Hey guys, I want to travel to Oberlin from NYC by bus (my family does not own a car). I wanted to find the cheapest bus, so I found Five Stars Travel (a chinatown bus company), which goes to Cleveland. I'm just wondering... has anybody used this bus company... how was the service? Does anyone know whether it is $55 dollars one way or round trip? And when does the bus depart and arrive?

 

And I would also really appreciate it if anyone knows the easiest way to get to Oberlin from Cleveland by public transportation. Thanks a lot!

 

By the way, here's the info on Five Stars Travel.

 

Five Stars Travel. 1 bus daily, Sat-Thurs.

From NYC: 21 Allen St ticket office.

to Youngstown, OH.

to Canton-Akron, OH.

to Cleveland, OH. Asia Plaza, 2999 30th St

 

note: little, to no english spoken. 212-625-1925 (NY), 917-578-5861 (cell)

Can't help you with the NYC to Cleveland part, but:

 

To Oberlin from Cleveland by public transit:

 

From Asia Plaza, take the #4 bus to Public Square/Tower City.  Fare is $1.50.

 

Enter Tower City and take the Red Line rapid transit train to the Airport station. Fare is $1.75.

 

At the airport, go to the upper level ticketing concourse.  Go outside for the Lorain County Transit Bus #33 stop.  Lorain County Transit buses are white with green and yellow stripes and are marked "LCT".  They are not always full-size buses, but may look more like the parking shuttle vans, so be careful not to miss them.

 

Route 33 passengers will be dropped off and picked up at the Upper Level of the airport. The bus stop is located outside the doors of United Airlines ticketing area. The bus is only allowed to park long enough to load and unload passengers.  Fare is $6.00.  In Oberlin, you will be dropped off about a block from Tappan Square and the college campus.

 

Route 33 timetable available at www.loraincounty.us/website/index.asp?webpageid={46AA5E5A-21E1-4D33-9FE9-182772C28263}.  Buses run less frequently when Oberlin College is on break.

 

Hope you're not bringing a ton of luggage, or this trip will be a pain with all the transferring.

 

Thanks for the info, buckeye1. I did more research, and it's apparently $65 one way and $120 round trip. So my questions would be these... how good is the service? How safe is Chinatown (in Cleveland) at 1 AM? And are the trains and buses still running that late?

Some buses are still running that late, but not the bus from Hopkins Airport to Oberlin. I won't lie to you about safety -- 1 a.m. isn't my favorite time of the day to be in Chinatown, though you aren't far from the Third District police station at Payne Avenue and East 21st Street.

 

If you want, consider walking one block north from Asia Plaza to Superior Avenue and catching the 326 bus (hourly service) to Public Square, then transfer to the 22 bus to Hopkins Airport. The 22 has hourly service to Hopkins when the Red Line isn't operating in the middle of the night.

 

For the 326 schedule:

http://www.riderta.com/pdf/326.pdf

(westbound 326 buses appear to pass through Chinatown at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m.)

 

For the 22 schedule:

http://www.riderta.com/pdf/22.pdf

(westbound 22 buses depart Public Square at 1:10 a.m., 2:10 a.m., 3:10 a.m. -- a very tight connection from the 326! Ask the driver on the 326 to radio the driver of the 22 bus to hold for the connection. If he won't, get his name or operator number, coach number, time/day and report him.)

 

Another option is to hang out at a downtown tavern until 2 a.m. and catch the 2:10 a.m. #22 bus. That gets you to Hopkins at 3 a.m.

 

The first bus from Hopkins to Oberlin (on weekdays) is 8:15 a.m. (or 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays/Sundays). That's a lot of hanging out to do at the airport.

 

My suggestion -- get a hotel downtown (try the Hampton, it's usually pretty affordable), get a nice sleep, have a complimentary continental breakfast at the Hampton, and take the Rapid to the Airport. The Hampton Inn at Superior Avenue and East 9th Street. See:  http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml;jsessionid=I4HLLNJD2OOZOCSGBJNM22QKIYFCXUUC?ctyhocn=CLEDTHX&ctyhocn=CLEDTHX

I know you're trying to save some bucks, but you can get a flight through Continental to NYC for $180 roundtrip, including taxes and everything. To me, the extra $60 is worth it.

By the time you pay for a hotel room, you could probably get a taxi to Oberlin.

From the Oberlin College Transit Committee:

 

"Cab companies based in Cleveland and operating at airport charge as much as $60 for a ride into Oberlin. The following local cab services charge generally around $30 to $50 for airport service, and $15 to $20 for service to Elyria Amtrak or Greyhound stations. Let the cab know how many people are riding (and if you're taking any large luggage) when you make your reservation. Every company should give you a quote over the phone.

 

Lorain County Cab Company: 440.322.6555

 

Safe and Reliable Cab Company: 440.322.8294

 

A 2 Point B Taxi: 440.775.7222 or email: [email protected]

 

Van Express: 440.774.3149

 

West Side Town Car: 440.647.4500 or 216.789.9600

 

Cleveland Express: 1.866.828.1832 or 216.661.9105

 

 

Hopkins Transportation Services provides shuttle service to and from the airport. We recomend you make reservations in groups of five or more. The cost is $65 for 1-5 people and $10 for each additional passenger up to 11 people. The shuttle will pick you up anywhere at any time, however, there is a flat rate for early morning service of $10 per hour before 6:00 am. Call 1-800-543-9912 or go to www.gohopkins.com to make reservations. Keep in mind, you must make your reservations a day in advance. If you plan to use this service on your return trip, we recomend you make round trip reservations"

 

Well thanks again for the helpful info, guys. I'm still debating whether to take Five Stars Travel or find some other way to get to Cleveland. Hopefully, someone who has taken the bus could tell me how the service is...

You can also take Amtrak to NYC.  The eastbound train now arrives in Cleveland around 6:20 AM and has been mostly on time lately.  The problem is, the westbound train gets in in the wee hours of the morning and the Amtrak station is poorly located.  It doesn't sound like you can get to Cleveland that early on the bus, though. 

 

I think you can catch the train in Elyria, but the times would be worse.  You probably can't get a to/from cab from Oberlin at those times anyway.

 

I'm not being very helpful, am I? 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the eastbound Lake Shore hasn't been on-time much since the rescheduling and the addition of significant new schedule "padding." Even when it arrives Cleveland on time, it loses an hour or more east of Cleveland. Recent departure data can be found by checking "Train Status" at the home page of www.amtrak.com