# Greyhound. Need I say more? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 31, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385 "2015-03-31T01:50:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/21 "2015-04-01T00:29:14Z")
Ditto that. While I prefer Boltbus on trips from PDX to Eugene or Seattle, I have never had a really negative experience with the Dog. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/22 "2015-04-01T01:08:22Z")
I frequently use Greyhound to travel to New York City and it usually works out pretty well. For me it is the least expensive and fastest way there. That said they do have issues. The company seems to be run very ‘ad hoc’. I’ve seen schedules change on the fly. They get easily overwhelmed on popular travel days. Gates get moved with no announcement. The boarding policy seems to change every time I ride. The Philly station is no prize but it is centrally located. The NYC boarding area is much uglier. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/23 "2015-04-01T14:12:33Z")
I rode Greyhound ONCE. Had to take the bus to Minneapolis for Navy Reserve training. They called me the day before I left and told me my bus home had been cancelled, so I would have to leave Sunday morning instead of Sunday evening. That screwed me out of a day’s pay and a day’s credit for training, but what could I do? Go on the bus at 10am, rode to the next station to rendezvous with the next bus I was supposed to catch. They told me “it just left”. Okay. when is the next one? “Tomorrow.” Fuck. They re-routed me. What should have been a 2 hour ride turned into an **11 hour hell tour** of the southern 2/3 of Wisconsin. As I stepped off the bus at 11pm, I turned to the driver and said “I will never voluntarily step foot in another Greyhound bus as long as I live” He shrugged and said “Have a nice night.” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/24 "2015-04-01T15:51:08Z")
I rode that same route the night two drunks were raising hell. One of them sat on a baby. The other passengers beat him into submission. All the driver did was finish the trip with the interior lights on. ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/25 "2015-04-01T18:17:17Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well, they’re not, in my experience. I take Greyhound buses several times a year in the northeastern US, most recently eight days ago westbound to Boston, and they’re comfortable, clean, well maintained, sometimes equipped with free (although slow) wifi, the works. Bus stations aren’t inspiring architecture but they’re not shitholes. My fellow passengers (and myself) may look a bit scruffy after a two hours’ nap on the bus but I haven’t seen any shit-smeared bums or vomiting drunks. I guess I’m lucky, I’ve had some good experiences on greyhound. Their express routes have been about as comfortable as amtrak, plus the wifi was nice. The trips with local stops are lower brow and kind of annoying but I’ve never had the crazy passengers or messed up buses. Megabus hasn’t been any better. And St. Louis redid their amtrak/bus station and it’s actually pretty nice all the times I’ve been there. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/26 "2015-04-01T18:53:47Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > I do not understand why Greyhound, or any other transportation company, is allowed to sell more tickets than they have seats. They should be required by law to get the passengers to their destination at the time promised, and there should be huge fines and punitive damages for failure to do so. They know how many seats they have and they know how many tickets were sold. This should be treated as fraud. The airline industry is allowed to do so because passengers frequently cancel their trips at the last minute, leaving seats open. By overbooking to a calculated extent, the airline is assured of operating a very full aircraft. Once in a while, too many passengers show up; laws differ from country to country, but [as I understand it in the US,](http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/air-travel/bumping-and-overbooking) the rules are thus: > [@The Independent Traveler](#): > > If the airline arranges substitute transportation that gets you to your final destination within an hour of your original scheduled arrival time, you won’t be compensated. > If the substitute plane will get you where you’re going one to two hours late on domestic flights or one to four hours internationally, the airline must pay you double the cost of your one-way fare, up to $650. If you’re delayed more than two hours domestically or more than four internationally, or if the airline doesn’t make substitute arrangements, the compensation doubles, with a $1,300 ceiling. You can demand payment on the spot, and if you feel entitled to more, you can try negotiating with the complaint department. Yeah, you read that right: depending on the circumstances, you could, if you wanted it, demand to receive a cash payment of $1300 right there at the airport. For an