So I'm happy to report that Megabus.com seems to be the best thing since sliced bread. In late spring, this national bus transportation company with hubs in Manhattan and Chicago started offering daily service from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to Penn Station in Manhattan for $1 each way. The bus is an express, so my recent trip took only 90 minutes. With your luck, you'll run into more traffic.

The only catch is that you have to buy your ticket ahead of time, online, and pay one 50-cent handling fee (not 50 cents each way). Once the $1 tickets are gone, the remaining seats sell for higher prices, up to $15. So it works a little like those cheap airline fares that are often touted, but not so often attainable. The $1 Megabus fares are not that elusive.

The buses are clean, the drivers licensed and the customers few, so it's hard to figure how the company could have made a profit on my recent trip, when there were no more than six riders coming or going.

Company president Dale Moser says the $1 fares are not just a promotion. They will continue to be available, even when the Philly-New York run becomes as established as the company's Chicago routes.

"We're able to do this successfully because of the sheer volume," Moser said. "We're a big company, so we're able to operate our fleet efficiently and keep overhead low. So far, ridership is exceeding our expectations."

And, if your trip to Manhattan involves an overnight, I highly recommend staying at one of the handful of guesthouses run by not-for-profit faith-based institutions.

In June, I stayed at Seafarers & International House, which I found in a random Web search.

The location was great - on East 15th Street, one block from Union Square - and the price was right. For $82, I got a good-sized, clean, quiet, safe, air-conditioned room with cable television, a sink in the room, and a bath and shower across the hall.

A room with a full bath goes for $111 per night for a single person and $131 per night for two in a room. But no such rooms were available on the dates I needed them - and that's one key point: Be sure to book a reservation four to six months in advance.

As a not-for-profit, Seafarers does not charge tax, so the price you're quoted is the price you pay. Major credit cards are accepted; morning coffee is 25 cents; two computers in the public rooms have free Internet access; and the elevator-equipped building has access for the handicapped (something some of the other faith-based guesthouses can't boast).

What's the catch here? None. The 84-room guesthouse operation supports the Lutheran organization's larger mission of supporting seafarers and sojourners.

The seafarers served are generally workers from underdeveloped countries where the wages are low and employment opportunities scarce. In the global economy, such workers are numerous and, as a result, can become the targets of abuse and exploitation. Sojourners may be domestic violence victims or out-of-town families whose loved ones are critical-care patients at local hospitals.

Another wonderful option is the Leo House, on West 23d Street in Chelsea. Again, a great location, with most of the amenities one would get at a mid-priced hotel and more safety than can be expected at some of the city's cheap hotels. There's even a charming garden. Again, book early.

Like Seafarers & International House, the Leo welcomes people of all faiths, even though its mission is to serve the Catholic community.

Prices here range from $90 for a single room with sink and toilet (shower down the hall) to $100 for a double with a shower and $190 for a family room that sleeps six.

Quaker, Methodist, Mennonite and Unitarian organizations also run guesthouses in Manhattan, but some have as few as two rooms, some have curfews, and others are walk-ups without elevators.

Big Apple Bound

Megabus

Buy tickets online at www.megabus.com

or by phone at 1-877-462-6342.

Seafarers & International House

123 E. 15th St.

at Irving Place

Phone: 212-677-4800

Web: www.sihnyc.org

E-mail: res@sihnyc.org, for reservation requests.

Leo House

332 W. 23d St., between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

Phone: 1-800-732-2438