What is the best and affordable way to go from CT to DC?|143167

From New Haven to DC Metro area. I don_t wanna use the car due to high gas prices but I realized Amtrak train is way too expensive. Greyhound is equally expensive and takes such a long time. Is there any other way to go from CT to DC that is affordable and does not take too much time?

Well, if you_ve ruled out Greyhound and Amtrak because of cost, then you might be in a bit of bind. However, you can take the commuter train (MTA Metro-North Railroad...
http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm
) from New Haven to New York City, the ticket is like $13 (one way, off peak) if you buy it on the web. From New York, you can take the cheaper _dragon_ buses that run between Chinatown, NYC and Chinatown, DC. Those are much cheaper than Greyhound (like $20 one way, $35 round trip) but you need to get into NYC first.
http://www.chinatown-bus.org/
The entire thing is going to cost _$60 roundtrip....

Once you_re in the DC area, you can just use the Metro to get to wherever your final destination is...
http://www.wmata.com

Those are pretty much the only ways to go. Flying is probably going to be even more expensive and not even the best way as far as time (since you_d have to go out of either Hartford or NYC and then deal with parking at the airport, going through security, etc... which would add to the cost and time of the trip). There are cheap buses that go from NYC to Washington (I believe as low as $15 each way) but they may not have the best safety records. Not to mention Greyhound is trying to compete and has lowered their fares accordingly on certain trips. But unfortunately these are likely your only options - unless you hitchhike... Or share a ride with someone and share expenses

I know Amtrak is expensive, but it really is the best way to get from New Haven to DC in a timely fashion. Once you_re in DC, you can use Metro rail and bus to get around.