Intercity busses are making a comeback. For example, from Boston and other cities, you can get to New York cheaply-or you can travel in business style.

If productivity isn't your first priority and you are not "large boned," you're in for a pleasant financial surprise. runs between New York and Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and sells each one-way ticket for between $10 and $30. Prices are graduated; the first ticket on each Bolt bus is $1, then most seats are $10-$20, and up to $35 for the last seat sold. Tickets on , and others may be more.

A growing number of these low-priced intercity busses, including BoltBus, MegaBus, and , are offering WiFi. This is definitely cool. You share a mobile broadband connection, so don't count on good quality streaming video, but the connectivity is fine for e-mail and web browsing. Some busses also have at some or all seats.

I've taken the Boston/New York BoltBus a few times. The good news: they leave on time, they run smoothly, the WiFi Internet service works and most (but not all) seat pairs have AC outlets. The downside: the bus has no seat trays, and there isn't enough room to open up a regular notebook fully without twisting my body sideways. That makes it hard to get work done. If you're skinny enough, and/or or other small/low-height-display computer, you may be able to be very productive.

The low-price bus lines have no live customer service. With busses, there may or may not be a rest stop. Plus the busses I've been on have all arrived half an hour late. BoltBus doesn't offer refunds or changes; Greyhound lets you reschedule.