A few years ago, I had the opportunity made the horrible mistake of taking a greyhound bus from California to Arizona. Greyhound™, being a kind monopoly that they are, made sure the provided service is as horrendous as possible and all the costumers are treated like sheep. And you know it’s bad when the fact the trip takes some 13 hours in a cramped seat on a bus is actually one of the better parts.
Here are top three reasons why greyhound sucks.
1. Poor Scheduling. One of the most amazing features of the service is the fact that, contrary to simple logic or basic reasoning, buying a ticket does not guarantee you a spot on the bus. I was waiting for my first bus with some 20 other people and when it finally arrived, guess what? Only 6 seats available. Not even half the people who bought a ticket got in. Think this is bullshit? Oh it gets worse. On the next station there were over 200 people waiting for the same bus. Taking in consideration that maximum bus occupancy is some 50 people, well… I hope the entire greyhound ticketing department burns in hell.
2. Incompetent drivers. So, you’d think once you get on the bus the trouble’s over and you’re going to get to your location eventually? Nope! After being some two hours late, we got off the main freeway and entered our destination town. At that point, our driver turned back to us and started asking if anyone on the bus knew where the greyhound station is. Then, he took a wrong turn and got back on the freeway. Brilliant.
3. Obligatory whiney bitch. They say that how we see others is just a reflection of how we see ourselves. I guess that holds true for some of the passengers. On one bus, there was a lady in her twenties that just wouldn’t stop bitching about everything. Someone wouldn’t give her a phone, she’d yell. Someone who wasn’t even sitting in front of her would adjust his seat, she’d whine. On the second bus, there was some young girl who, similarly, would have an issue with everything her grandma asked her to do. She didn’t even want to get on this bus – god forbid her majesty walk 10 feet. All this, why? Because her grandma didn’t want to buy her a $4 pair of headphones for her iPod. Dear. Jesus.
In just a single trip, I have attained a stated of complete loathing for Greyhound. However, the scary part is, as simple laws of economics tell us, the only reason the company is still in business is because there is demand for it. It frightens me to think what must go through the minds of people buying a greyhound ticket, when a plane is just mere $9 more expensive. Let’s just pray to god that all the greyhound busses magically implode in the next few years. One thing is certain, however: if hell exists, we will be driven there… on a greyhound bus.
Really excellent visual appeal on this web site, I’d rate it 10.
Its alot of traffic in and out of there. But I would adivse you to be aware of your surroundings and not to leave your bags laying around. There are several restaurants like Southern Fire or Seldom Blues in the Rennaissance Center. Take a taxi and have dinner and by the time you come back, you should be ready to leave.
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Terrie,
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– Koob
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well composed!
It’s not great. There are a lot of homeless pelpoe that hang out in the bus station, among others. It’s not in the worst part of town but it’s not the best either. Keep your valuables put away and your bags in your sight at all times. There is a Burger King a few blocks away if you need food during the lay over (you can look it up in the yellow pages and then find it on mapquest). Other than heading out for food or drink, I would stay put in the station during your layover. Be careful!
Get a load of this; Labor Day 2010 at the Sacto CA station, I bought a one-way ticket to L.A. for $66, then ducked into their public toilet stall for one minute when their rent-a-cop demanded, in a hostile tone, what I was doing in there. I immediately produced my paid bus fare ticket to prove that I wasn’t just some bum who wandered in off the street. Not good enuf in his opinion. I had to go thru the deluxe search of my bag in the private room b4 I was allowed to board the bus. ME? I’m a clean-cut, clean-shaven middleage dude wearing clean clothes..AND..a “Hawaiian Shirt”. He didn’t utter one word about the loud shirt, but it’s likely to be the reason he singled me out for harassment. I emailed GLI Dallas about the incident and was ignored. I’ve since taken my travel $$ to AMTRAK and I LOVE it! :)
Oh I’ve taken Amtrak a bunch of times down the west coast (Orange Country <-> LA) and also once to Tucson Arizona, and it was great. Granted it’s mainly trains, but the service is so so so much better.
Metrolink isnt bad either, especially with theri $10 travel-however-much-you-want weekend pass.
Took my son on a 1,000 mile trip back about the time you were making this trip. We’ll never, ever get on a Greyhound again. Erased all the good memories I had from my youth. I’ll never see far off family again, ever. I’d rather someone whip me with chains than go through a greyhound experience again. You make valid points, and the person that mentioned the bags, kudos. Saw many people leave their bags unattended, sometimes, like in Dallas, someone walking down the sidewalk could just reach over and grab one and be gone. Do they tell you they don’t watch your bags? No, they don’t.
Just experienced #1. Absolutely agree that they are heinous and don’t understand why they are still in business.
I only wish that I had read this page before I bought my daughter a ticket to ride from Grand Junction, CO to Denver where she had a late night flight scheduled to JFK. I had no idea that I was buying a LOTTERY ticket for the chance at getting a seat to Denver. Just as your wrote 20 people had a ticket for a bus that had 5 seats available. This left my daughter stranded in Grand Junction with no gurarantee that the next bus would have a seat available. I ended up having to spend $300 to rent her a one way car rental to Denver. I called GLI to complain and was told that they couldn’t speak to me because I wasn’t the passenger. I have since left a message with the Corporate Offices but am loosing confidence that I will ever hear back. I am now motivated to use social media tools to prompt a public outcry in hopes that we can get congress to draft a “Transporation Bill of Rights” that includes GLI. This practice of overselling seats with no consequences should be outlawed and GLI should be fined everytime they pull this stunt. I think that Dave Leach should be called before congress as the founder of GLI, Eric Wickman must be rolling over in his grave.
I traveled with Greyhound on Aug 29th 2014 from Toronto to Windsor. Greyhound lost my baggage due to lack of diligence while loading my bag onto the bus. I was told my Greyhound representatives that they will track down my bag and to come back the next day to collect my belongings. However, not only was my bag still not there when I went to collect it, but due to lack of proper communication from Greyhound I also made two unnecessary trips to the terminal (40 minute trips each).
When I arrived back in Toronto and contacted Greyhound. They said that they will try to track my bag and contact me after 10 days regarding next steps. After over three weeks, I contacted Greyhound for an update on the tracking process. The representative told me that they could not locate my bag and instead I must file a claim. I was not even given the courtesy of a phone call or email regarding the next step of the process.
When I filed the claim, the representative told me that it would be filed to the head office and I would be contacted by them soon. This happened on Oct 11th 2014. I found it strange that for the two and a half months I still have not heard anything about my claim. So I contacted Greyhound. I called the customer service representative and was promptly told that “the office does not handle lost baggage claims” and to contact the Toronto terminal. After calling the Toronto terminal, they informed me that I had to contact the head-office and gave me the number that I was just redirected from. On the third try, I was able to speak to a competent customer service representative who gave me the information I needed. She was the first one in over 20 Greyhound representatives that I have dealt with over the past four months who told me that baggage claims must be filed 30 days of the trip that the baggage was lost, even if the delay was mainly caused to Greyhound’s lack of follow through and miscommunication. Furthermore, it’s ridiculous that I was not even contacted for any of the next steps in this process, was I expected to contact Greyhound after each day to check in on any progress? That seems a bit unreasonable.
I agree Greyhound service is mediocre on a good day, but what planet are you on that a plane ticket is only $9 more than a bus ticket? Don’t be ridiculous.
Los Angeles to Tucson, bought well in advance and off-season.
Greyhound has disgraceful customer service. They refused to print the ticket I bought the night before.