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> it could be the cheapest way to travel

Inter-city buses are the cheapest way to travel if you don't own a car. For example a train ticket NYC->Washington DC is over $100. A bus ticket for the same trip is $30.

The train will be more comfortable and possibly faster, though.

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I traveled coach from CHI(IL) to SAC(CA) with a mountain bike in tow on the Zephyr for $120 at the end of October.

Not aware of anything comparable cost-wise, especially bringing a fully assembled ready to ride mtb along.

Annoyingly however, even a Greyhound bus does the trip faster than the Zephyr. Such is the sad state of passenger rail in the US.

For what it's worth, it's possible to get a NY -> DC ticket (or vice versa) on the NE regional for about $30. You just need to book sufficiently far in advance (IME, around two months). Usually not a weird time either -- I paid $64 for a round-trip weekend ticket during normal hours (early afternoon both ways).

Source: I've taken that train at least 150 times at this point.

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