Megabus to begin Anaheim-San Francisco service in December

Megabus will roll into Orange County starting Dec. 6 with new bus service between Anaheim and San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco.

Megabus aims to pick up 40,000 travelers in the first year of service on the new route.

Travelers can choose from four to five daily routes that link Disneyland’s hometown with Bay Area cities. Reservations begin Wednesday (today) for trips that take eight to nine hours one way.

Greyhound and Greyhound Express operate between Anaheim and San Francisco but not with direct service. Trips require a transfer in Los Angeles and take at least 9 1/2 hours.

Megabus will operate from Bay 11 at the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center at 2626 E. Katella Ave., about five miles from Disneyland and a stone’s throw from Angels Stadium.

Riders can connect to Megabus service at the transit hub by using buses and shuttles that run to and from Disneyland and John Wayne Airport. (Parent company Coach USA operates some of these routes.)

Fares for the new service start at $1 each way; book early to snag a ticket at that price.

Who’s riding Megabus? The average rider is 18 to 39 years old, said spokesman Mike Alvich.

“College students are our big first-time users who become repeat users,” he said. Free Wi-Fi and power outlets in each seat draw millennials, he added.

Megabus ridership grew 14.5% last year in the United States. But it wasn’t always a smooth ride for its West Coast operations.

The Britain-based company entered the Los Angeles market in 2007 and disappeared within a year.

“We may have been overly aggressive in what we wanted to do,” he said. Megabus returned to L.A. service in 2012.

Info: Megabus