Breast cancer survivors and their families board the new Breast Cancer Research Foundation pink Megabus for its inaugural trip to New York City, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 in Elizabeth, N.J. Megabus.com is donating $1 for every ticket sold today to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Megabus.com)
If you drive back and forth to Tampa, Gainesville, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville or Miami with any frequency, you’ve probably wished there was an easier way to get there.
There is. Megabus, which offers affordable express bus service to more than 120 U.S. cities, makes multiple trips every day between Orlando and Gainesville, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville and Tampa. Plus, you can travel by bus from Orlando to Atlanta and points farther north. Fares can be as low as $1 one way, though the usual fare to, say, Miami is about $15.
The buses offer reclining seats, free wi-fi, power outlets and restrooms. That means you can actually enjoy your ride even get some work done.
To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Megabus is working with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which funds breast cancer research and awareness programs, with 88 percent of the funds going to research. The charity has been rated A-plus by CharityWatch and four out of four stars by Charity Navigator.
For each bus ticket sold on Oct. 18, Megabus will donate $1 to the foundation. For each use of the hashtag #megabusGoesPink during October, Megabus will donate $1 to the charity. The company chose to join the fight against breast cancer in honor of employees, families and passengers whose lives have been touched by the disease.
The company’s pink bus will be making the trip this week, stopping Oct. 12 at 8 a.m. in Orlando, 2:40 p.m. in Miami and 3:10 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale. Then it gets back to Orlando at 11 a.m. Oct. 13. In Orlando, the bus stop is at 902 N. Semoran Blvd.
Breast cancer will kill about 40,450 women this year, and one in eight women will develop an invasive breast cancer during her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. My best friend, whom I met in college, died of breast cancer five years ago this month. Many cases of breast cancer are treatable. My hope is that research will find new treatments that will give even more women a chance to recover and live long lives.
Even if you’re not traveling in October, keep Megabus in mind for your next trip and let visitors know it’s a great way for them to travel around the state, too.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Megabus. The opinions and text are all mine.
