That makes sense (and I certainly wasn’t aware of the program back then). My recollection is that we were on 727s or 737s.
ETA: @DPRK two above here.
For some local areas with lots of back and forth travel like LA-San Fran or the Northeast corridor, there are now dedicated mini-airlines offering on-call or semi-scheduled service for much more affordable prices than paying full fare 3x/week on UAL or AA. Or at least more private / luxurious accommodations for similar prices. Here’s one example:
In 2002, I bought a two-week pass that was good for the eastern region; I think it was in the $200 (Canadian) range. I rode from Toronto to Buffalo to NYC to DC to NYC to DC to NYC and back to Toronto. By taking the night bus from NYC to DC and back, I avoided paying for a hotel (by taking a nap on the night bus and then an afternoon nap in a park). I thought about adding a leg from DC to Atlanta, but that route was a milk run, not an express route.
I remember checking a few years later and they didn’t seem to be offering the same deal anymore.
I’ve ridden Greyhound about five times in the past five years. It is the only way for the 100-mile trip to Houston. There about six buses a day from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston, once I went to the intermediate station to go to Houston, and it was full, no available seats.
The 100 mile fare is aroumd $25 to Houston if you book a week in advance, but double that for walk-ins.
Greyhound requires gov-issued ID, pretty much the same as airlines. And if you booked in advance, you still have to go to a copy shop and print a paper ticket. Both of which are significant hardshipt to a lot of people in this part of the world.
Yep, we have taken buses from Chicago to Ann Arbor a few times. It would make no logistical sense to fly - we wouldn’t save any time because of the need to travel to and from airports that aren’t particularly close to our destinations and arrive well in advance for security screening, and on the Ann Arbor end, we’d either have to take another long bus ride from the Detroit airport or get someone to pick us up. Amtrak is also significantly more expensive than the bus (although it’s also a Megabus route, so the bus is pretty darn cheap).
I also find long drives exhausting, especially in bad weather, particularly snow. So we do have a car and driving is cheaper, but sometimes I am willing to pay someone a few bucks more so I don’t have to drive. The January round-trip for 36 hours for a funeral was a prime example of that.
As for you wondering how Greyhound stays in business, I checked their website and they still do charters. Bet that keeps them solvent.
that is one of the most depressing areas/bus stations I’ve ever been to even in summer it was cold and gray
It used to be the earlier you advanced booked a trip up to a year ahead the cheaper it was i think it was right after that strike that basically ruined the company … …
Through the '80’s, after bad weather left me sleeping on a bench in Midway one time too many I started taking Amtrak between Chicago and Detroit, largely on the theory that the trains would be the last thing stopped by winter weather. I found that door-to-door it was pretty much the same length of time due to how long it took to get to the airports on either end (back then the El didn’t go all the way to O’Hare yet, so you had to get off at Cumberland Ave. and board a CTA bus for the last lap so that added some time). Sure, I had to have someone pick me up on the Detroit end but that leg was shorter than the Detroit-area destination to Metro airport, by about half the time even in light traffic and MUCH shorter in any sort of rush hour. Could have taken a taxi or, these days a Lyft or Uber. Suppose I could have rented a car if I really needed to.
TL : DR - Most of the time taking Amtrak Chicago to Detroit took the same amount of time, and if the weather was bad it was shorter. Amtrak was usually cheaper, too. At least in the 1980’s - mid 1990’s.
Most of the time taking Amtrak Chicago to Detroit took the same amount of time…
And, what I’ve realized is that it’s HOW you spend that time that makes a huge difference. If I’ve spent most of the time battling airport traffic and parking, being herded like cattle through security, and waiting way too long at the gate (borrrring…), then finally being squeezed into a tiny seat way too close to strangers with odd-and-often-disgusting habits… and breathing God knows what in the stale air blowing in my face… I arrive at my destination hating every single person on the planet.
If I spend that same time watching scenery go by at ground level, either by train or car, I may arrive a little tired but with my attitude better than when I left (especially if I was listening to a good podcast or book).
…
By the way, Chicago to Detroit is an interesting example, because airline, train or car (adding some time for rush hour) all take just about the same amount of time.
Yep, Chicago to Detroit is about the same amount of time in any mode of transport.
By car is most flexible, and lets me take the most stuff with me (when my parents downside their residence I drove my pickup home fully laden with stuff). The train is the most relaxing, in that I can read, knit, nap, get up and walk around, grab a bite to eat in the cafe car or socialize with strangers, sit by myself and snack on what I brought on board with me, and generally goof off for the ride (at least, that’s how it was back when I was doing this - things might have changed in the ensuing 20 years). Flying… sucks. Much more stress, much less room.
Unless I happen to be in a situation where I could do the flying in a small airplane, which would more convenient than commercial (I used to bike ride to my local small airport, and on the other end the GA airports are all closer to where I want to be than Metro) and about half the time traveling, but easily 4 or more times the expense and, at least for me, about the same effort as driving 6 hours but compressed into half the time. Also even more dependent on having good weather than commercial flying is.
I thought they just harvested the organs of transients found dead in the lavatories at the end of each trip. Oh, and coins from the vendo-TVs in the stations. (Forgive me, I haven’t been on a Greyhound bus since 1975).
I was going to say, “poor people”, because I assumed the fare would be way lower than air flight. I was wrong! I checked, and a Greyhound bus from Chicago to L.A. is something like $250.
The last time I took a Greyhound, it was Montreal-Boston. About five years ago, just before US Thanksgiving. It was a lot cheaper than flying, but it was dreadful. They seem to be taking lessons from airlines as to how close together they can make the rows. At the border, we had to take all the luggage out of the hold and schlep it through customs, not that any looked inside any of them. For part of the trip it was standing room only (full of college students going home for Thanksgiving). Then we stopped at a gas station for a break, even though the bus had an onboard john. Never again.
About 30-35 years ago, I took a “Bus Plus” between NY and Montreal a number of times. Those buses were really great. They were comfortable, even for me, and much cheaper than flying. The trip was about 6 1/2 hours, non-stop. That kind of service has long since disappeared.
Incidentally, apropos Amtrak buses, the Amtrak schedule between Vancouver, BC and Seattle (BC = Before Covid) showed 3 services. But only one was the train and the other two were buses, not part train and part bus.
I was going to say that, and also note that the military books charters with them a lot, because when I’ve been shipped places, I’ve been on a lot of Greyhounds. The military outsources just about everything it can now. They no longer train their own cooks or barbers, but rather hire locals. When my husband was in Iraq, all the foodservice people who worked at his base were locals, and non-military, and I’ve never seen a military barber. Even the guys who shave all the male recruits heads on the first day are civilians.
Another thing Greyhound has on its side is that you can still walk into a Greyhound station, and buy a ticket for a bus that is leaving in 20 minutes. Or if, for some reason you miss that one, you can take the next one. Doesn’t matter. You can’t do that with airlines.
I knew a guy who was driving to school, and his car broke down at about the 3/4 mark. He found someone to work on it, but he had to get back to school, so he hopped a Greyhound. When his car was ready, he took one back. It wasn’t fun, but it was doable. The Greyhound station was reasonably close to the mechanic, and they gave him a ride to it, and the one near his school was walking distance of his dorm.