Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Greyhound buses.

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 04-11-2008, 02:06 PM:

Anybody have any experience of them? Are they any good? Reliable?

Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 04-11-2008, 02:34 PM:

If you want to ride with smelly people, and be a smelly person yourself... SURE!

Also having the bus break down or have a flat tire... or having to detour and get lost. Not to mention the bus being delayed several hours so you have to take a different bus.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 04-11-2008, 02:43 PM:

My experience with GreyHound has been positive as a rule

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 04-11-2008, 02:48 PM:

I have had excellent experience traveling on the Greyhound Bus.
I try to sit up front where I can view the sites out the front window. [thumbsup]

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-11-2008, 02:55 PM:

They just opened a brand new terminal here in Salt Lake City. Its pretty nice and the location is optimum for the "Greyhound" folks in SLC... away from any LDS Church stuff. The good part for those riding Greyhound is that the terminal is right next door to Amtrack and the light rail stops right in front of the terminal. Hence the Greyhound folks can still make their way to the Temple stuff. The downside is that alot of the SLC street bums hang out over there..... [Eek!]

. I've never ridden Greyhound and don't desire to but it can't be any worse than the bus ride they show in "Planes Trains and Automobiles".

Amtrack is another story. Ridership is way way up with most trains leaving town full these days but the train is also alot of fun and the ride between SLC and Denver is one of the most spectaculuar rides one can take. The dining car food is normally above average and is prepared fresh for you. Highly reccomended!

Mark

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 04-11-2008, 03:07 PM:

I'm thinking of spending a few days in Chicago later this year, and I'd prefer not to fly, so it comes down to Amtrak or Greyhound; It's a longer journey than I've ever made by either mode of transport.

Sitting for long periods can be a problem; how often does Greyhound have 'leg-stretching' breaks?

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-11-2008, 03:20 PM:

One of the big complaints about the bus service is that they stop in every dinky little town, so stretching your legs shouldn't be a problem.

A friend of mine rode the Greyhound from West Yellowstone to here. (About 350 miles) He said he could have easily driven home and back to West Yellowstone in the time it took to make the one way trip, due to all the stops.

As always, your own mileage may vary...if you're not pressed for time, the bus is easily the cheapest way to go!

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-11-2008, 05:28 PM:

I'd take Amtrak over Greyhound in a heartbeat. Yes, it's more expensive, but the trains and stations are nicer and more comfortable and are more likely to follow the schedule. Trains have cafe cars (and full dining cars on long trips) and don't get stuck in traffic. Greyhound is cheap for a reason. If you need to be somewhere by a specific time, I would avoid busses in general.

My experiences with Amtrak have been generally positive, although I think that their prices are higher than they really should be in order to be competitive with car travel (for short trips) and air travel (for long trips).

My experience with Greyhound is limited and I hope to keep it that way. The only good part about Greyhound is the price, as far as I can tell.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 04-11-2008, 07:05 PM:

Amtrak's passenger trains lease the use of the tracks from freight companies like Union Pacific and as such Amtrak is often subservient to the schedule of higher-priority freight traffic. At least on the west coast. Amtrak trains are often sidelined on the north-south run through CA-OR-WA to make way for freight. I'm not arguing against Amtrak or taking the train, but Amtrak does have occasional scheduling issues.

Having said that I'd take Amtrak over Greyhound any day, but both will get you to your destination one way or another.

Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 04-11-2008, 07:05 PM:

I second Scott for Amtrak. I take their northeast corridor service whenever I need to go to Boston or Washington, usually several times a year. The newer Acela cars are first-rate (but only a little faster, despite the hype), the older Metroliner cars are, well, older. You'll still get there faster and happier, there are dining and lounge cars, and you can get up and stretch whenever you want. Plus, they need the $$$.

