Bolt Bus

This is my first time taking the bolt bus Oakland to Los Angeles. 2 hours into the commute home we get s flat tire. The way that the incident is being handled is very classy we are comfortable and being informed while we wait.
The bus is very clean leather seats and lots of leg room with a comfortable ride

Bolt Bus is great! College students are the company’s main audience so the weekends are its busiest times. The bus is literally EMPTY during the weekdays which is great because you get your own section and a plug and get to scoot your seat back all of the way! Of course a 9 hour bus ride isn’t for everyone but for $ 25 city center to city center this is a steal! Btw the seats are comfortable too! Anyways, bring a book and enjoy! (BoltBus, your bus driver named Tim is great!)

I chose to use Bolt Bus as my method of transportation for a last minute trip to Los Angeles from West Oakland. The check in system was easy and without confusion… the driver just simply checks your I. D for verification and scans your ticket either printed out or thru your mobile device, whichever you provide works. Both my drivers were on time for pick up when leaving Oakland and heading back From LA. You can’t really beat the price… I think roundtrip I spent no more that $ 45… very inexpensive compared to flights or what I would have spent in gas on my own.
It was about an 8 hour bus ride. We started in West Oakland where I was picked up with a few other fellow passengers and rode to our first stop in San Francisco to pick up some more folks, then our last pick up destination was shortly after in San Jose where we were at full capacity. We then drove off heading to Los Angles and had a half an hour break for food/​stretching just before the grapevine. For the price and comfortable accommodation I was happy to ride understanding it would take that long.
There are power outlets conveniently located in your area for electronic devices, a/​c to keep the bus from getting stuffy, a restroom located in the back of the bus and the seats recline for comfort. They do provide Wifi as well but the connection was very poor, I couldn’t really take advantage of it. That’s really the only bummer I had roundtrip. Normally I prefer flying, but because I wasn’t too fond of the costly flight tickets at the time, this was an option I was more than thankful to come across. Should I find myself in need of this method again I would not hesitate to ride Bolt Bus! Highly recommend.

Definitely the cleanest and most up to date bus I have ever ridden. My driver, I belive Tim, was amazing. He let us know we can could request a temperature change. He answered all my questions about the times and stops and if you should be early or not. When I asked if outlets were in working condition he let me know they should be and to let him know if they were not. But they were perfectly fine. I do not have anything bad to say :) I was also on and overnight trip and it was quiet, dark and the temperature was cool.

This was my first time taking a bus down to LA, and I have to say, the Bolt Bus experience was pretty great. In this review, I will discuss the bus, the boarding experience and the actual ride.
Bus: Comfortable, plush seats with outlets and cupholders at mostly every seat. The bus never got too hot or cold, and the ride was smooth. There was lots of leg room, but I am a small person so maybe it doesn’t count. Also, because I am a small person, I really liked the foot rests provided for every seat. There are overhead compartments, much like an airplane, to store belongings. Wifi didn’t work at all for me, so bring something to do or have great LTE. Bathroom was decent with enough room for me not to be touching everything.
Boarding: The bus arrived on time at the West Oakland stop. Look for a small sign that has «BOLT BUS stop» on it. It can be kind of hard to see and I would not have known it was there if I hadn’t picked up my boyfriend from the stop a few times before.
The bus boarded in order of BOARDING GROUP NUMBER, similar to an airport. The order of the groups is: S, A, B, and finally C. I was first in line at the stop, thinking I would get to be on the bus first, but I was very wrong. I was boarding group C, and almost everyone else got on the bus before me. It was fine, because there were only 7 of us at the stop so we all got our own rows.
Ride: The bus filled up at the San Jose stop so I ended up sitting next to someone and felt slightly cramped; however, the ride was still comfortable. The seats were very plush and comfy and did not leave my back feeling sore at all. I wish I had the seat next to me open so I could have put my backpack on it for easy access to my laptop, but I had to put it on the floor by my feet which made it very cramped.
Overall: Great experience with Bolt Bus. The driver was very friendly and made sure his passengers knew what was going on (when we were stopping, how many people would be boarding at the SF and SJ stops, estimated time of arrivals for the Hollywood and Union Station stops, etc). Big thumbs up for the comfort of the seats!

Again this bus was good. The BOLT bus station is at the West Oakland Bart Station, right outside the BART station. From here, it stops by San Francisco, then San Jose, Hollywood and finally at LA Union Station.

