bus Ticket Pricing in New Paltz, NY

"I just paid about $4.00 more for my bus ticket to NYC because - as I was told, 'the fare goes up as more people buy tickets for the trip.'", a Hudson Valley rider recently posted on Facebook. "Apparently this has been the new policy since May. Did anyone else know this?", she asked. The responses came pouring in.

Many customers travelling from Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City had a rude awakening when purchasing a ticket (Google)

Commuting in the Hudson Valley, NY

"I just encountered this ridiculous policy for the first time this past week. Was never that way before, nor is the train", answered a New Paltz woman. "Are they pushing [people] to buy online in advance?", wondered another. More comments shared the customer service number of the bus company for frustrated travelers to air their grievances. Here's what Trailways had to say.

The NYC-to-New Paltz route offered by Trailways is a popular option for Hudson Valley travelers (Google)

Trailways Flexible Pricing Policy

A very courteous woman answered the phone when I called Trailways' customer care number. She quickly confirmed what she said Trailways calls their "Flexible Pricing" policy. While the only reference to "flexible" on Trailways' website refers to their "Flexible Fare" option that allows customers to change details of their trip without a fee, this customer service agent said that bus ticket prices can in fact fluctuate based on how many tickets for that specific ride have been sold. Here's how it works.

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As the original post described, the more tickets for a specific departure time are sold, the higher the price gets. In better news, multi-ride and unlimited-ride tickets are not affected by the pricing scale. Even though she said she had never seen any additional charges "over $5", it seems that the surcharge is enough to discourage at least some customers from buying tickets in the future.

Want to skip the bus and go for a drive instead, check out some of the coolest and strangest (world's biggest pancake griddle, anyone?) road trips below. Keep scrolling to check out the creepy abandoned amusement park too.