Travel By Bus or Train Will Soon Be Easier to Book

For travelers looking for the best price on airfare, there are many options, such as Orbitz or Expedia, and now, travelers looking to travel by bus or train will have the same option, according to NBC News.

Some Internet start-up companies are working to make the transportation search as easy for those taking the bus or train as it is for those flying. The sites are popping up at the same time that more people are choosing to travel by bus or train. According to a report from the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University, intercity bus service grew by 7.5 percent between the end of 2011 and 2012, which is the highest rate of growth in four years.

In accordance with the findings from that report, discount bus operators such as BoltBus and Megabus have seen service increase in the United States by 30.6 percent, a higher growth rate that that reported for car or airline travel, according to the Chaddick Institute report.

In 2009, President Obama announced the development of a high-speed and intercity passenger rail corridor to hold 150- to 220- mile an hour trains as part of a High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program. This program is likely to increase the popularity of train travel.

Wanderu is a site launching in October that will allow travelers to search for bus or train trips in the Northeast across multiple travel companies. The site doesn't sell tickets directly, but provides a link for users to book their trips directly with the company chosen. For sites that aren't mobile-device friendly, Wanderu also provides a reservation form that the site will send to the operator on behalf of users.

Bustripping is another company that users can try. It allows users to search for routes in 163 cities within the United States, four cities in Europe and Vancouver, Canada. It also has an app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The site searches trips among 18 different bus companies and is still trying to expand to include more.

Gotobus.com is another site with this service. The site handles the ticketing for many smaller bus lines. The GotoBus routes are visible on the Bustripping site.

"In the future, we plan to allow our users to purchase tickets for any bus company through our Web site and mobile app," Ben Silverstein, the chief executive for Bustripping, told NBC News.