Posted by Daniel Wright (Member # 1983) on 04-11-2008, 10:15 PM:

I took the Greyhound from Tulsa to Boston last summer. It has good points and bad. It cost me $100.00, the bad was two layovers of about 6 hours each in St. Louis and another in the port authority terminal in New York. Either of which I would not recommend a single female to be in alone. One of the passengers in St. Louis went outside for a smoke and someone tried to sell him drugs.

They stopped in a quickie mart type store for a break at about 3 am. Other then that it was McDonalds.

You have to transfer your own luggage. So travel lite. The only real problem we had was two women almost getting into a fight in the back of the bus one night. If one had not been restrained by her husband we would have had a nice cat fight.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-11-2008, 10:25 PM:

quote: Daniel Wright
The only real problem we had was two women almost getting into a fight in the back of the bus one night. If one had not been restrained by her husband we would have had a nice cat fight.

Don't you mean the "problem" was the lack of a cat fight? [Wink]

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 04-11-2008, 11:10 PM:

I will happily NOT recommend Greyhound as I have had nothing but BAD experiences with them. First, it is not a bargain because they stop EVERYWHERE! It takes forever just to get down the road this way.

Secondly, their employees can be very rude, lackadaisical, ignorant, and downright shiftless. Many of them don't smile or say thank you, and fairly act like you are an interruption to their day. They are union and figure they by-god don't HAVE to treat you well. It's difficult for them to get fired, so consequently they don't seem to give a [bs]

.

The drivers almost always speed and make unsafe maneuvers on the road, as well. Believe me, I saw them do dangerous stuff around my truck and others, every day, back when I was a driver.

But the employees aren't the only bad thing about riding Greyhound, nope... I've been on Greyhounds that had incidents with drunken passengers ("strictly" forbidden, so they say), belligerent rednecks, and one guy who kept hollering about child molestation and how he was going to kill the driver if he didn't stop telling him to shut up! Child Molester was also making threats to other passengers. Do you think the driver put this dude off the ride... or that any other driver did anything to keep us safe? Oh, they'd SAY they were going to do something, put the dangerous people off the bus, but I never saw anyone do anything to keep order on a Greyhound bus.

Not very long ago, a driver caused me to miss my connection for home early one evening, by refusing to let me board his bus to Grand Central Station -- saying I had the wrong bus to where I was ultimately headed. I needed to go to Philly, not NYC, says he. Never mind that the tickets and itinerary clearly showed I had the right bus, right gate, and right time! Made no difference to this guy. Well, the ticketing agents at this terminal had already gone for the day, so I had no one who could confirm it for me. Meantime, the guy drives his bus away and I had no choice but to go to the gate he told me to. He was right, I WOULD get home from Philly... BUT NOT FOR ANOTHER 12 HOURS!! I never was so P.O.d!

I slept in the little tiny plastic seats of the Philadelphia bus station all night, no money and hungry, with vagrants and drunks running in and out all night; talking to themselves, singing out loud, and harrassing people. Plus, I was very ill from a spinal condition, which was aggravated by the extended rides and then trying to sleep across those damned seats!

When I told the employee on duty at the window about the screw up... do you think they did anything to make good on it? I mean, after all, it was their dumb ass driver who'd gotten me into the mess to begin with? She had me fill out a form, so she could give me ONE DOLLAR for a vending machine "meal"!!

That episode was the last straw for me and Greyhound. I will NEVER ride with them again.

Good luck, if you go.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-11-2008, 11:23 PM:

Only poor people ride on Greyhound. And poor people are assholes.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 04-12-2008, 12:15 AM:

That's not true, Joe. Some of us just have an irrational fear of flight. [Cool]

I'm considering an Amtrak trip this summer myself! Southwest Chief from Chicago to L.A.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 04-12-2008, 08:34 AM:

With Amtrak, a lot (esp. scheduling and timeliness) depends on the route. Between Chicago and what other city? [or, perhaps, you will be taking the new MEGACHUNNELL under the pond? [Smile]

]

http://www.amtrakdelays.com/ shows you per-route on-time histories of amtrak trains, which can be handy.

