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Overnight sleep pods for $115 between L.A.-San Francisco

Cabin offers sleep pods for overnight trips. (Image: Cabin)

Last year, we told you about a startup called SleepBus that sold overnight rides between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with bunkbed-style accommodations in the back of a big truck. Now the folks who brought you SleepBus are back with an upgraded product for the same kind of trip.

It’s called Cabin, and the vehicle has changed from a truck to something that looks more like a big two-level Google bus. The passenger accommodations are now individual sleep pods – or as the company calls them, “private cabins” — stacked in a double-decker layout. And one-way fares have nearly doubled– from $65 at launch to $115 each way today.

The company says that when Sleepbus first launched in 2016, it sold out its inventory in just three days, and had a waiting list of 20,000, which proved that there was a strong market for the new concept. After running for a few months using a rented bus, company founders shut the operation down went back to the drawing board to create something more sustainable. Here’s our previous story about Sleepbus.)

Cabin operates between Los Angeles and San Francisco. (Image: Cabin)

“By consolidating both transportation and accommodation into one simple and delightful experience, Cabin’s one-of-a-kind moving hotel experience enables people to travel without travel time,” the company says.

Cabin’s sole route is still Los Angeles-San Francisco, with an 11 p.m. departure and a 7 a.m. arrival, although it promises that “additional expansion (is) on the horizon.” One-way SF-LA fares start at $115. A spokesperson told TravelSkills that it is currently operating two of the big buses, with one used as a backup.

Here’s a screenshot of a booking showing pick up and drop off locations- Santa Monica in LA and 1 Bryant St near AT&T Park in SF

There’s a shared bathroom and a “communal lounge” on board, along with a full-time attendant. Customers are allowed two pieces of luggage, and are provided with nighttime tea, morning coffee, free Wi-Fi and ear plugs. Cabins are equipped with clean bedding, a reading light and an electrical outlet.

Pods are private and stacked on two levels (Photo: Cabin)

DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE to fly from SFO to Hong Kong and write about it for TravelSkills! Details here. 

Cabin has upgraded its product since its SleepBus days. (Image: Cabin)

Contrasting its service with the airline experience, the company notes that its vehicles have scheduled departures and arrivals at central locations in both cities and passengers only need to show up 10 minutes before departure. (And we presume there are no security screenings.)

For more info about Cabin, see this. 

The company says its SleepBus venture last year was a pilot test of the overnight sleep-and-travel-by-road concept. As the new and improved Cabin, it has secured $3.3 million in seed money that it says “will allow Cabin to scale operations both on a regional and national level.”

Hmm. I like the concept, but I’m probably not the target market for this. If I did it, I’d be sure to pack my Mack’s earplugs and Bucky eye mask. Maybe I’d sleep like I did on my recent Qantas flight to Australia. Or maybe not. But I’m curious.

Would you try Cabin? Why or why not? Please leave your comments below.

 

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Comments

  1. Ain’t happening. Not even close to delivering what was promised. We got screwed once again. All it has done is create bloated govt jobs for the cronies in sac town.

  2. Know what would be nice? Trains that act like ferry boats. Drive onto a auto carrier railcar, enclosed like they ship new cars. Stay in your car, doing whatever you please, weather permitting, or also buy a seat ticket onboard the train. Of course would need to develop a loading/unloading system by destination. But then you would have your own car at your destination and you can drive around or even drive yourself home. The railroads are always bragging how cheap it is to transport by rail. So let’s use it. I would.

  4. I think this is a brilliant idea! I love it! Not a bad price either. I would always prefer to stretch out while flying. I fall asleep as soon as the plane takes off, so I would definitely cabin. Thanks for the great story. I haven’t seen this anywhere else.

  5. The train California is building now, at a cost of $64 billion will take 5 hours and get you almost to Los Angeles and almost to SF. What a waste of tax dollars.

  6. I don’t understand the food rule. You can bring small snacks but nothing larger? If any food is allowed then it isn’t a question of attracting vermin, and if they don’t provide any food (just tea and coffee) then why prohibit people from bringing food?

    I also wonder what the dimensions are of these “pods.” Amtrak at least gives you the dimensions of the sleeper compartment beds on their trains, but I searched the entire Cabin website and couldn’t find any information. I’m not the target market, but if I were I’d want to know this before my big and tall spouse and I booked our separate pods.

