I tried the bus startup using luxury coaches with motion-canceling seats on a trip from NYC to DC and it was one of the most comfortable travel experience I've had

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I took a luxury bus service from New York City to Washington DC for $99, and it was one of the plushest travel experiences I've ever had.

I've never had a pleasant intercity bus experience (until now), but the complimentary snacks and beverages, fast WiFi, and motion-canceling seats made the ride enjoyable and comfortable.

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That is until I got carsick. But more on that later.

I, like many other travelers in the US, do not have fond memories of sitting in intercity buses like Greyhound or Megabus.

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Enter the Jet, a luxury bus startup looking to provide another option different from those sometimes-uncomfortable budget bus experiences.

Unlike the classic Flixbus or Greyhound, the Jet has comfortable seats, in-ride treats, and fast Wifi, among other bonuses. It's more expensive, but the company is betting riders who can afford to will pay for the luxury and exclusivity.

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Chad Scarborough, the Jet's founder and CEO, predicts the company's passengers are the top one to 2% of bus riders, or "people who want a nicer option" but don't want to pay for an Amtrak, he said the first time I toured one of its buses in late 2021.

The startup isn't a new concept: Luxury coaches like Vonlane have fared well in other markets, Scarborough noted.

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But unlike Vonlane, which operates primarily in Texas, the Jet targets two cities with low car ownership: New York and Washington, DC.

Tripperbus, which also calls itself a "first-class bus service," runs a similar route from Arlington, Virginia, and Bethesda, Maryland to New York City.

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But the Jet drops off and picks up its passengers right in the heart of DC at Metro Center, about a 10-minute walk to the White House.

On January 7, the morning after New York's first snow in the new year, I decided to take a ride on the Jet for a roughly five-hour ride from New York City to Washington, DC to test its offering.

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The Jet only has two departure times from New York: 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. I booked the former hoping to get some work done on my Friday afternoon ride.

The Jet departs from Hudson Yards. This outdoor departure away from any terminal means I didn't have to navigate the large, often busy corridors of an indoor station. It also means passengers board from the curb, just like discount carrier Megabus.

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The 45-foot-long black coach with "THE JET" embossed on side told me I was in the right place. I arrived earlier, so I had plenty of time to pick up breakfast before checking in with the bus attendant, who operates like a flight attendant.

I already reserved my spot on the 14-seat bus so there was no need to rush onto the vehicle in hopes of getting a prime seat or space in the luggage compartment.

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And the rows of seats are six feet apart as per COVID-19 protocols, providing ample legroom and space for my bags.

"We've had some people tell us [this] feels safer than taking a train or a plane because there's so few people," Scarborough said in 2021.

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And I agree. Besides me, there were only nine other people on the bus including the driver and attendant. Everyone was required to mask up unless they were eating or drinking.

There's also a UV filtration system that sanitizes the air every 10 minutes, according to the company.

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Other than the person sitting next to me (who I live with) everyone felt distanced from my seat, making the Jet feel safer than any plane ride I've been on during COVID-19. And unlike planes, the Jet is also now enforcing a vaccine mandate.

The pre-booked seats, ample spacing, and warm attendant made for one of the safest-seeming and most relaxing boarding experiences I've ever had on any mode of transportation.

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All I had to do was get on the bus, throw my bags on the floor in front of me, confirm my seat with the friendly attendant, and I was all good to go.

Throughout the bus ride, the attendant checked on the passengers and offered us a selection of complimentary snacks, water, wine, beer, coffee, and soda. And at the end of the bus ride, she collected our trash.

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I don't drink soda, and I passed on the free booze (I was, after all, still working), but just having these options made the Jet feel more luxurious than an economy seat on a plane.

We were offered The Jet-branded blankets to use during the bus ride, but I was already bundled in a thick sweater, so I passed.