overbooked flight, they’ll ask for volunteers, and if enough people do volunteer, then everybody wins: people who really wanted a seat get a seat, people who were willing to take cash (and a later flight) got what they wanted, and the airline got to operate a completely full flight. I don’t know whether the same rules apply to other modes of transport, e.g. buses. Even if they do, it’s unlikely that Greyhound will provide you with transportation to the new pickup point, or shelter until the new departure time. I wonder whether someone who misses a court date and ends up in jail could sue Greyhound for damages due to breach of contract. A Google search on Greyhound overbooking reveals a lot of angry people…:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/27 "2015-04-01T20:42:04Z")
The thing is, with Greyhound, no, you really _don’t_ need to say more. The OP could have posted the thread title and a blank first post and my imagination would have filled in details surprisingly similar to what the OP actually posted. I remember when my choices were Greyhound, Amtrak, death, or spending a holiday weekend in a college dorm. The third option was awfully tempting . . . ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/28 "2015-04-02T04:01:47Z")
I owe a first in my career to Greyhound. I got to examine, cross-examine, and make submissions at a coroner’s inquest. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/29 "2015-04-03T08:11:37Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > A company that takes your money and then refuses to provide the agreed upon services is committing fraud, and ought to be held accountable. > > Only reason they’re getting away with it is that their customers generally can’t afford lawyers. But I would make a point of not being a customer, from here on. Why am I paying you if you may or may not deliver? According to Wikipedia: _Greyhound still does not explicitly guarantee a seat to everyone with a ticket (except on Greyhound Express routes)_:eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/30 "2015-04-04T20:25:03Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The airline industry is allowed to do so because passengers frequently cancel their trips at the last minute, leaving seats open. By overbooking to a calculated extent, the airline is assured of operating a very full aircraft. That in no way justifies allowing overbooking. If someone cancels at the last minute, the airline still has their money. (I’m assuming airlines aren’t stupid enough to give refunds to people who cancel at the last minute.) A paid for, but empty, seat doesn’t harm them in the least. ---
**Author:** ![Gerald\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Gerald\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gerald_II)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/31 "2015-04-04T21:35:35Z")
I always had good experiences riding the Greyhound bus back in late 90s. The stations themselves looked a little rundown with an unsavory character here and there, but nothing too bad. Last time I used it though, it got worse. There used to be huge board listed with arriving and departing times of multiple cities. Now, it as just one destination and the letters were falling off. The bus itself used to be clean and had plenty of open spots. Now it was crowded and smelled bad. Sorry to hear what happened to the OP. I can’t believe that the driver said that. ---
**Author:** ![NinthAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ninthacolyte/32/13676_2.png) [@NinthAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinthAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385/32 "2015-04-05T04:30:24Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > That in no way justifies allowing overbooking. If someone cancels at the last minute, the airline still has their money. (I’m assuming airlines aren’t stupid enough to give refunds to people who cancel at the last minute.) A paid for, but empty, seat doesn’t harm them in the least. First off, I agree with you - Overbooking shouldn’t be allowed. The rights of the purchaser to receive the goods/services they paid for should come first. There is, however, some additional reasoning going on. Many state laws (and possibly some Federal, I’m not sure) require that refunds be given for cancellations. The windows can vary, but they’re pretty permissive. Even if you can’t get a refund, you’re often allowed to postpone or reschedule a trip any time before the 24 hours preceding the flight [(Here’s an amusing story about a guy manipulating that system to eat for free at the airport restaurant)](http://mentalfloss.com/article/61693/man-uses-first-class-ticket-eat-free-airport-year). If that happens, the airline is left with an empty, unpaid seat on that flight. Profit margins on flights can be pretty slim, so they’re desperate to run at full capacity. I don’t think any of that excuses the practice of overbooking, but there ya go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greyhound-need-i-say-more/716385.md?page=1)