  7. It will happen. The distance isn’t going to get any shorter and the demand will be there for centuries. In the time it takes to park and get through security at SFO, a high speed train would already be there. I won’t be around to see it, but it’ll happen.

  8. We continue to not think outside the box. The Pullman Company, through its agreements with the railroads, successfully offered diverse sleeping accommodations on trains, including sections-upper and lower berths, without all the plumbing facilities. The railroads, with Pullman, walked away from this market in the late 1950s by introducing “Slumbercoaches” (Sleepercoach on New York Central); private rooms with complete plumbing.

    This bus between SF-LA merely evidences a lost market returning by demand, no different than how Airbnb, Lyft, etc have penetrated stagnated markets. Indeed, in Canada, the transcontinental train VIA Rail Canada operates over 4 nights between Vancouver-Toronto,”The Canadian,” still offers sections with upper/lower berths, including all first class meals in the diner, access to the first class bar lounge, and showers/dressing rooms. Railroaders know the secret how the larger mattress in a horizontal position in the direction of the train provides an even better sleep during the night.

    If we open-up the monopoly on the current passenger rail system to franchises, and even open access, we might again avail ourselves to such inexpensive first class overnight options as berths, as well as a vastly improved daytime first class parlour concept. This is how every other transportation sector operates as a business.

  9. “Human Norovirus won’t thrive in the lab,”

    Obviously the solution is to turn anywhere there is an outbreak into a lab.

  10. It would be a lot safer because the worst damage comes from objects flying loose in the cabin. Inside the enclosed space you would;n’t get hit by anything and you would already be pretty much against a wall… if you were fee first towards the front it would be a lot safer than being in any seat. They say on the website they cabins have a lot of safety aspects included in the design, but give no details…

  11. Oakland is less than 5 miles from SF and last I checked Oakland hasn’t relocated to the boondocks as you implied saying Amtrak doesn’t even come close to the city limits. Bart has a station at 14th Street adjacent to Jack London Square. You’re an argumentative douche and I’m guessing also an entitled, little millennial who thinks he’s invented everything there ever was and that your lifestyle is the only one anyone should espouse. The article asks for peoples opinions on the viability of such service and you’re just being a jerk. Grow up.

  12. Amtrak’s Coast Starlight operates train number 11 southbound from Oakland Jack London Sq to Union Station downtown LA daily at 8:50am arriving LA 9:50pm and train 14 northbound at 10am arrive Oakland 11pm. A premium business class seat runs $115 no adv purchase to $215 for a Superliner roomette also no adv purchase. Moreover Amtrak offers bus service between Civc Center, Westfield, the FiDi and the Ferry Building to connecting trains in Emeryville and Jack London Square. I take the Coast Starlight often. The service for either the business class seat or the roomette is superb, dining car charges are included in the cost of the ticket and also have access to the Pacific Parlor Car, a restored, vintage Pullman observation carriage. The food is good, the scenery is spectacular and I get work done during the journey with free wifi. Im sorry, but anyone who would rather contort oneself into a coffin like setting while trying to sleep to traffic nosies along the busy I-5 corridor and for $115 is just plain nuts.

  14. Amtrak is notoriously late. It’s always late. And yes it does not run to SF, only Emeryville, nowhere near a bart or bus. As for the fare, it’s pretty hard, even on Southwest, to fly for less than $115 unless you plan in advance. I think this is great and I hope they survive.

  15. It will never happen, the money California is spending on that plan will be wasted.

  18. You said that Amtrak does not offer service to SF or comparable overnight service to LA. I am posting what Amtrak offers. I’m not passing judgement on it. But since you brought it up…

    Is Amtrak slower that Cabin? Yes. Is it more expensive? No. Is having to transfer in Santa Barbara annoying? Yes. Does Amtrak get people to work before 10 AM? No. Does Cabin drop people off near downtown LA for their jobs? No. I think business travelers will stick with planes.

