I will give you the ending first: if you have no other choice, and the flexibility to travel one or more days early to a location, and not have any timeline on your return, Greyhound will work. Otherwise, I suspect one would be far better off walking or hitchhiking.
The trip down was not bad, nor was it particularly good. Because of their service schedule, I traveled down a day early. That was a good decision and in fact I might consider two days early if I ever travel with them again. More on that in a minute. The pros of the trip down: we made it, and reasonably on-time. The cons of the trip down: narrow and uncomfortable seats, interesting subset of passengers made it interesting for everyone else, and “terminals” when actually terminals and not a bus stop somewhere were limited. When we stopped at a restaurant or such, there was an immediate dash for the restrooms. Bus conditions varied throughout the trip, with one bus having no working overhead services (lights, vents, etc.).
We made it down, and that is what counts. I will note that the Knoxville “terminal” is literally a bus stop in an apparently interesting part of town. I did note that Greyhound paid to have an armed security guard present whenever busses arrived. I also noted that the busses seldom stayed more than ten minutes before leaving. The guard left right after as well.
The trip back was not fun. I was dropped off in plenty of time (and in style even) by Old Paratrooper, only to find out about ten minutes later when the Greyhound agent pulled up in her car that the incoming bus was running more than four hours behind schedule. No clue why, but instead of a 6:15 departure it likely would not arrive until after 11 pm. So, five hour wait with no facilities and such. Thankfully, a nearby restaurant allowed some of us in to sit and relax as much as circumstances allowed. I was very glad I had started dehydrating myself earlier in the day given the restroom situation.
When the bus arrived, we got our luggage stowed (you have to put your suitcase into the cargo bay yourself FYI), got onboard, and got going. The driver let us know that he was a relief driver, that the bus was late when he got it, suggested we call customer service if we could and if not don’t worry Greyhound would likely have the missed connections rebooked by the time we got to Nashville. Right.
In Nashville, the customer service crew acted as though they had no idea the bus was late, and the customer service agent got mad at the passengers (in part apparently because we had missed our connections like it was our fault) and all but threw little sheets of paper with the customer service number on it at everyone. Short version, no help, call the customer service number and don’t speak to her.
The customer service number starts with a several minute long legal disclaimer, then I think one or two other things, before putting you in line to eventually talk with a customer service agent. Who, of course, wanted info off the app on the phone you are using to call them. Sigh. Eventually did get a person, get the info, and got rebooked though it was not what I had hoped for. Earlier, a young gentleman and myself had looked at rebookings and it shoould have been possible to get back faster than I did. Instead of getting back at 0430 hours Sunday morning, I didn’t make it in until after 10, and in fact it was about 11 as I started walking away from the terminal.
I should use a proper phrase here, but I don’t feel like it and in fact feel like it is well worth having to confess saying that Greyhound customer service at almost every level sucks big fat hairy warty ones. You will encounter more Cartmans at Greyhound than in all the seasons of South Park combined. Seems to be a thing for them, and I suspect some of it comes from having to deal with that special class of passenger that makes life so interesting for everyone. The class that results in signs up next to terminal locations stating that said passengers are not allowed to stand, sit, etc. in front of neighboring businesses or the cops will be called.
I will note that I did meet a number of nice and interesting passengers, but that special class makes it interesting for all. It is why the terminals have a bit of a ripe reputation.
The lack of interest in timely response, timely rebooking, and the attitude that seems fairly prevalent in terminal employees means that no one is going to be trying to get you rebooked if they screw up, much less in a timely manner. Hence, I would plan any future trips I do to get me to where I needed to be one to two days early; and, not count on getting home as scheduled either.
Greyhound will, eventually, get you there. It just will not be comfortable, pleasant, or enjoyable. They did get me there and back, and that is sadly the best I can say.
Quick note: the highlight of the oh-so-interesting trip back home was pulling into a Buc-ees. Those of us who knew dashed inside with delight to the clean, clean restrooms, which after dealing with Greyhound were very much appreciated. Also, decent food and other delights truly made it the highlight of that 12+ hour bit of joy.
