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I needed to go pick up a car in Seattle (about 200 miles from home) and for this, Greyhound was fine - one bus, went more or less straight there with only about 5 stops. There were some people on the bus that I would not have wanted to hang out with, but they didn't come bother me.
How is it like taking the Greyhound from Philadelphia to Raleigh, NC?
That would be a LONG trip.
IMO Greyhound is fine for trips under about 200 miles (or maybe more accurately, 3 hours). I think I've used Greyhound for 3 one-way trips (one Philadelphia-Harrisburg, two Washington-Richmond) and never had a problem. Some people can be a little smelly but that doesn't bother me much.
Interestingly, my most unpleasant bus trip came on Megabus between Milwaukee and Chicago a couple years ago because there were little kids nearby who wouldn't shut up (and whose parents didn't try to make them shut up). I felt bad for the people who had put up with that all the way from Minneapolis.
I was on a 50 mile ride from Dayton, OH to Cincinnati. At the time, I did not have a car and it was the most convenient way to make the journey.
Twenty minute into the trip, the whole bus smelled like industrial solvent. People were starting to get sick. The driver stops the bus, runs to the back and screams at some kid, "Put that f***ing glue away!"
We finally get to the outskirts of Cincinnati. The kid runs to the front of the bus screaming to "let me off, we are in Florida, let me off." The driver obliges and drops the kid off on the side of I-75 only 800 miles short of his destination.
Flying and trains would be okay alternatives if they actually went straight to where you were going.
But I actually might be going out to Clovis NM in a few weeks and the nearest airport is in Lubbock, while Amtrak doesn't even service this area.
Plane tickets will eat up too much money(airport transfers and such) and a rental car+fuel will also be too cost-prohibitive as well.
Greyhound seems to be the only thing going directly to here and is priced just right.
Only bad thing is one bus leaves from my area per day and we're dealing with a 23-24 hr ride.
Ever since I heard of the incident where the guy was beheaded by a fellow passenger, I've sworn off ever riding in a bus long distance. Or GreyHound for that matter.
I've observed that many people who comment about travel on Greyhound relate stories which are from trips many years ago. It's no longer "your grandmother's" Greyhound. If you've seen or ridden the new generation of busses you should be impressed. As for not liking other passengers, well, there will always be people who harbor prejudice or who think they're better than others ... and they'll never be satisfied, unless they have the bus to themselves.
Ever since I heard of the incident where the guy was beheaded by a fellow passenger, I've sworn off ever riding in a bus long distance. Or GreyHound for that matter.
The only points where I could see this being an issue is if one happens to be on a trip between a couple of smaller stops in not-so-big cities/towns.
However, I've noticed at the Greyhound terminals in Albuquerque, Las Vegas(NV) and Ft Worth, they conduct searches of all carry-ons and also do metal detector sweeps for any blades and such.
In fact, they tell all passengers that if they want to keep all of that, then it must be placed into a checked-bag prior to boarding for under the bus stowage.
This was back in '04, so I imagine the practice has grown to more terminals since then.
Greyhound can certainly be convenient and affordable. I've taken the bus a few times, sometimes I really didn't feel like driving 9 hours and would have driven through the night through isolated places and it's much cheaper taking the bus than driving if you're the only one going.
I like being able to hop on the bus in the evening, sit back and let someone else drive and arrive 11 hours later in the early AM and be ready to go. If I drove, it would cost me at least 3 times as much in gas and I'd be tired.
Plus they don't treat people like a bunch of sheep on the bus as much, they don't pat you down, they don't charge you extra for checked in bags, they aren't as uptight about carry-on size. Everything I hate about flying is different with the bus.
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