Quote:
Originally Posted by wawaweewa
Que? Ever heard of Mega Bus or Bolt?
Greyhound and the like were very expensive because they didn't automate and leverage the internet. They weren't necessarily gouging, they were just very inefficient. Some busses were full while others were nearly empty. The passengers on the full busses were effectively subsidizing those on empty busses.
Megabus and bolt are much better at leveraging real time demand via the Internet. Hence, th better pricing.
Same thing with airlines. When your fixed costs are monstrous ( I.e. transport corp), your pricing is inelastic unless you can adjust to demand in near real time.
The Chinese companies don't have the same fixed costs. Their buses are junk. Their maintenance is non existent. Their drivers are paid peanuts.
McDonald's is cheap. All those folks eating there are definitely winning!
Cheap in and of itself means nothing.
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The reason Greyhound is expensive is because they have physical establishments where they have to pay rent and staff to sell tickets and so forth. These cheapo busses are all print-at-home tickets where you just show up to the bus on a random street corner and get on. The Chinese busses really aren't "junk" (have you ever been on a Greyhound, they are junk!), but you are right that they don't have the same fixed costs.
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