To start off, I missed the bus the first time because I couldn’t find it. But, my experience far outweighed that issue even though I had to ride in the middle of the night because of that. Two days prior I took megabus for the first time so I can compare side to side. Megabus left late because it waits for their passangers (one reason as to why I wasn’t too mad about bl missing the boltbus because it really Pisses me off when megabus waited for passengers), they drove a lot slower and I found the seats uncomfortable. Also, the wifi did not work at all. I don’t know where people got the idea that bolt bus wifi doesn’t work as I had full signal the whole time and was able to listen to pandora without issue. I purposely don’t choose greyhound because there are sketchy people on it but that was not the case with this. They had nice later chairs and it was really clean. Price for megabus was 50% more and since the wifi didn’t even work I don’t see any reason for such a huge price difference. Tim, the driver from la to oakland was nice, funny and kept us informed. I can’t say that for megabus as the guy I think only spoke once or twice on the intercom and didn’t seem like he wanted to be there. Oh, and the worst thing about megabus is that it was probably 60 degrees the whole time and no way to shut off the air blowing on me. Boltbus was like an airplane where u can shut off the air blowing. I feel like I just stole with the deal and service I got from boltbus. If it doesn’t change, they’ve got a lifetime customer and I don’t say that about anything.
Update: 2^nd experience was just as great as the first. I tried megabus again too and I just want to throw up thinking about the experience and how I was treated by customer service afterwards. For boltbus, just remember at LA union station the pick up point is not where all the other buses are. And be on time. They leave right on schedule

As a first time customer I am very highly upset. This Bus company should be dismissed. Though their site says absolutely no refunds their customer service including their bus drivers offer no solutions in case of their own company employees departing earlier than what is scheduled. I refuse to do any business with them ever again and advise any other people who are looking for a affordable reliable people orientated traveling with LITERALLY no Hassle, Bolt bus is not NOT it. They are a fraud of a company who will only set out to misguide their customers and STEAL their money.
Should you ever be late or in my case have your bus depart earlier than schedule, DO NOT take this bus company because they will leave you stranded with no alternative solutions. To them solutions are standbys or no trip.
Bus drivers are catty rude and customer service needs a whole lot of improvement.

Bus finally showed past 8 am for 7 am departure, after an hour waiting, leaving people to wait at West Oakland Bart, not the safest Bart Station. Telephone customer service said twice that it was on its way, it is only 10 min. Away. Nope, more like an hour with no explanation, and they could/​would not say where it is. The driver was very nice at pick up though and the bus is new which brought this review back up. The driver explained that she could not get into her bus, that the doors would not open, (hmmm…a little scary for a new bus) and she had to pick up another bus.
Something to keep in mind: There are no refunds even with a pre-​purchased reserved seating.
If you still want to go by bus, you may want to forgo the groupon and try another bus line, try megabus which is next to it (has a shorter time travel and a little cheaper too, but read other people’s reviews) or just buy a ticket if it shows up.

Cheap way to get to LA or Vegas, especially if you take the overnight bus. I paid $ 80 for tickets for two to go from Oakland to LA and from LA to Vegas. The bus was pretty clean and comfy and I managed to sleep for almost the entire trip. Choose the Oakland stop if you can because it’s the first stop and by the time we went to SF and San Jose the bus got pretty packed. The only problem I had was that not all of the seats had outlets and some of the outlets weren’t working.

I LOVE BOLT BUS! I recently had to take a quick trip to LA from Oakland, CA. I found the Bolt Bus. The fair was extremely reasonable and the ticket purchasing process was simple an done online. I loved the fact that my boarding pass was emailed and I didn’t have to print it out it was accessible via my phone. The bus was clean and on time and the Bus driver was great. Traveling from Oakland to LA we got there a little early which is always nice. The only thing I didn’t like was the 30 min rest stop stops at a place that only has subway and a convenient store it would be great if they could have the 30 min rest stop at a location that offers more variety of food places that’s the only reason why I gave 4 stars instead of 5. I would recommend Bolt Bus and I will be traveling on Bolt Bus again real soon! Great job Bolt Bus 4 stars and 2 thumbs up!
Promise Marks

I bought a groupon ($ 20 round trip) from Oakland to LA Union Station and back. The instructions on how to activate your groupon are listed clearly on your voucher and are easy to follow. The representative gets back to you quick.
If you are taking BART to the West Oakland bolt bus stop, you make a left after you get out of the building and there is a sign on a pole indicating where to wait. We left on time, arrived at the SF stop and waited for ten minutes before departing for SJ.
Yes, the wifi is spotty and slow but I found it good enough most of the time to send iMessages on my phone, refresh Facebook, Instagram, etc.
I much prefer the stop Megabus uses, and I suggest bringing food to eat for your trip. In contrast to a different review already posted, the women’s bathroom did have seat covers as well as sinks and hand soap. The bathroom isn’t extremely clean but it isn’t vomit inducing either.
Despite getting on the bus at the first stop and the 30 minute break, to me, the bus ride didn’t feel TOO long. For the ride there, we arrived 20 minutes earlier than the time listed on the website, and on the return trip, we arrived an hour earlier. Of course, however, it depends on the traffic.
Another thing I wanted to mention, I noticed for both trips, most of the passengers on the bus were around college student age and traveling alone. It was cool seeing some people make conversation with their busmates and in my opinion, made the ride more comfortable.
I would recommend this service.

