Traveling across North America is a great feat. To the average person, it looks 'big' on the map. It's not until you are traveling across the continent that you realise the huge mass of this country. Recently, my husband and I traveled for two months, from Albany, NY., to Memphis, TN. For this adventure, we mostly traveled by Greyhound bus.
Firstly, Greyhound prices are cheap, which is great when you are on a budget. Secondly, you can get even cheaper rates if you look in to your journey more. Examples of this are "companion fares" where the second traveler goes for half the price and the "14 day ticket" where you get a discount for booking more than 14 days in advance. It's very easy to book, via telephone or online. If you are leaving at short notice, you can usually buy your tickets at your departure bus station. However, I would not recommend this, as some of the routes can be very busy.
The price is obviously a good point. The other good point is the route choices. Greyhound pretty much travel everywhere across the US. We had no problems getting to our destinations.
Here come the negative points...
The buses are usually old, smelly and very cramped. My husband is nearly 6ft and he struggled to find a seat that allowed him to move his legs. His knees were constantly pushing up against the chair in front. Occasionally, we came across a newer bus, with more leg room and this was ok. The air con was tempremental and often the on-bus toilets were smelly and stomach-turning.
Some of the bus routes are VERY busy, so busy that, for example, 100 people can buy tickets and only 48 can fit on the bus. This obviously means that on a busy route, a whole lot of people can be very disappointed and could be waiting up to 24 hours for the next bus. This is where reserved seating comes in handy and Greyhound do not have reserved seating- a huge downfall. This also means that couples who are traveling together can often spend a ten hour journey sitting at different ends of the bus. A safety hazard that we came across often was that some drivers would allow excess travelers to stand and sit in the aisles for long journeys. This was not good.
Usually, the buses were on time and the journeys often took less time than stated. Friendly drivers would make rest stops at useful areas with a shop/ cafe and toilets but others rarely stopped. The majority of the drivers were friendly or civil, however, we had several drivers who were extremely rude, including a male driver that shouted at a woman unnecessarily for speaking to her children on her mobile phone and another driver who was particularly rude when I asked what time the bus would be leaving. I guess a pleasant nature is not a pre-requisite for Greyhound employees.
Be aware that some stations require you to leave your luggage on the platform whilst you board the bus. It can take anywhere between 1 and 15 minutes for an employee to start loading the luggage on to your bus. We witnessed a huge line of luggage on the platform being perused by a thief, who proceeded to steal someone's bag. If you can put your own bag in the luggage compartment, I recommend that you do so, tagged and personalised at all times.
I am torn about recommending Greyhound travel to others. Cost-wise, it is much cheaper than the train and the company has many more routes than the train. I suppose it depends on your expectations. If you are happy with a long journey, sitting in the back of a smelly bus with no air con then carry on. If this is your idea of personal hell, then rent a car or try the train. Personally, I used the bus as a means to an end and if you can do the same, then go ahead and book your tickets.
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Nov 3rd, 2007
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