Get to Miami or Orlando for just a buck? It's possible. Megabus, a new city-to-city bus service took off Thursday morning.
Megabus, a subsidiary of Coach USA, has partnered up with Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) to bring its intercity bus service to Tampa. People can reserve their seats online for a promotional fare starting at a dollar and ride the double-decker bus to other metro cities.
82-year-old Mary Ellen Ahrens is a Winter Haven resident who boarded the first departure Megabus to Miami.
"I saw where we could go to Miami for a buck, and who wants to be frugal?" Ahrens said. She called up five of her friends and they're all going to Miami for the day.
"So we're leaving here, we're going to the Miami International Airport. We're going to eat lunch, bum around for a couple of hours, catch the bus back and get back at 9 o' clock tonight," she said, "now, how exciting can that be?"
The Megabus service comes out of the Marion Transit Center in Downtown Tampa. Megabus pays a space-leasing fee of $15,000 to HART. Its double-decker buses seat 81 passengers and has Wi-Fi and outlets available. 42 passengers boarded the first Miami departure at 9:15