I rode on bolt bus this past weekend on a trip from Oakland to Los Angeles. I had ridden on megabus before but never bolt bus. there was a deal on groupon for a 20 dollar roundtrip so I thought «heck, why not?“Let m just say that this bus is a complete upgrade from megabus. Megabus is always so crowded and uncomfortable and they don’t have outlets. WTH?! but Boltbus was really spacious. They have a pretty nice looking bus and SOME not all of the seats have outlets. if you want to insure that you sit in a seat with an outlet. Get there early and before you sit down or choose your seat look in front of the seats to make sure its one with an outlet because although I was a happy camper sitting next to an outlet everyone on that bus was not. My two issues with bolt bus was the spotty wifi (it really really sucks) and the length of the trip. We left late (yes my bus was late, that was another docked point). we were scheduled to leave at 2:30 we left around 3:00 and didn’t get in till 11:50. so thats a pretty long damn bus ride because it also stops in san fran and then san jose. All in all I’d ride again but just expect the bus ride to be super long and not so great wifi!

Okay so I’m typing this because none of the reviews ever mention the actual location of the bus stop at West Oakland and there are no hints at all on any website. The location for the bus at the station is towards the back parking lot across the first road. There will be a sign ON THE POLE that says «bolt bus stop» or something similar, and not on the ground like Megabus. There aren’t any signs for bolt bus at West Oakland station except that one on the pole, unlike the Megabus where there are signs everywhere. The site says it’s on 7^th street itself, but that’s very misleading. If you’re confused, asking the BART worker in that info box helps.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’d also like to mention it goes from Oakland to SF to San Jose in that order before going to LA, and from LA to San Jose, SF then Oakland last, which makes the trip a couple hours longer than it needs to be.
The seats are made of pleather but they’re very narrow and uncomfortable to sleep in, especially because there are buckles in the middle of the seats which can stab your back if you’re not careful. You do get a lot of leg room and the outlets do work, so that’s a plus. Not all seats have outlets, so pick your seats wisely. The interior AC isn’t on full blast, so the temperature is pretty comfortable, unlike Megabus.
The bus’ rest stop is at a place where the only food you can get is Subway and questionable Mexican food. There is also a gas station mini mart but the selection’s pretty limited. If those don’t sound good to you, make sure to eat before getting on the bus. I personally was hungry and had to opt into eating subway sandwiches both times during my roundtrip and I was bummed that it was Subway again for me.
The bathroom is sketchy as all hell so it’s best to use the bathroom at the mini mart. If you can’t hold it in, just make sure your butt doesn’t touch the seat. There aren’t any toilet seat covers and the only way to wash your hands is to use hand sanitizer. There aren’t any paper towels available either.
The ride overall just took way too much time than it needed to. It took us 9 hours in total to get from LA to Oakland and my butt really ached from the hard seats. At least the wifi worked somewhat, but it was slow sometimes. The less people are on their computers looking at facebook, the faster it works. And FYI, if you’re using facebook on the computer and your phone at the same time, then you will get judged. I’m looking at you little lady from the LA to San Jose on Easter night bus trip.
Also come early enough to get the seats you want if you’re traveling with a partner. There were a few couples who came in later than expected and whined pretty loudly about not being able to sit together with their partners and honestly, it’s really annoying so please just get there earlier if you’re going to moan and whine about it like little kids.
3 stars out of 5, because the driver and workers were chill and for $ 20 for the entire roundtrip, I can’t complain. What sucked was just the timing of the ride, the other passengers, lack of variety at the rest stop, the bathroom, shotty wifi, butt numbing seats, lack of visibility for the West Oakland stop location, and the belt buckles that were protruding out so much that they could stab you if you’re not looking.
Hope this info’s pretty helpful for others.

Very nice bus & cheap $$$$$$ to me. Like like like (Bolt Bus). Much better then Mega bus.

Bolt Bus goes from the Oakland West BART station to Union Station in LA in about seven hours with three stops along the way. Go on line to sign up. Costs $ 20 if you sign up at the last second. Bolt Bus is run by Greyhound.
The bus arrived on time at the exact location. A new bus with high back leather seats and … seat belts! Comfortable. The bus driver was really friendly and gave tips on how to get A group boarding on line after you create an account and register for your trip. He was communicative about when the next stop was coming up and how long the rest break was. He checked on the passengers and did a good job.
The only downside was that the wifi was slow, the seat backs don’t have tray tables, so you have to figure out how create your own table, and the air freshener in the bathroom in the back was overwhelming.
Otherwise, Bolt Bus seemed like a cheap, safe way to get to So Cal and back for less.

I recently took my first Bolt Bus to Oakland and it was great!
This is a pretty new service in California so there was only one other passenger from Los Angeles — which means LOTS of space: D But even if the place was packed, just like they advertise, there is a LOT of leg room. They also have power outlets for just about every seat and WiFi — which are HUGE bonuses for the long ride.
You can get a really good deal on the fare, even though the buses are pretty much empty! I got round trip tickets for $ 16: $ 14 for the ride up, $ 1 for the return trip and $ 1 transaction fee.
The buses are brand new and the driver was pretty cool. It was overall a great experience and was happy to be dropped off curbside at the West Oakland BART Station instead of at a separate bus terminal, especially since I got in pretty late in the evening.
On one hand I hope Bolt Bus does really well since they’re pretty awesome, but on the other hand I wouldn’t mind have the whole thing to myself again ;)