According to the Department of Transportation, roughly 40 million people ride intercity buses each year. Traveling by bus is one of the most efficient, inexpensive, and eco-friendly ways to get around. It takes roughly the same amount of time as driving yourself, but allows you to relax and enjoy the road trip instead of focusing on the road. Plus, taking a bus means you save the hassle of having to find parking in your destination city.

Bus travel is generally a much simpler ordeal than flying - there’s no need to get to the airport hours ahead of time, no TSA, and no complicated boarding process. Subjectively, a bus ride is more enjoyable than flying for travelers who prefer to be on the ground rather than in the air.

Buses are way more affordable than flights; a bus ticket often costs a small fraction of the price of a flight on the same route. Of course, the main downside is that it usually takes longer to get there.

Yes, many bus companies offer discounts for different fare classes. The most common discounts apply to seniors, children, students, and military veterans. Some carriers also have their own rewards programs.

Each bus company has its own discount policies. For example, while Megabus discounts are hard to come by, Greyhound offers discounts on its tickets for children (20%), seniors (5%), students (10%), and military veterans (10%).

You have a few options when it comes to purchasing bus tickets. Some traditional bus services, sell tickets at bus stations. Others, allow passengers to purchase a standby ticket last-minute if open seats are available.

This streamlines the purchasing process and saves time from parsing through individual bus websites one by one. It also makes it easy to find the highest-rated, fastest, and cheapest bus tickets.

If you’re still not sure how to find the best fare, we’ve got you covered. Here are the top 5 tips for finding cheap bus tickets online:

1. Book Early — It’s never too early to book your bus tickets online. By purchasing in advance, you’ll be able to secure the best price on a seat with your favorite bus company. We recommend booking five to six weeks in advance in order to lock down the lowest price on bus tickets from all major carriers.

2. Travel During Off-Peak Times — Planning your itinerary so that you’re traveling at off-peak times is a great way to reduce your transportation costs. Because weekends are so popular for bus travel, Sunday afternoon tickets tend to be the most expensive. To save, consider departing in the mid-morning on Sunday, or perhaps on a different day altogether. If your schedule is flexible then plan to travel mid-week, after the early morning commute. Mid-week tickets are frequently a cheaper option than riding on a Monday or Friday. Instead, start the weekend early with a Wednesday or Thursday departure.

3. Search for Nearby Bus Stations — If you’re traveling to a major city, you have different stations or local bus stops to choose from for your drop-off. Expand your bus ticket search to “include nearby locations” in order to find the lowest price. For example, if arriving in the most popular station is more expensive, look for an alternative bus stop near public transportation or a comfortable walking distance from a taxi stand.

4. Search Multiple Bus Companies — Whether you prefer the affordability of Megabus or the comfort of LimoLiner, everyone has a preferred bus company. Even so, expanding your search to multiple bus companies is a terrific way to land a deal on your next vacation. Bucket Tour List allows you to compare fares from different carriers side-by-side in a single search, and even lets you book your return trip with a separate carrier to score a better price.

5. Follow for Special Deals — At Bucket Tour List, we take pride in unearthing epic bus deals for travelers. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to hear about fantastic sales, promo codes and deals.