I will admit that, despite a not-so-hot track record and a cache of horrific photos depicting freak accidents and fatal crashes, I remain an unabashed fan of Megabus.

Since the no-frills carrier first arrived in Houston last June, I have boarded the bus with three girlfriends and a box of white wine for a weekend stay in New Orleans, I've taken it on a whirlwind trip around Texas and I've snagged a last-minute seat on the double-decker from Austin.

"Bus travel — now it is a cool thing, a happening sector."

It's impossibly cheap, it's relatively clean and it's convenient. The weirdos seem to be at a minimum and, in my experience, the bus always arrives on time — and sometimes early, unheard of in the transportation industry. Plus, beyond beating the hell out of driving, there's something about it that feels sort of subversive. Cool, even.

"Bus travel — now it is a cool thing, a happening sector," said Joseph P. Schwieterman of DePaul University upon the release of a recent study on the benefits and costs of public transport, confirming my belief.

Megabus has been steadily increasing its Texas routes over the past several months, adding stops in Brenham, Giddings, Katy, La Grange, Prairie View and more. And Galveston is next on its list, according to Guidry News.

Kerrville Bus Company previously operated the route between Houston and Galveston, and the island city's Intermodal Transportation Committee unanimously voted last week to endorse Megabus' request to use city right of ways until a new Downtown Transportation Terminal is complete.

"Megabus could be operating from downtown [with a stop at 20th and Market] by the end of February," John Carrara, transportation consultant for the Goodman Corporation, told the online news station. "And then they will move to the terminal when the terminal opens."

If only Megabus would install a bike rack on each vehicle, it would be a daytrippers' dream.