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There's also a bathroom at the rear of the bus next to the attendant's galley. The clean bathroom — although smaller than Amtrak's — had the basics: a toilet, sink, mirror, and hand sanitizer.

But because it was freezing the night before, the bathroom pipes were frozen, putting the porcelain throne out of commission for the first half of the ride.

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Luckily our driver scheduled a quick bathroom stop halfway through the journey, which was perfect for a quick stretch.

Snacks and a clean bathroom are great, but the Jet has an even stronger standout feature that sets it apart from any other luxury bus competitor or mode of travel: the motion-canceling "hoverseats."

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These seats are the Jet's pièce de résistance and its biggest draw.

The seats use a suspension technology developed by Bose to block 90% of the bus ride's uncomfortable bumps and movements.

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The tech can be more commonly found in the long-haul truck industry, making the Jet the "world's first" bus with motion-canceling seats, according to the company.

These seats made road traveling feel more like flying, but better.

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The gel and memory foam seats are 22-inches wide and plusher than my couch at home.

When my seat was fully reclined 45-degrees, I could have comfortably fallen asleep.

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And because there's six feet between each row, I didn't have to worry about reclining too far.

Luckily, the seats' armrests have a built-in tray table, allowing me to lay back while tapping away on my laptop.

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But unfortunately, I had to work, and couldn't take the nap I so longed for.

The coaches are equipped with the same WiFi used on Google and Facebook's employee shuttles, Scarborough previously explained.

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The WiFi was no joke. It was reliable and the fastest I've ever used on a mode of transportation.

Almost every passenger was pattering away on their laptops during the bus ride, but I never encountered disruptions with the network, even when I was streaming music and videos.

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The seats also have outlets that kept my laptop running throughout the entire journey.

So far so good, until around two hours into the ride. That's when I hit my first metaphorical bump in the road.

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The motion-canceling seats did a great job of blocking the smaller bumps, but I could still feel the rocking motion of the bus. This was expected and would have otherwise been fine if I hadn't been staring at my laptop.

The longer I stared at the screen, the harder it became to read smaller blocks of text, a side effect that brought me back to my concussion four months ago.

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The longer I worked, the worse my carsickness-induced nausea — a familiar feeling from stop-and-go traffic but never from long bus rides — became.

The headache, woozy uneasiness, and churning stomach made the remaining almost two hours more difficult to kill.

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But when I looked around, most other passengers were still on their laptops and phones, a sign that nobody else was feeling as sick as I was.

Finally, after about five hours on the road, we arrived in DC at around 4 p.m. I quickly gathered my belongings, said my thank yous, and ran out to get some fresh air.

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But honestly, despite my carsickness, the Jet was the most comfortable intercity travel experience I've ever had (noting that I've never used a luxury bus service before).

Boarding and departing the bus in an uncrowded outdoor area was an underrated luxury.

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It seems like I'm not alone in enjoying the Jet.

In December, the startup averaged at above 70% ridership, peaking at 86% during the week of Thanksgiving, Scarborough told Insider in a statement.

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January has been "slower" at around 40% ridership ahead of a mid-month weekend, but this is still above the company's initial projections.

Scarborough believes the Jet is "well-positioned" for the spring and summer travel boom.

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The Jet ranges from almost $100 to up to almost $150. As of January 14, tickets for an 11 a.m. departure on Friday, January 28 start at $99.

A business class ticket for Amtrak's Acela departing at 11 a.m. starts at $90, while a coach ticket for the 11:35 a.m. Northeast Regional sits at almost $50. It's also worth noting that an Amtrak on the same route is about one-and-a-half to two hours faster and won't have to stop for traffic or bathroom breaks.

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Meanwhile, the cheapest 11:00 a.m. bus ticket (Flixbus) on the same day is a mere $18, making it about one-fifth as costly as a ticket for The Jet.

If you're looking for luxury, the Jet may be your best choice. Though it's slower and more expensive, there's no arguing it's the most comfortable option.

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