the state of American transit when it’s considered a grueling challenge for Youtubers …
Greyhound is horrible. We should federalize a bus system that allows cheap but reliable travel to those that need it most.
I do also think we have a size issue most don’t. This bus travels nearly 3,000 miles on just this route. Most countries don’t have to deal with such a large size.
If we’re going to federalize anything it should be a high speed rail system laid out alongside or over the top of (when space doesn’t permit along side) the interstate highway system.
But I’ll take the bus system now while the train system builds out.
Definitely both, and they need to be coordinated. For all the places high speed rail doesn’t visit, there should be cheap and frequent greyhound service (especially connecting to the nearest train)
I would definitely agree about the rail system being first. Amtrak is nearly as bad as Greyhound and also cost more than a plane in many situations.
To be fair, everything is made out to be an grueling challenge by YouTubers.
"you won’t believe what happened next, I had to walk to the bus stop! " thumbnail with shocked face and big neon words
I don’t get Greyhound. I looked up fares for the NY to LA trip and it doesn’t seem to be much cheaper than flying on Southwest, like $288 vs $328. You’re gonna spend more than the difference on meals while taking the bus trip. Their customer base has to be people who are afraid to fly, who still need to travel long distances, don’t want to or can’t drive themselves, and are too poor for a train ticket. Makes me kinda sad to think there’s enough people like that out there to support the business.
Their base is not cross country trips. Its people without reliable transportation going to cities 3-8 hours away from their homes
So I took a look at Sacramento to LA and it’s more like $80 vs $200, so not quite as bad as cross country. It’s still pretty fucked that there’s a significant population that can’t afford $120 to save about 34 hours of travel time.
it used to be less; I think it was like 90 bucks to go from Georgia to Arizona at one point
edit: you also don’t have to pay for checked bags, when you’re broke, you’re used to accepting a lot more inconvenience to save 50 bucks or more. source: have lived the life
Did it take 34 hours to get from Sacramento to LA? FFS!
36, vs 1.5 on the jet
I took a $40 greyhound to get to a nearby city in 3 hours, as opposed to a 1 hour flight on Thanksgiving weekend ($80 for a flight right now but IDK how much it was Thanksgiving). That plus a much smaller chance of delays, more frequent buses so I don’t have to worry as much about scheduling, etc makes it worth it for me.
That scenario makes a lot more sense
I’ll bet it was no fun
Greyhound is like a rolling holding cell. Bad food and a cramped space shared with dirty people
