When I visited my sister in Guadalajara in the mid-90s, we took long-distance busses to Guanajuato and Mexico City. They were cleaner and more comfortable than any Greyhound bus I’ve ever taken.
Yes, it is vastly different. If I’m the first (or second or third up to the nth) person to buy a ticket I should be guaranteed a seat. I should have zero chance of getting bumped by someone who’s behind me in line - that is someone who purchased a ticket after me. It’s only those who make an informed choice to buy a ticket for a flight that’s already sold out who should be taking a chance.
If the seat goes empty they still got their money for every seat on the vehicle and lost nothing. And if they sell it to someone else, then, and only then, the first person should be refunded. So either way they’d get the same money. They aren’t entitled to make more by selling the same seat multiple times and keeping all the money.
You’re missing the point- no carrier that I’ve ever heard of just says “Oh well, fuck you if you didn’t or couldn’t show up. That’s our money now.”
They all let you reschedule or refund you if that happens. Which means that they lost the revenue for that seat that nobody sat in on the trip.
And in general, they’re not bumping people who are already on the flight/bus for people who came later; it’s more like they have 100 seats, they sell 115 tickets, and then what happens is that 102 people decide to actually show up. At that point, they have to boot two people- I’m sure there are procedures for doing it involuntarily, if they have to, and I’d be willing to bet it would be the last two people who signed up. But in my experience, they usually try and buy you off pretty handsomely before they’ll just boot you.
I wonder what Greyhound could offer as an incentive? I’ve let Southwest Airlines give me some airport meal money and a fistful of drink coupons to take a different flight about 90 minutes later, but I can’t imagine what I’d do in most bus stations, there’s usually just a vending machine or two and I’d consider waiting in a bus station a form of torture whereas I don’t mind an airport.
Free hepatitis vaccination?
I’ve addressed that point - more than once. But once more to be clear - if someone just doesn’t show and the seat isn’t resold they should have no obligation to refund the money. If I book a room and just don’t show I’m still going to get charged for it, and I know and accept that up front. If I buy expensive tickets to a show I don’t get my money back if I can’t go. In fact, I know someone who spent well over a grand for a primo seat to a concert in Kansas City and her ride fell through. She was just out about $1500.
Or alternatively if they sell 115 tickets for 100 seats and 102 show up, tickets 1-100 should be guaranteed a seat, and 101+ should be informed BEFORE finalizing the purchase that the flight/ride is sold out and they’ll only be seated in the event of a no-show. By the same token passengers 1-100 should be told up front that if they don’t show, they won’t get a refund unless their seats are resold.