Long distance coaches are pretty comfortable IMO. Have this year ridden on a plastic-seated RTA bus, local service low-floor accessible, pretty uncomfortable if the seat is sideways, NY CDTA NX coach (a brand new long distance style coach) with cloth 2+2 seats, very comfortable, a Greyhound bus, comfortable 2+2 leather or leatherette seats, seemed a little run down though, and a Peter Pan bus, similar to the Greyhound but no bathroom. I don't see much difference between an MBTA 2+3 coach and a long distance coach bus with 2+2 seating. And if you have standing room crush loads on the Commuter Rail it is much worse. Definately more vibration on a bus, I used to get nausea if I tried to read a newspaper on a bus but but not on Commuter Rail, but after a couple of years of commuting the body & eyes adjusted to the motion. Main advantage of Commuter Rail is the dedicated ROW - if the railroad is properly operated they are within a couple of minutes of schedule. There was a reason why B&M's trademark was Minuteman Service. Sometimes I think the T should set actual fares based on number of passengers and how long it takes, so that local bus that is always stuck in traffic should have a higher fare than the Express Bus or Commuter Rail.