Is Greyhound always this awful?

[Chava61]

A few years ago, I rode on Greyhound buses in Florida between Ft. Lauderdale & Ft. Myers (in both directions) and had no problems whatsoever.
I have also ridden several times Peter Pan buses (which are now part of Greyhound) between NYC & Hartford, CT. and except for one time an unscheduled stop in New Haven, CT. the trips went smoothly.

[115db]

I took one from WA to MO way back when I first got my CDL, the trucking company paid for the trip there but I was not impressed. Icky!

[Newdaawn]

Here in New England we have "Concord Trailways" and it's far superior to Greyhound.

[LinaJo76]

The only bad experiences I've had with Greyhound, is taking rides that were longer than 24 hours!! Those suck! I had taken 2 (one in 2002 and the last one in 2008) and they were over 2 days long. I had gotten sick, had to change buses like 4 times, and going through Dallas, Texas was a nightmare (almost was late getting on the next bus. Our bus, when it got there, was 10 minutes late arriving!!!).

Never again. For now on, it will 24 hours OR less, for now on!! That's for sure....

But other times, I had never had any problems. Especially going from Phoenix, Arizona to Beaumont, Texas (where I'm from originally) going through I-10 was a great ride and no problems at the bus stations. And the ride was 20-24 hours. Nice!! Only going through West Texas was sooooo long and boring for a while (for about 12-16 hours).

For me, it's a much better ride when I can get a seat somewhere near the front (in the first 4 seats). I hate sitting in the back, because I can't see anything, it's more boring, and I get carsick.

[jlawrence01]

There are a lot of alternatives to Greyhound. In the midwest, Megabus is a great alternative out of Chicago, They have clean buses and operate on time.

[mongoslade223]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

There are a lot of alternatives to Greyhound. In the midwest, Megabus is a great alternative out of Chicago, They have clean buses and operate on time.

That all depends on where you live. In many parts of the south, for example, Greyhound is the only bus line as far as I know

[alamosakid]

I'd say it's sometimes worse. Seriously. And, sadly, I'm using them again this Spring Break.

My first trip with them was from Alamosa, CO, to Murfreesboro, TN, in July 2007. Here's how it went down.

Get on bus in Alamosa: 2 hour delay. Cops think a prison escapee is on our bus. Additionally, some guy with two forty ouncers in his bag decides to sit next to me, completely inebriated.

Second stop, Albuquerque: bomb threat. 6 hour delay. No food. No smoking. Nobody allowed out of the station. Luggage ransacked.

Sometime along the way: we get a driver who insists we aren't allowed to take our shoes off or anything because "our feet stink." No, the toilet was overflowing, thankyouverymuch...

Sometime else: cops come onboard and arrest some guy for having a pot pipe on him.

Sometime else: it's puring rain and some moron opens the skylight in the back to smoke.

Oklahoma: we get stuck for THREE HOURS--not moving once--in the middle of NOWHERE at 1 in the morning (mile marker 41, I remember that much) because a semi overturned in the middle of the road.

Arrive in TN: my luggage was lost!!!!! I was going to a family reunion to meet most of my dad for the first time ever, during which I had to wear wife-beaters and gym shorts the whole while. Since then I have insisted I transfer my luggage even in those cases where I'm told I'm not allowed.

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It could'a been worse. Really. And this is all TOTALLY true, I swear.

[mongoslade223]

Originally Posted by alamosakid

I'd say it's sometimes worse. Seriously. And, sadly, I'm using them again this Spring Break.

My first trip with them was from Alamosa, CO, to Murfreesboro, TN, in July 2007. Here's how it went down.

Get on bus in Alamosa: 2 hour delay. Cops think a prison escapee is on our bus. Additionally, some guy with two forty ouncers in his bag decides to sit next to me, completely inebriated.

Second stop, Albuquerque: bomb threat. 6 hour delay. No food. No smoking. Nobody allowed out of the station. Luggage ransacked.

Sometime along the way: we get a driver who insists we aren't allowed to take our shoes off or anything because "our feet stink." No, the toilet was overflowing, thankyouverymuch...

Sometime else: cops come onboard and arrest some guy for having a pot pipe on him.

Sometime else: it's puring rain and some moron opens the skylight in the back to smoke.

Oklahoma: we get stuck for THREE HOURS--not moving once--in the middle of NOWHERE at 1 in the morning (mile marker 41, I remember that much) because a semi overturned in the middle of the road.

Arrive in TN: my luggage was lost!!!!! I was going to a family reunion to meet most of my dad for the first time ever, during which I had to wear wife-beaters and gym shorts the whole while. Since then I have insisted I transfer my luggage even in those cases where I'm told I'm not allowed.

----

It could'a been worse. Really. And this is all TOTALLY true, I swear.

It's Greyhound. We believe you

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by jtur88

Do you speak English? Good. Then start riding Greyhound all the time, and persuade your English speaking friends to ride Greyhound, and then there will be people speaking English around the bus station.

Excellent post, excellent advice!

I just got back from an experimental trip, using Greyhound to go from city to city (hadn't ridden one in 25 years) OKC-Tulsa-Fort Smith-Shreveport-Houston-Dallas.

I enjoyed every one of my bus trips, except the one trip from Houston to Dallas where every seat was taken. I got spoiled on my other trips where only half the buses were filled.

Even enjoyed the bus terminals. Lots of down-to-earth, friendly people to talk to, unlike the stuck-up snobs you encounter at airport terminals where you're afraid to even say hello.

I'll do it again on my next trip. For once, it was nice to wave to the highway patrol officers from the windows of the bus, rather than ride in fear and worry of them, driving a car.

I just wish more and more Americans would re-discover the joys of riding buses. Once there, in each city, I rode the local city buses everywhere for very little money and saw a lot of each city this way.

The only drawbacks to this kind of trip is the lack of affordable motels in the downtown areas.

[Huckleberry3911948]

i know that station well use it frequently. its a good station but its in LA, se habla espanol. sorry.
as to your trip one really lousy trip and not at all the norm. next time go down the block to mcdonalds. better days ahead guy, merry christmas.