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Naame
January 7, 2010 9:44 AM
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Greyhound has always been a terrible business for as long as I can remember. I have never had anything even remotely close to a positive experience with them.

I wish we had a lot of bullet trains throughout the US...

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fusilier
January 11, 2010 10:33 AM
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Now I know the real reason this guy went nuts.

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tbax929
January 7, 2010 11:17 AM
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If we did, I'd never fly domestically again.

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Jaynor
January 7, 2010 10:55 AM
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I remember one fateful trip home to Chicagoland via Greyhound from the University of Illinois Champaign about 10 years ago where our bus was obviously pretty full and there were a lot of people waiting to get on.

A Greyhound employee came on our bus and selected myself and two other large guys, telling us we could get on an express that was also waiting at the station for the same destination. I should have asked why the people outside didn't want the express but it seemed like a neat opportunity... a much faster trip to Chicago.

When I got on the \"express\" bus I found out why they'd selected us to travel. The entire bus was filled with men in matching white shirts and black pants... and their possessions in clear plastic bags. It turns out that a downstate prison used Greyhound to transport recently released prisoners back to Chicago... and there were three open seats on the bus.

I never took or will take Greyhound again. I prefer to shell out a modest premium to take a train if I have to travel by ground.

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GitEm$teveDave
January 7, 2010 9:54 AM
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We never will, as long as people insist on things like property rights. One of the limiting factors on the East Coast high speed raillines is their proximity to residential zones. Because many of the lines are accessible to people, they have to travel at such a speed in order to allow safe stopping in the event things appear on the track, which happens a lot. In other countries, the lines are usually fenced in and monitored for \"intrusions\" so the trains can run at higher speeds.

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Naame
January 7, 2010 10:01 AM
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\"never\" is a strong word. I know what you are saying, but it's not so much about it never happening. It is about it happening slowly over time. There are many connections to places where it is very feasible to construct bullet trains. That is where it should start. When it becomes successful we will slowly adapt and integrate them where we can.

Remember, there was a time and a place where the same arguments were made about roads and highways. I realize times have changed and the problems with it, but generally your concern is very similar.

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Kitamura
January 7, 2010 11:10 AM
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I dunno, I'm thinking there might be cheap consumer flying cars before they get around to high speed trains in some areas, at which point they'd probably scrap the train project.

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Overheal
January 7, 2010 9:49 AM
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They killed the Electric Car. What chance do you think they're willing to give Mass Transit?

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Naame
January 7, 2010 9:59 AM
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I know...I have not given up hope but I know what you mean. Auto and airline companies will lobby like hell to make sure modern and efficient bullet trains do not become as normal as major highways even though that would be a revolutionary change for our country. There is one which is trying to make its way into Florida that would connect places like South Florida to Orlando and it would get you there in under an hour (driving normally takes you about 3.5-4.5 hours depending on where exactly you are located) and the proposed cost of the tickets would be less than the price of the gas even when using a econ vehicle.

Still, you can add me to the list of voters who expresses great interest in bullet trains. I know I am not alone here.

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Jeff-er-ee
January 7, 2010 7:23 PM
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We approved something like $10 billion here in California in Nov, '08 to begin developing a high-speed line between San Francisco and LA. We'll see if it goes to anything more than padding state officials' pockets.

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dragonfire81
January 7, 2010 11:59 AM
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I for one would LOVE more trains. I don't like to fly and long drives can get tedious.

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GitEm$teveDave
January 7, 2010 9:49 AM
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Sorry to go a little off topic, but is there a proof that exposure to cold weather will give you a \"cold\" aka Rhinovirus?

But I can feel for the passengers. I once arrived in Long Branch train station when it was in the mid 30's at like 3am, and it's an open and exposed train station. Since after Long Branch, there are no electric lines, you need to switch to a diesel train. The connecting train was over an hour late. What adds insult to that was there was a NJ Transit train on the opposite side of the station just sitting there running, and we could not convince the conductors to let the ten or so of us to at least sit in one of the six unoccupied cars(You can lock/block off cars to stop people wandering, not that there is anything you can do on a train car that people don't do while it's \"in service\".) while we waited for the connecting train. I feel for these people.