--jhawk

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-12-2008, 10:16 AM:

Train 6 the one that runs through SLC is actually doing pretty good overall according to that link. There are some early arrivals and some late arrivals so it kinda evens out over the month. I drive right past Amshack on my way to work every morning and I know its late when its sitting there at 8:00 in the monring... it should be here at 4:30 am. Salt Lake City is also home in the summer months to the American Orient Experss which is a luxury excursion train that costs about $5,000.00 dollars a person for the two week excursions. It runs on trackage that no other passenger trains typically operate on.

The problem Amtrack has is that they have to give the right of way to all Union Pacific freight service or any freight service for that matter anywhere in the country. Now if there is a back up of freight trains at some point, a break down, or some other trackage difficulties then its a wait for the train sort of thing. I've been on Amtrack probably a dozen times in my life so far.... two times between Chicago and Washington D.C. and this is probably the suckiest ride Amtraack offers. Probably a half dozen times between Chicago and Toledo which is a long enough time to have a nice dinner in the dinning car and meet some nice folks. Once between Chicago and Oakland which also includes the famous Denver to Salt Lake City run and I've done the SLC to Denver and return run twice from SLC. Also one time to Toronto to do some work with Gord(without a work permit... imagine that!). I'll never do that run again! Amtrack turns the train over to the Canadians at the Michigan border. The Canadians don't have a clue about how to run a decent passenger train service... there was absolutely no food and the conductors were grouchy assholes... all they had was just snacks and they ran out of that stuff in a hurry.

Mark

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 04-12-2008, 01:33 PM:

quote: John Hawkinson
Between Chicago and what other city?

Chicago from either New York or Newark, NJ. Seems to be a minimum of about 17 hours by Greyhound, up to a maximum of about 22. I don't know how long it takes by Amtrak.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 04-12-2008, 02:46 PM:

I've taken the Amtrak Coast Starlight from Santa Barbara to Seattle at the end of of a work trip to San Jose and Los Angeles. I tacked a vacation onto the end of it, visiting a friend in SB and then taking the train to Seattle, from whence I flew home via Memphis and Amsterdam.

I'd sum up my experience of Amtrak like this: if you're a tourist who'd like to see a lot of American scenery in a low-stress way and aren't trying to meet a deadline, it's great, and I'd thoroughly recommend it. But if you're travelling for work and have to get to your destination or face a serious problem, Amtrak is not for you.

My friend in Los Angeles (a rail buff) had forewarned me that this train is nicknamed the Coast Starlate, and advised me to build in an extra day at the end for contingencies, which if all went well I could spend sightseeing in Seattle. True to form, the train was 11 hours late at the end of the run. It should have arrived early on the Friday evening, but didn't in fact do so until the first shades of dawn were starting to appear the following morning.

That having been said, it was a great trip along the California coast, inland round the bay, then up through the forests of Oregon, into Washington and the Willamette Valley. I think I paid around $300 for a one-berth cabin, and meals were included. The trip was scheduled to take around 30 hours, but actually took 40ish. Most of the delay was accounted for by having to wait for southbound freight trains running late to clear single-track sections before we could enter them. The cabin was very comfortable and the food was perfectly OK.

If I ever get the opportunity I'd love to take a train from the East Coast to Chicago and then a drive all the way along Route 66 (or the other way round). As always, it's a question of finding the time and the money...

Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 04-12-2008, 02:47 PM:

Well, if you are going to fly into Newark, you'll at least have an easy time getting to the Amtrak station. The inter-terminal monorail goes right out there. It's about a ten minute ride from Terminal B.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 04-12-2008, 03:28 PM:

quote: Mark Ogden
Well, if you are going to fly into Newark, you'll at least have an easy time getting to the Amtrak station. The inter-terminal monorail goes right out there. It's about a ten minute ride from Terminal B.

