Greyhound Buses

Back in '76 I bought an Ameripass, for the bicentennial; $99 got you 99 days of bus travel. I rode from NYC to San Diego, in about a week as I remember, then took Delta back; the horror of the bus ride wasn't worth it. Even then, with unlimited travel and the ability to go wherever I wanted, it was a catch 22. Get to where you wanted to go the quickest, and you had to go on the interstate, which was endless gray ribbon; choose the two lane highways, and be stuck for 20 hours straight with religious crazies, droolers, thieves, and folks who resist daily hygiene.

I did see some great stuff, but I was young; I also had some pretty awful fellow travelers. Seeing as how things have reportedly gotten much worse over the last 30 years, my advice is don't do it.

For short travel, the bus is okay and tolerable. For example, a bus from Los Angeles / Phoenix to Vegas or from NYC / Philadelphia to Atlantic City would be fine (if you were on Amtrak you would have to do this anyway). I would think anything longer than that would be intolerable unless you were under 30 or had a very high level of patience. To save a segment, I would pay separately for the transports to and from / vegas and AC. You'll find that bus trips out of NYC/Philadelphia to Atlantic City are very inexpensive as are bus junkets from Los Angeles to Vegas.

But I think there's been enough warnings to you, Croupier, that the bus, although cheapest, is not the way to go.

Quote: Croupier

I was planning a cross country trip around the US and was planning to use Greyhound buses as opposed to car rental.

Has anyone taken a long distance trip on a Greyhound, or has anyone any experiences of cross country trips without a car?

THanks in Advance

Craig.

I never did but met some people who had--one guy got the names of everyone in the group to make a formal complaint. He said the customer service was terrible, barely one notch above what you might expect if you were an inmate on a prison bus.

Greyhound has be in or on the edge of bankruptcy for 40 years for a reason.

Yeah, Im starting to get the hint. Thanks for all your input people. Ill probably go with boymimbos suggestion of train for the long haul, bus for the short trips.

Lux Bus from Southern California and Anaheim in particular to Las Vegas is a nice way to travel. Greyhound has some good routes between Washington, New York, and Montreal (or Boston).
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Don't discount buses for some short routes. But long routes are not worth it. Even though they aren't very fast trains can be much more comfortable than driving. They are biggest in the Northeast or San Diego to Los Angeles.
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The Empire Builder Amtrak Train from Chicago to Seattle goes through some of the prettiest parts of the country. That train and the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Los Angeles are very popular for sightseeing.
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If you veer down to Mexico there are some excellent buses. It is very competitive and the only economical way to travel. But bus quality is much higher than in the USA (if you go on luxury bus). If you are on a 2nd class bus you often find yourself next to a goat or a chicken.

If you want to consider the Green Tortoise adventure bus tours thats one thing, but not something like Greyhound. The Green Tortoise was a bus operated by hippies in the sixties, now they own buses, youth hostels, camp grounds, etc.

Quote: Croupier

Yeah, Im starting to get the hint. Thanks for all your input people. Ill probably go with boymimbos suggestion of train for the long haul, bus for the short trips.

Not trying to rub it in or make you look foolish, but if there is anyone out there who thought we were not kidding about Greyhound being barely a step above prison transportation:

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - Dozens of Greyhound bus passengers were stranded in downtown Memphis Sunday afternoon waiting to get back on the road.

The bus passengers, who had been stranded when a winter storm hit the Mid-South Friday, began to get frustrated by Sunday afternoon.

Clint Allen from Texas was trying to get to Omaha, Nebraska but got stuck in Memphis for four days. He said it was not just the wait that bothered him. It was the lack of communication.

"They won't even talk to you in here," Allen said. "You ask them something and they're real snappy with you."

Allen was also delayed in Dallas, but said the people at that Greyhound station were far more accommodating than in Memphis.

"We got laid over in Dallas and they gave us free meal vouchers there because we were stuck for ten hours," Allen said. "We've been stuck here since Thursday and they won't even help you with a free cup of coffee."

Jimmy Gipson has been stuck for two days and said he needs to be at work Monday morning.

"They're taking buses to Chicago," Gipson said. "Why can't they go to St. Louis or Columbia, Missouri?"

When Action News 5 interviewed another stranded passenger, Cynthia Caponey, a security guard threatened to not let her back inside the station, claiming Greyhound "has that right."

Caponey was trying to get to St. Louis to see her son and grandsons.

"We're all at a loss in there, trying to figure out why we're the only ones not moving," Caponey said.

Caponey was in disbelief at how the security guard treated her.

"Just because I wanted to say something and voice my opinion," Caponey said. "I should be able to, I guess I'm not understanding that."

Despite the security guard's threats, Caponey decided to be interviewed in hopes of getting help for the other passengers.

After the interview, the security guard kicked Caponey out of the station, forcing her to wait outside in the cold for her bus.

"I should be able to talk to who I want to, when I want to," Caponey said.

Caponey said she thinks the Greyhound station in Memphis needs new management.

"It's not just for me," Caponey said, "it's for everybody else who comes through here."

Action News 5 contacted Greyhound, but was told to call back Monday.

Caponey's son made the drive from St. Louis to pick her up from outside the station.

Don't forget the felons who are transferred via bus. Fortunately (?), they are minimum-security folks from one prison to another, in addition to the ones who were paroled or released:
http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2009/06/the_feds_send_inmates_between.html

I'd take the train too. They also have a much better Rewards program - it is easy enough to get enough Amtrak Rewards for another cross country trip if you wanted it (look up the "Slidell loophole" sometime).

Can you explain what the "Slidell Loophole" is? I looked it up but couldn't figure out what it was.

Try http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/13120721-post15.html for an explanation of the Slidell Loophole. Basically, due to the way Amtrak redeems reward points, you can get more travel for fewer points.