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Hooray4Zoidberg
January 7, 2010 12:13 PM
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I think the more likely scenario is that they caught their colds from being cramped into an oversold, overcroweded bus for 5 hours, still greyhounds fault so they should take that angle.

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The Porkchop Express
January 7, 2010 11:59 AM
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The thing about the cold that causes sickness is that it creates a better condition for the virus as well as causes people to stay indoors with each other more, meaning you are exposed more to a stronger virus than in the warmer months. At least that is what I learned in a few science classes.

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satoru
January 7, 2010 11:18 AM
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Getting the flu/cold during cold weather is correlative but not causative. There is some research though that the cold/flu virus thrives better in cold weather than others which might explain why it is more prevalant during colder weather. But this is still speculative.

But cold weather doesn't 'cause' the common cold. It's caused by being exposed to another individual that has the virus. It would kinda be like saying Ebola is caused by warm weather because it's more pervasive in Africa.

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axhandler1
January 7, 2010 10:14 AM
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Actually, I think it has been shown that there is no casual connection between being cold and actually catching cold. http://coldflu.about.com/od/cold/f/coldandweather.htm That being said, Greyhound's customer service (or lack thereof) is pretty atrocious.

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bigring55t
January 7, 2010 11:04 AM
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Actually, some research at the Cardiff Cold Center http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/biosi/subsites/cold/commoncold.html, indicates that exposure to cold weather while colds are circulating can double your chances of getting sick. Just in case you wanted to know.

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stuckinms
January 7, 2010 10:13 AM
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The cold can't \"give\" you a virus. But, it can make conditions right for one, because it can affect things like mucous production, or the amount of blood flow to the extremities like your nose. Combine that with a slight suppression in your immune system because of the chill, a cold virus can gain a foothold.

I have never ridden on a bus, but it sounds to me like they've gotten really bad over the years. My mother-in-law took a bus ride with my husband and his brother when his brother was a baby. They rode from South Carolina to California with two small children and didn't really have any problems. But, that was over 25 years ago! I'm surprised they treat people like this and are still in business now.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
January 7, 2010 10:10 AM
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Cold weather can do a lot of other things, particularly to people whose health isn't robust. Like, constriction of the breathing passages in response to cold air can make your heart have to work harder -- my next door neighbor LITERALLY had a heart attack from stepping out into the bitter cold. (The 19-year-old kid across the street had a life-threatening asthma attack from the same thing, it was awful. I now fear the cold.)

Or decreased circulation due to age could result in faster frostbite, etc. Or she could suffer even just an exacerbation of joint pain or something.

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Naame
January 7, 2010 10:04 AM
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Cold weather doesn't \"cause\" colds, but it does increase how easily and frequently the viruses get spread. Check it out:

\"The truth is, the flu and the common cold are caused by viruses. People get sick more often in the winter because they are exposed to each other more in the winter than in the summer. When it is cold outside, people tend to stay inside and are more likely to spread germs to one another. Also, because school is in session, kids are around each other all day and are not afraid to share their germs. With so many people in such close contact, the likelihood of passing germs is much higher when it is cold outside than when it is warm and people are outdoors. There is also evidence now that viruses spread more easily through dry air. When it is cold outside, the air is drier both outdoors and inside (where people have their heaters on) which may make it easier for germs to pass from one person to another. But it is not the cold weather that causes the cold, it just might make it easier to spread the virus.

In tropical areas, where it does not get cold, the common cold and flu season generally occurs during the rainy season. But again, these illnesses are not caused by the rain. They are just more prevalent because people come in closer contact with each other than they do during the dry season.\"

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Front_Towards_Enemy
January 7, 2010 10:02 AM
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The entire high speed rail system in the Northeast corridor from Boston to Washington DC is completely fenced-in and not accessible to pedestrians.

