<p>Mike,
This may be more complicated than you want, but if you are interested in saving money you should look into the Chinese bus companies that operate between New York and Boston. DH and I were in Boston a few years ago with no car and wanted to go to NYC for a few days and then back to Boston. Air travel was too much. The train service would have been about $200/ea RT. I looked at Grayhound, it was $80/RT each. The Chinese bus was $10 one way, but that was 2 years ago. I suggest you do an online search with Chinese bus New York and Boston as your search words. I imagine the price has gone up some. You leave NY from somewhere in Chinatown and end up in downtown Boston. DH was leery of this, but in the end, it was great. Saved money, rode on a nice bus with AC and a movie, stopped at a rest station in CT for a snack and to stretch our legs. I definitely would do it again. Even if you don’t use it this trip, it is a good thing for your college child to know about for a cheap way to get to and from NYC from Boston. Oh, the busses leave about every hour in each direction.</p>