Before the invention of the omnibus, travelers were forced to move in unprotected herds, each man hooking a finger through the belt loop of the one in front of him. With today's Groupon, experience inter-city travel the way nature intended—on megabus.com. For $25, you get a roundtrip bus ticket from Washington D.C. to New York aboard one of these clean, comfortable, WiFi-equipped interstate cruisers. Regular ticket prices vary depending on travel date and time, giving this Groupon up to a $50 value. Once you have your Groupon, you will have to reserve your trip via email. You can take your trip anytime between March 6 and June 6, 2010.

You will depart and arrive at the same hub in City Center. The New York arrival and departure points are slightly different but close to each other in Manhattan, just like street vendors selling mysterious candid videos of you. In between destinations, you'll be traveling in the double-decker, worry-free zone aboard a megabus. Spend the 200-plus-mile journey soaking up four hours of highway sights or grabbing some shuteye instead of studying maps or questioning the Gaga-heavy content of your friend's 2010 Roadtrip Mix playlist. The motor beasts feature free WiFi for looking up exciting bus facts, comfortable reclining seats, and restrooms that aren't contained inside an empty soda bottle.

Traveling by bus is much more cost- and energy-efficient than traveling by plane, car, or human-powered flight machine. Avoid busy airports and the need to arrive at the terminal hours beforehand, while being conveniently whisked straight from the heart of one city to another. Megabus.com has a proven track record of safely transporting more than four million passengers since its inception in 2006. That's more that three million passengers, exactly enough people to beat up the moon!

Not valid Easter weekend or Memorial Day weekend.

Reviews

Passengers are riding the Megabus around the globe, but traffic-weary Yelpers give the double-decker ride departing or arriving in Washington D.C. three stars:

• Took Megabus this past weekend to NYC…When we left, the bus was on time, efficient, and clean. The driver was safety-conscious and kept us posted as we drove. – Christina K.
• Reasonable trip time: It was about 5 hours going up and 4.5 coming back. There was traffic going up once we reached the Lincoln Tunnel, but that's not really the bus's fault. – Maria P.