So are most commuter rail lines in major cities.

Standard rail lines are not fenced-in but the train operate at much lower speeds.

People constantly ask why we do not have high-speed rail lines criss-crossing the US like Europe does. The main reason is that the USA is much-much larger than all of Europe combined. The cost for such a rail system would be billions of dollars to build. We won't even get into the NIMBY factor.

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chiieddy
January 7, 2010 11:01 AM
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The problem is train crossings where the most accidents occur. In order to have successful high speed rail lines we need to elevate the track in more densely populated areas, avoiding potential issues.

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pecan 3.14159265
January 7, 2010 10:29 AM
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Unfortunately, a 14 year old Maryland girl was killed the other day when she was hit by an Amtrak train going at high speeds. Apparently the section of track she was walking in was not fenced in at all.

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HogwartsProfessor
January 8, 2010 9:59 AM
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When I was a kid, we were educated about playing / walking on train tracks. There was an assembly and a scary booklet with a picture of a kid whose foot was stuck in the track while a freight train barreled toward him. Do they still do that?

Of course, it's not going to totally stop people from doing it.

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Naame
January 7, 2010 10:10 AM
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The costs that you are talking about only apply when you start talking about extending railroads from one side of the country to the other side. Yes, that would be nice to have eventually, but that is not where you start. Think smaller at first and grow over time. Start by connecting very popular cities within 3-8 hours of normal driving distances using bullet trains. That is far more cost efficient and far more useful for starters.

A common misconception when people talk about deploying mass transit in the US is that it's intention is to act as a replacement for airlines and autos. That is absolutely not true. All three have their purposes and uses. Airlines for the really long travel. Mass transit for the medium sized distances. Autos for small and medium distances depending on your needs (there are times when you could take a train but your plans really require you to have a car at your destination). The problem right now is that since we don't have adequate mass transit people are relying on cars and planes to do for them what mass transit does best in certain cases.

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pervy_the_clown
January 7, 2010 9:54 AM
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There's not any proof. But still, I can't see myself EVER taking Greyhound. It's not one of the companies where there a few bad experiences. I have NEVER heard anything good about them.

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HyperHacker
January 7, 2010 9:56 AM
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38°F is about 3°C, by the way. The article didn't make it clear which unit it was using, but since it mentions \"the holidays\" and some American states, I assume it wasn't 38°C (100°F). Neither would have been pleasant, in any case.

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PølάrβǽЯ
January 7, 2010 2:38 PM
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Well, Greyhound is a U.S. based company, Consumerist is a U.S. based website, and the article mentioned traveling between two U.S. cities.

I think it's pretty safe to say that the unit of measurement being used was what is commonly used in the U.S. - degrees Fahrenheit.

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valueofaloonie
January 7, 2010 10:28 AM
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Hmmm. 3 degreees celcius is really not cold at ALL, unless one is from a warm southern clime. Seeing as how this bus was running from Chicago, I doubt that was the case.

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teamplur
January 7, 2010 11:19 AM
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Please go stand naked in 3 degrees celcius weather and tell me it's 'not cold at all'. Better yet, go jump in water that is 3 degrees.

teperature is relative. So unless your body temperature is somehow sub 40 (farenheit) anything in the 30s is cold. If you were a block of ice, 35 might seem a bit warm.

Quit trying to act like a bigshot

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valueofaloonie
January 7, 2010 11:30 AM
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Well, I would hope the passengers were wearing clothes when they were waiting outside.

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Parnassus
January 7, 2010 7:08 PM
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The naked part is a bit of an exaggeration but I don't think you should assume they're all wearing their heavy parkas and longjohns. If I were preparing to sit 5 hours in a bus going from one city to another, I'd be dressed relatively lightly since there's not much space for bulky coats and because it gets really warm in there. If they'd known they were travelling for 8 hours and switching between buses, they would probably have worn warmer clothes.