Greyhound also leaves from just outside Penn Station in Newark, nut I don't know if I could get to Chicago from there; I suspect that I might have it go into New York. Either way it wouldn't be a problem; I wouldn't be going straight to Chicago, I'd be spending a few days in Jersey City first.

As airports go, I don't think Newark is bad, certainly better than JFK, and Continental fly there direct from Gatwick, which is the most convenient airport at this end. It's a pity that PATH didn't get extended to the EWR airport station, avoiding the need to change onto NJ Transit for just one stop, between the Airtrain and PATH.

However, having had a long flight from London I really don't want to have to endure another one just a few days later. I'd rather travel by land, and see some of the Country on the way.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 04-12-2008, 03:44 PM:

I called for the time of a Greyhound trip one-way from Waterloo to Kansas City, a 4.5 hour drive. They told me 11 hours. I did not take the bus.

Posted by Kat Baggett (Member # 1154) on 04-12-2008, 03:57 PM:

Year before last I took my 2 oldest grandkids 8 and 10 at the time cross country on Amtrak, I figured we needed the time together...what a amazing trip we all had fun, the kids could get up and wander a bit and the observation car was a life saver for the oldest she would just sit and stare out of the window...she had never been out of California at the time, the younger one was in the lounge car playing cards and Yu-gi something with some other little boys on the train....

I would always recommend the train to people, usually quicker than the bus and cheaper than flying these days

kat

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 04-12-2008, 04:58 PM:

quote: Stephen Furley
However, having had a long flight from London I really don't want to have to endure another one just a few days later.

Having a few days to recover is certainly a luxury! My normal outward journey to the US consists of MME-AMS, then AMS to either MSP or MEM, then from there to final destination, all in one (very long) day. The last flight is usually only an hour or two, which makes it bearable. But en route to the AMIA conference in November '06, I hadn't been paying much attention to the timetable. When the final flight had just taken off from Minneapolis, I began to think nice thoughts about a hot shower and a good night's sleep starting in about a couple of hours' time. At that moment a very cheerful and chipper sounding captain came on the PA, welcoming us on board and telling us that the flight time to Anchorage would be just under seven hours. At that moment I wanted to reach out and strangle him.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-12-2008, 05:13 PM:

According to their web site, Amtrak leaves from Penn Station in NYC. Travel time is just under 19 hours. A standard coach seat is $80, and private rooms are available (expensively). The train has a dining car and lounge car.

Greyhound fares range from $68-129, depending upon how far in advance you buy the ticket.

For me, this would be a no-brainer. For an extra $12, you can get a more comfortable and civilized experience.

I'd recommend checking with Amtrak about their policy on checked bags. The shorter train routes (Boston->NYC, Boston->Portland, ME., etc.) don't offer checked bags, though the longer routes do.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 04-12-2008, 10:25 PM:

Ah. That is The Lake Shore Limited (PDF)!
Trains 49 (NYP->CHI) and 48 (CHI->NYP).

I'm struggling to remember the info on this particular route. I think it's a lot better than some in terms of freight issues. There is certainly checked baggage on it.

The Wikipedia page is quite detailed and well-worth reading.

I'd agree with Scott, the LSL is a much better choice than Greyhound.

--jhawk

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 04-13-2008, 08:32 AM:

I think you could be right, for a journey of that length Amtrak may be better though, surprisingly, it's not much quicker.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-13-2008, 01:20 PM:

The main thing is that you'll have a bathroom that you can actually fit into and decent food. In some areas plenty of scenery that you'd otherwise not see whilst rolling down the pavement of the interstates.

Mark

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 04-13-2008, 01:22 PM:

AC power for your laptop...

--jhawk

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 04-14-2008, 01:01 AM:

I've ridden Greyhound as far back as the "Scenic Cruiser" of the 60s and really enjoyed the trips. The drivers were curteous and one even took beer away from two guys who boarded the bus with it after a stop. It's a good way to see the countryside.