Sleepy Busses

With travel back to pre-COVID numbers, there are a ton of people who are on the move. This is also a return to the issue of people who must go somewhere but can't or don't want to fly. Enter NapAway: an overnight bus service that fits the bill for this situation. Sounds crazy, right? Well, Natalie Compton at the Washington Post gave it a try.

Instead of sucking up half your day getting to and from airports, you could travel overnight and wake up in downtown Nashville. It’s like taking a redeye, but with the ability to have a full night’s rest.

To test that theory, I reserved a $125 one-way ticket and tried out the luxury bus. My one-way flight home, for comparison, was $244.60; the route can often be cheaper, but it was a holiday weekend.

Washington Post

Compton's tale of the trip from Washington DC to Nashville is interesting because she intermixes it with her interview with the CEO. One key he tells her is that in order to truly sleep, your seat must recline fully flat. They show this off on a YouTube video. They've done that with these buses and also made the seats into 18 little suites.

To me, the most interesting part is that you could travel by a slower method than flying, but it is actually better because you are sleeping and arrive at your destination feeling refreshed. As someone who flies a decent amount, I could absolutely see the appeal. The price she booked is comparable to a plane ticket and I could only imagine the environmental impact of a bus is a lot smaller than an airplane.

Right now they run only from DC to Nashville on a limited basis, but I could see this catching on and more routes added.