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Parnassus
January 7, 2010 7:02 PM
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The naked part is a bit of an exaggeration but I don't think you should assume they're all wearing their heavy parkas and longjohns. If I were preparing to sit 5 hours in a bus going from one city to another, I'd be dressed relatively lightly since there's not much space for bulky coats and because it gets really warm in there. If they'd known they were travelling for 8 hours and switching between buses, they would probably have worn warmer clothes.

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utensil42
January 7, 2010 10:58 AM
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How is three degrees above freezing \"not cold at ALL\"? I don't care where you live, that's gonna be chilly and uncomfortable to be outside.

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Subterfuge
January 7, 2010 2:33 PM
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Where I live, it's 25 degrees outside right now. This is after a spell of below 20 weather for the past week. Standing outside for an hour in 38 degree weather would feel great right now. I'm not saying that Greyhound isn't in the wrong in this case, but it's not as big of a deal as people are making of it.

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annexw
January 7, 2010 11:22 AM
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If you're from most parts of Canada, 3 degrees is not considered really that cold. Its Fall jacket weather maybe, not giant winter cold weather.

It wouldn't be super pleasant to stand around in, but its not shockingly eyebrow-freezing cold.

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admiral_stabbin
January 7, 2010 11:36 AM
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If you're from Pluto, it would feel downright hot. If you're from Florida, you would probably be in tears. The temperature was still near freezing, and wouldn't be a good place to keep the elderly waiting for very long.

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SteveZim1017
January 7, 2010 10:12 AM
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actually it was measured in Kelvin. I'm amazed any of them survived

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Seanumich
January 7, 2010 9:57 AM
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Greyhound did a lot wrong here, and deserves to be mentioned, but the cold weather will not cause a cold, flu, etc. If you got a cold it is likely from riding on a bus with a lot of passengers in close proximity and if one had the virus it would likely pass amongst all of you. The other issue I take with this post is why does the age of one of the passengers matter? If she were 38 the treatment was wrong. Using her age makes it seem like you are trying to enhance how bad it was. Stick with facts and not emotional pleas that Greyhound killed grandma.

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Hoss
January 7, 2010 12:15 PM
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My gawd, 88 year olds are pretty vulnerable. Yes, sometime age, sex, national origin, sex orentation, color of socks and other sensitive issues (to some) is relevent in our communications!!

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Shadowman615
January 7, 2010 11:13 AM
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Older folks are more susceptible to hypothermia and less able to withstand cold weather. I'd imagine there would likely be equal concern for an infant.

Still though, you're right that it's not the way to treat people regardless of their age.

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halothane
January 7, 2010 10:33 AM
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Elderly people are much more likely to have medical conditions that affect their blood circulation and nerve function, making them more susceptible to frostbite. For example, my grandmother had diabetic neuropathy, and almost lost a good amount of toes just from walking her dog around in winter weather.

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mythago
January 7, 2010 10:00 AM
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Math or not, they were standing outside in Michigan in late November. You can safely assume it was pig-biting cold outside and that wind chill was likely involved.

I hope some lawyers get involved in this. Greyhound clearly doesn't give a crap about customer complaints; maybe a lawsuit will wake them up.

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Segador
January 7, 2010 12:21 PM
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Man, I know what you mean. When it gets around 30 degrees, I just HAVE to find a pig to bite. I go crazy.

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Oranges w/ Cheese hates what Christmas has become
January 7, 2010 10:30 AM
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I was in Michigan over thanksgiving weekend, and it actually wasn't that bad. It was cold, but it hadn't snowed yet. This past weekend it was most definitely WORSE with the snow on the ground.

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mythago
January 7, 2010 10:53 AM
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It certainly gets worse, but it's not exactly like being stuck outside the Greyhound in San Diego for an hour.

