More MegaBus

Pittsburgh will be the jumping off point for nine cities as the discount busline extends to the north and west of the city.

Megabus.com already operates lines to 15 cities from Pittsburgh and lines to the latest destinations will start running May 11. But the "hub" will be virtual since Megabus does not have a bus station and most tickets are purchased over the internet. Because the company doesn't maintain bus stations, it's able to offer low cost tickets - some for only $1.

In Pittsburgh travelers board the bus at 11th Street beneath the convention center.

Megabus.com is an arm of Coach USA. "Hey with rising gas prices, rising air fare, high unemployment, coming out of a recession- potentially people are looking for value, they want to save money they want to have more money in their pocket and its all about spending the money when you get to a destination," said Dale Moser, Chief Operating Officer of Coach USA.

The new cities served by the Pittsburgh hub include: Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Detroit, Toronto, Erie and Buffalo. Megabus.com currently links Pittsburgh to Sate College, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C. and Camden, N.J.