greyhound bus

[datasuspect]

man, i am as populist as they come, but jesus christ, those fucking buses are horrifying.

actual human shit on one seat, dried food everywhere else, and a nice piece of chewed gum on the window next to me.

luckily i only had to travel 1.5 hours.

did i mention the ODOR?

[Reverend_Smitty]

1. human cattle cars

actually I'm not quite sure if the smell on an actual cattle car is better, I haven't been on a greyhound in years...for good reason

[Mutley]

2. I took a four hour trip on a greyhound.

UGH! Worst 4 hours of my life!

[jody]

3. Amtrak isn't much better. n/t

[datasuspect]

5. in some ways it is

especially long distances.

at least the seats are comfortable and you can move around a bit.

actually the difference btw amtk and g-hound is pretty much night and day.

[Lavender Brown]

14. The smell on Amtrak is usually from the nasty food they sell

But they have cancelled that service on my usual train because of budget cuts. Blessing in disguise I guess. :shrug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Oh man.. And I was looking into take the bus to Boston

[datasuspect]

6. good luck

take a bunch of xanax or load up on some booze and weed.

i cannot EVEN IMAGINE what they're like in the eastern part of the country.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. I was gonna bring some middle school kids with me, so the drugging up

bit isn't helpful.

[datasuspect]

12. my bad

but if i had to transport a bunch of middle school kids, i sure would double up on the meds, but that's just me.

[Mutley]

7. Don't!

If you manage to survive, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!

[skygazer]

8. They were never great

I used to ride the bus to visit my relatives during the summer back in the 70's. They were cleaner then though still not great and the bus stations were mostly halfway decent. What was really horrible though was that smoking was allowed on them and they'd get hideously stuffy and filled with stale smoke.

Now they're appalling. I rode a bus in '98 from California to Vermont. Oh. My. God.

[datasuspect]

9. even back in the mid 80s they were alright.

the rolling stock were the old gm coaches that had a bit more leg room (from what i remember).

the new buses seem designed for pygmies and they manage to squeeze every bit of revenue per square inch that they can.

[Lavender Brown]

10. My coworker was on a Greyhound trip to Boston

when the busdriver actually had to have a passenger removed because of her smell. :(

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Please say this wasn't the Bangor to Boston line

[Lavender Brown]

17. Nah... from New York

I'm sure it doesn't happen that often.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. What about Concord Trailways? Any better?

[datasuspect]

16. some regional carriers

have better levels of service.

maybe you could charter a private coach?

those are VERY nice and many have amenities like video monitors to watch movies and stuff like that.

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. Prolly not. It would just be me and a couple of kids. :^)

[Old_Fart]

19. Human shit on the seat?

That would do me in. Odor? I would buy a backpack and start walking.

Can you take the train?

"Go Greyhound, and leave the puking to us"

[datasuspect]

21. i had taken amtk

from chicago to longview, tx.

they charter private coaches to take 4 or 5 passengers from there to houston.

i HAD to take g-hound to get from houston to beaumont (about 90 miles).

i would have hitchhiked if i didn't have so much shit with me.

fortunately it was a short trip (on the bus).

[Old_Fart]

23. I enjoy riding on Amtrak

My family hates it and I love it. A private coach is the best way to go but it must cost about three times the amount. Chicago to Texas must have been a fantastic ride. The view alone would have kept me on the train.

[datasuspect]

24. it was

the rail line mirrors old u.s. 66 from chicago to about springfield.

in some place you can see these strips of concrete about 9-12 ft. wide which are not visible from the road.

they are the original (1915-1920) alignment of u.s. 66. there are about 3 or 4 different alignments.

i guess cars weren't all that wide back then. then again, i am highway/road nerd.

also interesting, the corn is about 2 ft. high. they pretty much will lose the crop this year.

[Jara sang]

20. I have ridden the hound across the whole country on more than one occasion.

My favorite people are the ones who decide to "let you" babysit their seven year old kid form Omaha to D.C. Real fun. Once there was a teenage couple that decided to get it on in the lavatory in the back. I just sat there in disgust as I could smell the lavatory from where I was and could not figure how anybody could find that an appealing place to have sex. Then there was the Iranian guy who sat behind me and when I was asleep started yelling at the driver to "slow down" We were in Nebraska and I thought we had driven off into the Prairie when I woke from my sleep.

[terrya]

22. The options of travelling from Chicago to Toronto are severely limited...

since the state of Michigan demanded the end of the Amtrak run from Chicago to Toronoto. No more train service from Chicago to Toronto. Thanks, Michigan.

So...basically it's flying (which is nice, but much more expensive), renting a car (also expensive) or Greyhound. I've had to take the bus a few times. No, it's not paradise, travelling wise. But...what the fuck can you do?

Well...move UP to Toronto and live there. Which I'm working on. :-)

[Old_Fart]

25. Bring a kit with you

Nose plug
Seat cushion that you can toss at the end of the ride
Depends in case you have to go
Tranquilizers to help you deal with the situation
A bottle of booze
Magazines
Mace
Food, extra food for bribes in case someone sticks you up
Vomit bag

:spray:

[tibbir]

26. I used to take Continental Trailways trips in the 70s

all through Louisiana, from Shreveport to Baton Rouge to go to school at LSU and to New Orleans, where I used to live. It wasn't bad back then but it sounds horrible now. I think coach class on Continental Airlines right now is about the same as the bus travel I used to go on back then.

[NeoTraitors]

27. Roy Clark had an appreciation for them in his

song 'Thank God and Greyhound She's Gone.'

[lpbk2713]

28. When I was in the Navy I had to travel Greyhound

out of necessity. Looks like they haven't changed much in 35 years. Their terminals always had the foulest bathrooms and the worst excuse for food. I haven't had anything to do with Greyhound since I turned civilian due to the bad impressions.