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wrjohnston91283
January 7, 2010 10:00 AM
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According to Weather Underground, the temperature in Lansing, MI on November 26th 2009 was about 38 degrees for the hour that the passengers stood there, waiting for someone to show up and let them in. And if my janky math is correct (+ this formula is valid), the wind chill would have put the real temperature at around 33 degrees.

No, the real temperature was 38 degrees. The apparent temperature was 33 degrees.

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squinko
January 7, 2010 10:06 AM
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I'm in Lansing and I find it very hard to believe that Greyhound didn't know the CATA transfer station would be closed. They have been in that terminal since it was opened (at least 9 or 10 years ago), and CATA (the local bus system) has had the same holidays off forever. I don't even think the place is open after midnight anyway.

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SteveZim1017
January 7, 2010 10:11 AM
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I want to know why the letter was returned? was it certified and no one was willing to sign for it? did they just mail it back unopened? did she forget a stamp?!

These are the important facts a hard hitting journalist should be on top of!

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gianspi
January 7, 2010 10:16 AM
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I tried to utilize a Greyhound bus once. I purchased a ticket online and was told to go to the Montpelier, VT station to pickup my ticket during the listed hours. I drove 15 minutes to the station (which looked like a hotdog stand) and it was closed. There was no sign stating that it was closed, but was rather deserted with a locked door.

I called Greyhound and requested a refund. The representative explained that there were no refunds for missed buses. After explaining that I arrived during the stated hours, wasted my time, and the station was closed, she shut up and processed my refund. I never even considered using Greyhound again.

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Short_Circuit_City
January 7, 2010 10:22 AM
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Do you remember when bus travel used to be so elegant?

Neither do I.

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Dondegroovily
January 7, 2010 11:46 AM
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Airline travel has sucked since the early 80s or so. Don't blame TSA for that. Mind you, there is still plenty to blame them for.

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dblevins
January 7, 2010 11:23 AM
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However, I do remember when airline travel was elegant -- but that was before TSA was formed to destroy the US airline and airplane industries. Airline travel is now on par with the worst of bus travel (or vice versa).

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Oranges w/ Cheese hates what Christmas has become
January 7, 2010 10:29 AM
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Greyhound should've spotted them a train ticket from Chi to Det instead of trying to cram the busses. The line goes straight there, probably almost exactly the same route (I rode amtrack from chi to kalamazoo, and I know it continues to detroit)

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jannielb
January 7, 2010 10:45 AM
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I've sometimes thought of taking a short trip via Greyhound. After reading this, no way. Seems that Greyhound suffers from the same lack of concern for the people whom entrust them with their welfare that the other travel industries have shown.

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JiminyChristmas
January 7, 2010 11:24 AM
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There are no short trips via Greyhound. Even if you travel a short distance, the duration of the trip will not be correspondingly short. They tend to make a lot of stops.

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Mike@moneylounge.net
January 7, 2010 10:58 AM
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If you live in the Midwest/North East, I have had good experiences with Megabus. The bus was never crowded and if you buy tickets in advance you can pay as little as eight bucks one way.

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tbax929
January 7, 2010 11:19 AM
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I used a line in Pennsylvania called Bieber, but I'm not sure if they're still around or if the service is as good as it used to be.

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dg
January 7, 2010 11:07 AM
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Simple solutions:

1) Don't travel GreyHound. They're chronic overbookers and don't care. You can't rely on them

2) Get a hungry attorney to file three lawsuits:

a) For contributing to your illness. There's precedent for this. An attorney sued the CTA because the driver wouldn't close the window during winter, and this attorney subsequently became ill with a cold. Leaving you standing outside in the cold is analogous to the same.

b) False advertising. No where on the \"Leave the driving to us\" ads does it say that if you buy a ticket, that you won't get a seat.

c) You want the cost of your travel refunded + court costs + attorney's fees + filing costs + process service costs + expenses (although you may be able to avoid a lawsuit here if you used a credit card - just charge back the amount. Service wasn't as described, not as advertised)

3) Get all those old people to call the News. Make sure THEY ALL have walkers (even if they don't normally). Get the newspapers, TV stations, radio stations. Play it up. Make them look like the schmucks that they are - you'll all get something.

