I’ve frequently traveled between Boston and New York for the last 15 years, and I’ve tried every mode of transit from car to bus to train to plane. Recently I’ve been choosing travel options based purely on convenience from/to my end/start point, so when I’m off the West Side, I take the Greyhound or Amtrak; otherwise I take the Chinatown bus. I had a disastrous experience last month with Vamoose, the Hasidic NY-DC bus, which seems to have suspended service between New York and Cambridge. Turns out the licensing issues that sunk an HLS classmate’s efforts to set up a similar service in 2000 sunk what could have been an innovative alternative. (C’mon, Cambridge, it’s time to get with the program: world-class cities need a direct connection to New York!).

My last trip to NYC put me at the exact departure point for LimoLiner service to Boston, the NYC Hilton at 53rd and 6th, so I decided to give it a spin. I found out that good, courteous service is still alive somewhere in the transportation sector.

LimoLiner emulates air travel back when air travel was something to look forward to. The interior is laid out like a plane, with half the number of seats as a normal Greyhound and a large service area in the middle like on a 737. Seats are laid out in two rows, one with double and one with single seats. They are large and presumably comfy, though smaller folks like myself often find larger seats misproportioned for our shapes. The comfort of the seat itself is high, though — nothing like the 1″ thin “cushions” that I’ve noticed recently on many, many flights.

The main feature of LimoLiner is the dedicated attendant, who brings drinks, a light meal, and anything else you need. I’m not one who normally likes having a servant do stuff for me, but the particular individual on this trip was so graceful that I didn’t feel quite so embarrassed as I usually do handing him my trash. Certainly the free drinks were a nice touch; I was so used to the usual trip that I ran over to a hot dog stand to get a Coke before getting on board, only to find that it was totally unnecessary.

For business travelers the two onboard wireless routers might very well be decisive: service was decent through most of the journey, though after a while I gave up on work and started watching the movie and a movie I had on my laptop. Probably any real road warrior would already have the same EV-DO access that the bus taps into, but for those who don’t spring for that kind of service (I’m sitting on the fence for now), it might be worth the price of admission.

On the negative side, the overhead lights on my entire row of seats were broken. Also, as on some planes, the electrical outlets are car adapter types, not the two-prong plug you’ll find on Amtrak (both regional and Acela). (The 4.5 hour trip is probably just within your laptop’s battery life, though).

LimoLiner is priced to match Amtrak almost exactly: $89 each way. Compare Greyhound at $20 to $30 (depending on how you buy the ticket) and Fung Wah or Lucky Star at $15. With TSA the way it is, and poor transit linking to La Guardia, I no longer consider airline shuttles viable unless I’m heading out to Long Island (in which case, actually, I’d rather drive and have a car. One day I will test taking the bus to NYC and picking up a Zipcar for the duration). The dropoff at the Back Bay Sheraton worked fine for me — I took the 1 bus (about 3 blocks away — only a tad farther than the subway from the horribly laid-out South Station bus terminal) home rather than the Red Line — but being out of the main hub might be an inconvenience for those heading somewhere off the Green Line.

All else being equal, I would probably opt for Amtrak next time myself, as a bus is still a bus, no matter how well appointed, and I got off with the same tired feeling with which I debark the Fung Wah, except $74 poorer. However, anyone who values service will probably find their money well-spent, as I suspect did the older lady in front of me who needed help with her luggage. LimoLiner is, I believe, truly luxury for those who seek it, but IMHO, a gilded cabbage is still a cabbage.