  19. Two connections, and you don’t get there in time for the start of the work day. Instead of non-stop: climb in bed and wake up at your destination, on time. Not much of a comparison

  20. Amtrak operates bus service to/from the Transbay Terminal that goes beyond Emeryville. For example, the overnight trip equivalent to Cabin is an Amtrak bus departing the Transbay Terminal at 10:45 PM, which runs to Santa Barbara where you switch to the Pacific Surfliner train. The train arrives at Union Station at 9:35 AM.

  21. All newer long-distance coaches have seat belts. Can confirm from recent trips on Amtrak and Megabus. Will be taking Bolt Bus in the near future to double-confirm if you like.

  22. At $115, what’s the point? Flights are consistently cheaper, and a Santa Monica pick up/drop off is out of the way to most LA destinations. There’s really no time savings compared to any flight, especially OAK-BUR.

    Part of the appeal of the bus is its cheapness, so this definitely is not an alternative to Bolt Bus, Greyhound, or Megabus, all of which have fares for $50 or less. Even Amtrak has an overnight bus/train combo (via Santa Barbara) for $59. Are lie-flat beds worth the $65 premium? Perhaps for tourists trying to squeeze every last bit out of their vacations, but probably not for the rest of us.

    I wish Amtrak had proper overnight service. A train from Emeryville to LA via the San Joaquins route or a train from 4th & King to LA via the Coast Starlight route would be awesome!

  23. Amtrak will have something to do with HSR in that at least three Amtrak stations will be shared with HSR so there will be some coordination between Amtrak and HSR. I meant to say that HSR is building its own tracks and Amtrak would have to build its own tracks to run more Bay Area to LA trains because Union Pacific would claim more passenger service would disrupt its freight business.

  25. Amtrak is lucky to have the Coast Starlight running. If Amtrak wanted to run a SF to LA night train it would have to build its own tracks, which its trying to do with HSR.

  26. Amtrak sleepers are VERY expensive and not all that comfortable. On the Coast Starlight you’re better off buying a business class seat; not as many people as in coach which means nobody will be sitting next to you on the overnight. Amtrak is supposed to be getting new sleeper cars

  28. You should look more closely, I said inter-city, not inner city. The word greyhound should have been a pretty good clue too, but I guess you missed that one also.

    You tried to compare this service with Amtrak. This service stops in downtown SF. Amtrak stops doesn’t even come close to the city limits. I was pointing out that it’s a poor comparison.

  29. Inner city busses probably aren’t going 70 MPH either. A family I know, had a head-on collision on I-5 at night as some sleepy driver crossed the median. Very sad, Mom was not belted, died. Baby was fine in the car seat.

    Take this sleeper truck thing and report back.

    I’m not sure what you mean about Amtrak. Coast Starlight stops in Emeryville. Did you expect the train to run through downtown? There’s connecting bus service to downtown. During rush hours I’d use BART though.

  30. Inter-city busses don’t have seat belts. These cabins are padded, I imagine they are safer than a greyhound bus.

    Amtrak absolutely does not offer an 11pm to 7am San Francisco to LA service. Actually, Amtrak doesn’t offer any service to San Francisco whatsoever. So much for your plan

  31. TLDR version: Move in public knowing you’ll either get stomach ailments or not, and “fresh sheets” and a scrubbed bathroom are less about disinfection and more about confidence.

    There was a great CDC epidemeology paper on a Norovirus outbreak among a girl’s soccer team in a hotel. All it took was a smattering of virus particles on a plastic bag, that was stored in the same room with patient zero and it spread like wildfire. They opened SEALED boxes of snacks from the bags, and it was just the incidental transference of touching the bags that began it.

    Combined with the fact that nobody has proven a cleaning chemical that stops it. Human Norovirus won’t thrive in the lab, so you can’t do the simple test of spraying chemicals on a Petri disk to know for sure. There’s a paper by Bolton, Kotwal, and others about this problem. But everytime there’s an outbreak people people get out gloves and bleach spray and assume problem solved.

  32. Wondering how a crash-test dummy fares, in those beds during an impact?

    I’m guessing by the surf in the background they are going up 101. At night, probably not as dangerous as 5, but still a concern.

    I transferred Chase points to Amtrak before the end of that relationship, specifically so I can take long-distance trains if I want to do this.

  34. Worried about the bed sheets if they are clean and other hygiene issues. Is the bathroom germ and diarrhea free?

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