4) Read up on the wheelchair guy thread - there's some info in there about the Federal Regulating agencies that handle Greyhound. File complaints.

5) File complaints with the Attorney General's offices of ALL the States that you traveled through on this hellbus.


Next time someone leaves you standing in dangerous weather, you take matters into your own hands and do what you need to in order to protect your life. Climb in a window, smash a door out with a brick. Get in out of the bad weather. Greyhound has a duty to see to it that the stations are available when dropping people off.

Greyhound needs to be sued for the \"bumping\" and overbooking. They know PRECISELY how many seats are on each bus they send. They know PRECISELY how many tickets they sold. Who cares if those people show up or not? The ticket was sold, and should be good for the single trip only - so if you miss your bus, tough cookies... Greyhound gets paid...

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HyperHacker
January 8, 2010 12:44 AM
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38°F is not dangerous. -38, maybe. It's uncomfortable, but I find it hard to imagine someone who isn't already very ill dying from exposure to just-above-freezing temperature.

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BridgetPentheus
January 7, 2010 4:43 PM
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Not to defend Greyhound but I know in New York purchasing a ticket does not guarantee you a seat on the bus unless you pay $5 to reserve it. Although they will charge you if you change your travel times. Luckily Port Authority is not as bad as it used to be and the New York to Washington DC runs often and the staff is good at seeing if there will be too many people on and splitting people up (express and then buses with stops) and adding extra buses if needed. If you are early though (the hour before hand they tell you to be there and many days there's at least 1 bus an hour) and that bus isn't full they'll let you on earlier. However the difference between a Greyhound ticket (roundtrip for around $50) and Amtrak is astronomical ($200 +roundtrip) So we end up with the poor, elderly traveling Greyhound and being screwed out of any decent service. That said I forget who is operating Bolt Bus but its pickup and drop off stops are better for me, you are guaranteed a seat, and the trip I just booked was $38 roundtrip.

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BridgetPentheus
January 7, 2010 7:33 PM
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sorry and i forgot to add Greyhound has themselves covered

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Advance purchase tickets do not guarantee a seat.

When Greyhound fills a regularly scheduled bus with passengers during times of peak demand, Greyhound plans for additional buses to accommodate passengers beyond the seating capacity of a single bus for any given schedule. However, our ability to add extra sections depends on the availability of buses, drivers and the number of passengers.

They didn't do the right thing but all you can do is try to avoid them.

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dragonfire81
January 7, 2010 12:02 PM
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So misrepresenting people as more feeble than they actually are and over exaggerating claims is ok so long as it's a big company you're going after? Ok, then.

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dg
January 7, 2010 4:20 PM
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Sure - why not. Greyhound is doing it with their \"Leave the driving to us\" advertisements. One good turn deserves another. Especially in light of the dismissive treatment they got from the so-called \"Supervisors\" that Greyhound hired.

And FWIW, I could care less if it's a big or small company. Treat your customers with dignity and respect, or go out of business. There's absolutely NO excuse for what they did. None.

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Rectilinear Propagation
January 7, 2010 11:18 AM
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If the wind makes it feel like the temperature is around freezing, how is that not cold?

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james
January 7, 2010 11:49 AM
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How is it that Greyhound can be so poorly run, yet Megabus (owned by Greyhound) is praised for being well-run?

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morganlh85
January 7, 2010 11:54 AM
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Chicago to Detroit...next time use Megabus.

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pot_roast
January 7, 2010 12:09 PM
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Last time I was in Lansing, MI.. they had a White Castle. I'd have headed over there for some burgers!

