Never-ending wednesday

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I've been out of town for the past week and finally got back to New York last night at 3am, after one of the longest trips I had taken in quite some time.

What made the trip so special is that I broke an old promise to never take the Greyhound bus again. That followed a crazy 20 day excursion, covering 10,000 miles in 2001, and a great number of trips between Atlanta & Detroit several years ago. Greyhound is notorious for having poor customer service. Consumer Affairs lists some of their horror stories here. Though I can say that I've seen much worse for the more than 19 years that I've travveled on Greyhound (I hate not being able to drive sometime).

Yet, for reasons that only codependent penguins can understand, I found myself excited that I could save over $200 by riding Greyhound at the last minute instead of flying from Atlanta to New York (Amtrak was, as always, sold-out). Unfortunately, as I arrived at the Raleigh bus station, having secured a ride with friends to Raleigh helping to take some of the bit out of my trip, I was soon thrown into the hell that Greyhound is so good at recreating.

LK (soon to be LS) hates hearing me say it, but they are the perfect paradigm of "There's just got to be a better way..." And as I sat beneath the blaring CNN news round-up, which I had heard several times over and over during my four hour wait for the bus that I thought I was late for, all I could think of is how tragic it is that america (land of opportunities & dreams) bills this mode of transit to International travelers as a way to see our country. Though, what do we see? Well, since nobody who works for Greyhound seems to care about it's consumers (who pay their saleries), you see the inside of bus stations that haven't changed in 30 years, because you never know when your bus will pull up. You can't leave, or less you lose your place in line. You also see the class divide in our country, of those people who don't have credit cards and can charge their travels. Instead, they're left to an agonizing mode of transit that constantly reminds them to "stay in their place" and "don't rock the boat (or bus)."

Laidlaw, who owns greyhound, is a company that has strived to make a profit. They have filed for bankrupcy in the past. Though I can't figure out where they lose all their money. Bus stations always seem full with long lines. Atlanta, one of their busiest stations, is in a temp. building for eleven years (so, they're not blowing their money in construction costs). I've found cheaper flights on Airtran than I've found for routes to the same town that take twenty-two hours. And I've ridden on plenty of coaches that have leaks in the ceiling, broken AC, busted bathrooms, and employees who lack in common curtious public relations skills (affirming a lack in staff training). So, where does all their money go?

Greyhound goes against the notion of a profit company in today's free marketplace. I'm surprised that other countries, where mass transit is funded by the government, there is such a high quality of travel when riding the bus.

If making the world green is the way to go, we should start funding a national bus system. It could be something like Amtrak--hopes that we might return to funding them as well. We've allowed Greyhound to corner the market on bus travel in this country. So maybe it's time to just take them over. They could use some of the same quality of service that we get at our national parks or at the post office. Sure, Amtrak has had its share of problems over the years (mostly after the congress cut funding in the 1990s). But the first thing I did when my bus hit Washington DC last night was run to Union Station, with minutes to spare before catching the last train out that night. Big seats, drinks from the club car, and a conductor with a friendly manner made a two hour nap a wonderful end to a two day sega. Almost as good as the two arms waiting for me at home.