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Geez, If I had known your bus was delayed I could have stayed longer. At least it wasnt raining.
My one and only experience with Greyhound was at college. I knew they stopped at the student union before heading to the metro center upstate, so I tried to book my trip there. “No, we allocated all the seats.” So on one of the coldest days of that December, I walked to the main GH station and got on. Only to see the first stop being the student union. The Greyhound station at the big city was interesting, though this being 1971, not necessarily life-threatening. I think I sprang for a taxi to the commuter rail station. I no longer live near said city, and it has a huge mental red flag…
After that, I took the train (hitched a ride from the station to the campus), and a few months later, bought a very used car. That had its own set of difficulties, but I had far more control over the fixes.
There are times I do miss having a car, as you do have much more control over your life. Then again, hoping to find some other options here soon. We will see.
I was hoping this was going to be a review of the movie “Greyhound”, which is a decent adaptation of the C.S. Forester book “The Good Shepherd.” The book is good, the movie was better than I anticipated it would be.
Sadly your review is not. My condolences on your unpleasant travel adventures.
Thank you!
I’m sorry, and it’s really too bad. Greyhound used to be at least a respected mode of travel, and safe. I just looked up the Green Tortoise bus company online, which was founded decades ago as an “alternative bus travel” company. They are still in business, but they now focus on national park tourism and such rather than cross-country transportation. They also don’t have any seats in the buses; the seats are removed and replaced with foam mattresses so that passengers can sleep en route. Plus, I get the impression that most travelers on that line are the “hearty hippie” type. So maybe not your thing from several points of view.
I might be willing to go the “hearty hippie” route at need, but that doesn’t strike me as my first choice. 🙂 Used to be that if you knew a trucker some things could be arranged, but don’t know if that is still true. Ah well, I will do the Dog at need, but really am going to look for other options.
No idea what GH’s financial situation is, but I suspect it’s not all sunshine and roses. I’m wondering about the usual chicken-or-egg thing with GH – is service dismal because of the deterioration of the clientele, or is the clientele the result of service deterioration.
Trains are, well, trains and haven’t been a reasonable US transportation option for quite a while. Freight, absolutely, especially containerized freight; people, not so much except for the affluent 350-400 mile mid-Atlantic to southern New England corridor. Air travel got cheap-er (sort of) with deregulation, to the point that “Boeing” has become nearly synonymous with “airborne cattle car,” and despite cost reductions (and “cost containment” rabidly sought by the airlines) , still more expensive at its base than wheeled transport, and TSA seems pretty insistent on making driving more attractive.
Bus travel has, and always will, appeal to the lower economic strata because it’s fundamentally less expensive to capitalize and operate. I do wonder if, however, there isn’t a “step up” that’s being missed: two-tiered operation. Extremely basic, zero frills, wheeled transport for minimal cost (which seems to be what GH has become), and something a couple notches higher – slightly larger, and better appointed, buses, an onboard toilet on every bus, more airline-like business class seating and amenities, cleaner and better maintained buses, and shorter haul distances. Think regional rather than national, perhaps closely allied (dare I say “partnered”?) with the air travel industry – not individual airlines – and, possibly, railroads; fly / train into a major metro area, bus the last 50-200 miles to your destination, in better and more comfortable conditions; shorter distances to keep bus travel under 4 or so hours.
There are, certainly, areas of the U.S. where such a model could work well, and just as certainly, areas where it absolutely could not. Then again, there’s nothing stopping GH, or any potential competitor, from doing a limited regional version. Maybe even some sort of amalgam of separate regional bus companies operating much in the same way as some air travel works today: fly Delta into Atlanta, change to Southwest to get to St. Louis, all on one travel agency’s paperwork.
Iggy
Those are good questions and discussions Iggy, thanks! On the first and third paragraphs, I noted with interest some signs about ICE and how same could impact some customers at some stations, and that bus is one option that does not require Real ID or that you deal with TSA. Have the feeling that a niche market is making full use of bus these days. Know of a couple of nice bus runs, but they are very limited (DC/NYC is one). Again, thanks for some good observations.