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squinko
January 7, 2010 12:49 PM
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We still have it. I work very close to it, although I've never gone for lunch. White Castle just isn't appealing if you're not drunk...

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WhereDidMyRightsGo?
January 7, 2010 12:12 PM
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I don't get the quibbling over the temperature. Sure, 33 degrees is not bad for Michigan, but if you are not dressed in preparation for standing outside for over an hour, you are still darn COLD--and probably need to go to the bathroom.

But more to the point, Greyhound's overbooking is a scandal, particularly during the holidays. The last time I took Greyhound (about 5 years ago), we got to the station 90 minutes before scheduled departure, had no seat on the first bus and were amongst the last to get on the second bus. Megabus and Bolt are great options (and I also don't understand how they are so efficient when also owned by Greyhound), but this is another example of the digital divide. If you are internet-comfortable, you can ride more cheaply and have a guaranteed seat. If not, you are stuck with Mega-crappy Greyhound.

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rwalford792
January 7, 2010 12:14 PM
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This is really horrible on Greyhound's part. At a time when travelling by air has become not only a hazard, but inconvenient, you would think Greyhound would not only be satisfying customers left and right, but attempt to use a few more buses for the larger crowds.

Shame on you Greyhound for not communicating with passengers.

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Platypi {Redacted}
January 7, 2010 12:23 PM
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I just can't help but wonder if our outrage would be as great if the numbers were reversed? I mean, no one worries about leaving a 38 year old out in 88 degree weather!

Just glad I have yet to subject myself to Greyhound \"service\"!

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bucksnort59
January 7, 2010 2:34 PM
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It's not illegal to stand in the aisle of a bus. You are sooooooo wrong. What else in this story is a croc?

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squinko
January 7, 2010 4:30 PM
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The OP never said it was illegal, they said it was a safety violation. If you want to know what else is a crock, it's your post.

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bucksnort59
January 8, 2010 3:31 AM
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'a safety violation' is an illegal act. You know squat. Are you DOT licensed to haul people?
Lansing is just a ghetto, would never want to be stranded there

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squinko
January 8, 2010 10:01 AM
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Lansing is far from being a ghetto. Where are you from exactly?

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chalkboard17
January 7, 2010 2:34 PM
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The Greyhound bus station in Lansing, MI is very close to many businesses and gas stations that would be open on Nov. 26th. If anyone had half a brain, they would have taken this elderly woman over to one of them to stay warm.

This in no way excuses Greyhound for their (in)actions, but if anyone were really worried about her, they would have found someplace to keep her warm.

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squinko
January 7, 2010 4:29 PM
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Which station are you talking about? The one referenced in the article says that the \"local transit authority, ... shares the station with the inter-state bus transit systems\", which would be the one in downtown Lansing. There are no gas stations around there, and most of the businesses around it are offices that would've been closed, or liquor stores. Also, why would the people leave, in case the bus came for them and then left them in Lansing? Greyhound has been known to strand passengers and I'm sure some of the people didn't want to take that change.

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tekchik27
January 7, 2010 8:18 PM
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I would never have taken the chance of leaving the waiting area with my 88 year old relative and have the bus show up and decide to leave without us because I couldn't get her back over there in time. I don't know that specific area, but the bus station in my town is in a business sector that is mostly abandoned at night/weekends/holidays, is not the most encouraging to walk around in; the nearest convenience store is a few blocks away. I fault the managers \"Carlos\" and \"Terrell\" referenced in her letter for not having enough humanity to escalate the situation within the company to at the very least find someone who can keep the station open until that later bus arrived. I encourage the OP to start escalating up the Greyhound command chain.

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masso
January 7, 2010 4:17 PM
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Greyhound sucks so much, it's never worth it. Amtrak or budget airline will always trump greyhound in both value and time.

