Bolt Bus (www.boltbus.com), a Greybound bus carrier, is offering trips from Washington D. C. to New York for the ridiculous price of $1. Their service starts on the 27th of March, 2008.

And just in case you think a dollar is too much for a bus ride to New York from Washington D.C., they’re also offering free wireless internet on the bus, if you bring your own laptop. And they’re helpfully providing power plugins so you don’t have to worry about your laptops and ipods and other gizmos running out of juice. To top that off, you get entered into a contest to win a free iphone if you buy a ticket. No catch. It’s true. Bolt Bus is also adding a route between New York and Boston next month. But according to a report in the Boston Globe, Dustin Clark of BoltBus says the company hasn’t yet determined exactly when the service will begin or how many trips a day it will make.

Course, all the tickets aren’t for $1. That’s only if you’re booking online and subject to availability. In fact the way they price their tickets is a bit hazy. On their website it says that “Our fares will start @ $1 (plus a transaction or booking fee), with a minimum of one $1 fare available on every schedule we operate every day. The fares we charge will vary by day of week, overall passenger demand and how many days until the travel will take place. Typically someone who purchases a week or two out will receive the cheapest fares so it will save you money to plan ahead. Even our higher walkup fares will be reasonable and will allow for inexpensive spur of the moment travel.”

So you might actually end up paying a higher fare if you don’t book online and in advance. I tried to book a ticket on a few random dates, and it does show the price as $1.

In New York, the bus has two stops - One at 33rd and 7th, and the other at Canal and 6th. There’s one stop in Washington D.C., at 11th and G St. NW. Bolt Bus’ fleet consists of Prevost X3-45 motor coaches, which together run 8 trips daily.