HOW can THE bus BE so MUCH cheaper?!?!

[huppster5]

So I was looking at various methods of transportation (mainly train v bus) between cities (in Spain and Italy) and was crazy surprised to find that the bus is more than 100 dollars cheaper than the train. My question is WHY would anyone ever take the train if there is an available bus route (besides it takes just a little longer)? Am i missing something???

[commie]

i heard some bad stories about italian bus drivers from some people in hostels, maybe thats the reason

[me]

often, the most economical way to get from Spain to Italy is to fly. if you buy in advance, air tix can be gotten for not much more than the tax! look at www.whichbudget.com/

[herrbert]

In Spain you will normally pay more for the one that will get there faster.

For example, a bus from Madrid-Chamartin that goes to Segovia will be much faster than the train (because the train will a stop at every station in between Madrid and Segovia, and trust me: there a lot of stations on that route). Because a lot of busses are direct lines, with no stops in between, it is there much faster. So in this case the bus is more expensive. But in most cases the train is much faster than a bus.

[mango]

trains are not only faster, they MUCH more comfortable than busses

i hate busses. much prefer a train. depending on how far you're going it can be money well spent. unless you are under 5'2 tall it can get pretty uncomfortable sitting on a bus for more than an hour or two. On a train there is usually more legroom, tables, a bar, cafe or whatever, you can get up and walk around, more eye candy...