I was thinking about traveling to the United States and exploring the vastness of the country by using Greyhound buses. I did a search on Youtube for videos about the subject. Here are some of the titles that came up:
Maybe I’m reading too much between the lines, but I do sense a certain amount of scepticism here. Exactly how safe are Greyhound buses?
I wouldn’t base much on YouTube videos. Greyhound as over 1200 buses operating daily, so a handful of youtube videos doesn’t really mean much.
Statistically, traveling by intercity bus is the safest way to travel in the US, better than cars, planes, or rail. It isn’t the fastest or most comfortable, however.
Probably safe enough. No leg room and a total lack of amenities and seats that aren’t the most comfortable. And I’m not sure Greyhound busses, unless maybe they’re going through the mountains, follow any scenic routes. There’s a whole lot of bland country between things of interest. And you’ll feel like you’re in purgatory if you have to wait around in a bus station for your next connection.
Youtube video titles are a pretty terrible way to estimate risk…
So I’ll throw some anecdotes. I’ve taken Greyhound buses a few times around the Northeast, and frankly they’re just fine. They’re more clean and comfortable than many commuter trains or cattle-class flights, and much more so than subways. Nowadays a lot have amenities like free wifi. Their schedule is a bit more unreliable, being at the whim of some of the worst urban traffic, but they also directly serve a lot of areas that you can’t get to by train alone.
Never had any trouble with the poors trying to cut my head off, or assaulting a driver…
I’m sure that in poor rural areas where a bus is really the absolute last resort for traveling any distance, some of the riders will have a pretty rough background. But they’re also in an enclosed area, with witnesses, and they’re not anonymous so I wouldn’t worry about petty crimes of opportunity. It’s only the extremely rare violently crazy person that provides much of a risk.
Besides, buses are about an order of magnitude safer than cars. You might be taking a (WAG) one-in-a-million risk of getting attacked by a crazy, but you’re trading a 1/10,000 risk of dying in a car crash for a 1/100,000 risk of dying in a bus crash.
You did not say when you will explore or what you want to see. If you really want to explore the vastness of America from the ground, try renting a vehicle and driving or take Amtrak. The former has the most flexibility, but the latter will get you across long distances with some routes having really great views. Amtrak even has an interactive map atlas to plan routes.
Nobody puts up a video of an uneventful ride
Safe? That’s subjective. Be wary of wayward body fluids. Plus other perks and benefits of forgoing planes and rental cars.
To be fair, the man who was beheaded was beheaded on a Greyhound bus in Canada, not the US.
Long distance Greyhound buses are also routinely stopped by drug agents and Customs and Border Patrol Agents to check for illegal aliens and drugs. (Most Americans do not know that CBP is permitted to maintain internal checkpoints within 100 miles of any foreign border.) Passengers are ordered off the bus and baggage is unloaded along some forsaken road while dogs sniff for drugs and CBP asks for papers.
Although Greyhound is making some improvements in this area, remember that a ticket does not guarantee a seat. Yes, all their tickets are now for a specific bus, but if that bus pulls up to your stop and is full, tough luck.
Be sure you watch your belongings. Take your carry on stuff with you if you leave your seat for any reason. Be careful at rest stops, the driver will leave without you if you are not back in time. Be careful of pickpockets, especially as people crowd around the bus to claim luggage. Speaking of luggage, remember that if you check luggage. if you need to change buses, you need to carry it between buses yourself. And if you are not there watching when the luggage bay is unloaded, your bags will probably walk off without you. If you intend to check luggage, make sure it is distinctive so you can spot it at a distance. That way, you can spot the guy walking off with your bag.
Bring a roll of toilet paper with you, just in case you need to use the lav.
If your objective is to see how the true underbelly of American society travels across country, Greyhound is the way to do it.
For the most part, you’ll be exploring the vastness of the country along Interstate highways, often at night. Which aren’t the best circumstances.
I spent two hours on a Greyhound bus once. I felt perfectly safe, but looking at my fellow passengers made it the most depressing two hours of my life.
My first/last/only Greyhound Bus experience was traveling Pittsburgh, PA to Sacramento, CA in 1976. The experience sucked donkey dick, but it was reasonably priced.
Rent a car. You will control your own destiny, timing, and passengers.
If you like to live dangerously, buy a cheap car and sell it if/when you arrive.
I’ve read many stories of people doing that. I wouldn’t, but you can. 
You might find yourself lost, empty and aching and you don’t know why.
Also, watch out for men in gabardine suits- their bow ties are really cameras.
I think Telemark is giving YouTube videos too much credit. Though, as Alley Dweller notes, it is not a glamorous way to travel (understatement there). It’s pretty much city to city as cheaply as possible, and bus stations are often not in nice parts of towns.
“Hell Greyhound Bus Ride” is a comedy song by novelty artist Wesley Willis
Youtube searching for video titles isn’t thorough research
I’m aware of that. I just wanted to get a visual impression about what riding on a Greyhound bus feels like. The cluster of really negative sounding titles was somewhat stunning, hence my question.
I rode Greyhound last year (and it was perfectly pleasant and uneventful). I’m standing in line to board, looking at the fellow passengers and thinking “what a freak show this is.” Then I overhear the guy in the next line over talking to his girlfriend on the phone saying “it’s like the Star Wars cantina in here” while looking at me, among others. And I realized, everyone is actually pretty normal looking; it’s just within the context of a Greyhound station that we see the people as the “underbelly.”
You are 67 times more likely to be killed riding in a car than you are riding on a bus.
I’ve ridden Greyhound probably a dozen times or so starting as an unaccompanied minor around 7 years old. The only problem I ever had was on a New York to South Jersey bus when I had to pee and both the lavatory on the bus and at the station were out of order.
I think it’s important to consider that many Americans are deeply contemptuous of public transportation. Most people would never dream of, say, riding a city bus. It’s partly a class thing (outside a few major cities, almost everyone has a car and only the poorest of the poor ride the bus) and partially just being really, really emotionally invested in car culture.
I’ve take a lot of Greyhound in my life. It’s not luxury, but it will get you from one place to another inexpensively. The clientele isn’t the classiest bunch (it’s poplar with the homeless), the stations are usually pretty grungy and there are often delays. But the busses themselves are fine and often surprisingly comfortable.