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IfThenElvis
January 7, 2010 7:37 PM
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My understanding is that on Greyhound you buy a ticket for the route but cannot reserve a seat on a particular departure. Your ticket is good anytime, based on availability, and there is no guarantee that you'll get on specific bus. It's that logic that allows Greyhound to leave passengers stranded and make last minute route changes that leave clients waiting for buses that never come.

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BridgetPentheus
January 7, 2010 8:26 PM
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For $5 in most areas you get priority boarding which is to essentially guarantee you a seat on the bus they sold you a ticket to. And if you buy in advance it's no longer any bus anytime for a year :-(

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Javarod
January 7, 2010 8:33 PM
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You mean this surprises anyone? I've had one trip on Greyhound, and while better than that, and not on my dime, it was still one trip too many.

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kylere
January 8, 2010 8:35 AM
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I took a Greyhound from Cincinnati, Oh to Flint, Mi last year. I will never again travel via Greyhound. The station in Cincinnati is filthy, the employees were surly, unresponsive and unconcerned that they had overbooked our bus by over 50 passengers. In the modern era there is simply no excuse for them to do this. The Detroit station was also dirty, loud and while I was stuck there for a 6 hour wait the place had vending machines that the management should have pulled and re-contracted as they had expired items and coffee that tasted like sludge. Not to mention they allowed several people to wander around begging money from all the people there.

I am a firm advocate of Mass Transit, have lived in Europe and enjoyed its availability, it is a shame that Greyhound employees have no pride in their job, and that the company does not fire them for sleeping behind counters rather than paying attention.

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phonic
January 8, 2010 9:03 AM
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Uhm, sorry, but people don't *trust their travel to Greyhound*. People use them because they have no money, and no other alternative. It's not like someone will say \"hrmmm, I need to travel 1,000 miles. Should I jump on a plane and get there in a couple hours, or save some money and sit in between a urine soaked bum and a newly released prisoner on his way home for two days...... I'm going to go with the latter\". Exactly.

You know you're going to ride them again.

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Trevor Bekolay
January 8, 2010 10:04 AM
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I was in a similar situation, though the Greyhound employees were much more pleasant and accommodating (story below). Perhaps because the weather in Canada is actually freezing. And yeah, it is a myth that cold weather actually gives you a cold. You might get a runny nose, but you are not catching the Rhinovirus (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#Cold_weather ).

The real problem here is that Greyhound oversells buses. What's the point of buying tickets for specific times if they sell more than the number of seats in the bus? Either have tickets be time independent or actually use your computer system to track how many seats are filled.

Anyway, my story: I bought a ticket from Waterloo to Toronto on Greyhound, and also had the bus fill up before I got on board. It was the last bus going from Waterloo, so the driver got us to stand in the aisle and took us to Kitchener, the nearest bus terminal. He told us that, while he could take us to the terminal in the aisle, legally he couldn't have standing passengers on highways.

After arriving in Kitchener, everyone standing piled off the bus and we waited about 10 minutes before being put on the next bus heading for Toronto, ahead of some passengers who did not look too pleased standing in the terminal.

Unfortunately, this second bus didn't actually stop where I needed to go, so after arriving at Union Station in Toronto, I had to take the subway to my destination. It was not a great experience, but clearly better than the experience detailed in the article. Bottom line, Greyhound should not be overselling seats!

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mmds
January 8, 2010 1:03 PM
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I had nearly the same experience in the 1990s, when I and several others paid full fare for the privilege of standing in the aisle in an over-sold bus from Dubuque (Iowa) to Chicago. (Evidently Greyhound didn't anticipate that lots of people travel on the Friday before Christmas.) In my case, too, the company refused to accept responsibility. I vowed to never travel Greyhound again. Some far, far superior options for commuters who like to be treated like humans: Van Galder (http://www.coachusa.com/vangalder/) and Megabus (http://www.megabus.com/us/)

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jesusofcool
January 8, 2010 5:59 PM
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I'm waiting for the day lawmakers wake up and regulate Greyhound's practices like they did the airlines

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