7 ms·

I took a long greyhound trip from Los Angeles to the small border town of Lordsburg New Mexico as part of a longer trip from Seattle. It was awful. The trip s

I took a long greyhound trip from Los Angeles to the small border town of Lordsburg New Mexico as part of a longer trip from Seattle. It was awful. The trip started off okay. The Greyhound station in LA isn't in a super nice part of town and it was pretty run down and dirty. There were probably about 15 of us on the bus at first and we had plenty of room to spread out and put our luggage on the seats. Eventually we kept picking up more people and by the time we got to San Bernardino, the bus was full and people would need to move their luggage. This was at about 1 am and the people getting on without seats were ANGRY. I thought several fights were going to break out but luckily none did. The driver didn't speak very good English so he wasn't super useful in helping with the conflict. All through the night about a dozen people were watching movies or playing games on their phone with the sound on. There was also a pair of kittens someone had that meowed quite a bit. Lots of talking all night long as well. Every few hours we would stop for gas or a rest break. On one of the longer legs people started complaining that they needed to stop and smoke. Every stop people would rush off the bus and light up immediately. We stopped in Tucson to switch busses but due to the driver's poor English and most people's misunderstanding of the bus schedule, I somehow became the only person that could answer the questions like "Why are we stopping? Why are we changing busses? How long do we have to wait?" The lady that sat next to me had a giant pillow covered in stains. She was a nice lady, but clearly was having a pretty rough go of it. Most of the people on the bus seemed like that. Eventually we got to my destination and the stop was a McDonalds in town. The driver gave everyone time to get off the bus and get some food. A homeless man with no shoes got off and was asking people in the McDonalds line if they could buy him a coffee. I bought him a whole breakfast before walking straight to the Comfort Inn next door and booking a room to finally get some sleep and take a shower. It was an interesting experience, but I would never do something like that again if I didn't have to. I had originally booked a train all the way from Seattle. My train from LA to Lordsburg got canceled and I needed to scramble to make it to my destination. The first leg of the train trip was delightful.

friend_and_foe 3y ago
I wonder what it was like 30 years ago. I would guess some of the same people rode these busses? Were they always like this? I assume the mad dash for the door to have a smoke has been around about as long as restrictions on smoking, before that the bus would've been unbearable to a non smoker. What I really wonder about this all: was america always like this but people were just more OK rubbing shoulders with each other's filth and sweat in those days, or are these people hollowed out, dying versions of the Americans of yesteryear? What's changed: our willingness to tolerate the greasy, sweaty animals that we are and that surround us, or the health of our society?
- bombcar 3y ago
  Other forms of transportation are (relatively) cheaper and faster so only those absolutely forced to remain on the bus. Amtrak is not allowed to sell bus-only tickets because those busses are much nicer than Greyhound.
- lapcat 3y ago
  > I wonder what it was like 30 years ago. Aside from "people were watching movies or playing games on their phone", it was the same.
- wrp 3y ago
  I took some trips on Greyhound through the West and Midwest in the 1980s. Stations and buses were clean, quiet, and orderly. No homeless or people with obvious issues. It was pretty much like the experience of taking a commuter flight today. I started hearing bad things about traveling Greyhound in the 1990s but I don't know what caused things to change.
  - ethbr0 3y ago
    I've heard the Greyhound level of service plummeted after they acquired their competitor Trailways, but that was before my time so can't comment first-hand. That + plummeting prices of air travel due to deregulation likely gutted the industry profits, which led to less reinvestment in their capital assets, which led to poorer experience, GOTO 20.
  - hotpotamus 3y ago
    There's a famous family story where my grandmother kicked my 14 year old uncle out of the car for being an asshole (I'd imagine that he was) on a family road trip. This would probably have been the mid 70's. She got him a bus ticket and then forced my mother (recently gotten her learner's permit) to drive off without him. When he came back he said he had a good trip with the "winos" on the bus, so I always thought it had a reputation even back then as being a bit rough, but I suppose good enough to send a teenager on.
- pigeons 3y ago
akudha 3y ago
All through the night about a dozen people were watching movies or playing games on their phone with the sound on This was surprising and irritating to me, when I first came to the U.S. I have had the pleasure of experiencing this everywhere - elevators (what kind of person thinks it is a good idea to play loud music in a tiny space like an elevator?), subway cars, Cafes (they play music on top of the music the coffee shop plays) and even in planes.
- RandallBrown 3y ago
  I've never seen behavior like this anywhere else in the US in similar contexts. If you did this on an airplane people would yell at you and the flight attendants would make you stop.
- tayo42 3y ago
  What mythical country are you from where this doesn't go on? Ime this behavior crosses cultures, country and social class
  - DangitBobby 3y ago
    Not true. Very few people do this in an enclosed space where I live. They aren't doing it on the plane, at the gym, in the store, in the restaurant, etc. Unfortunately people do seem to think it's cool to play their music outdoors just about everywhere, though.
    - tayo42 3y ago
      How can you say those without including where you live lol
      - DangitBobby 3y ago
        I'm not comfortable being too specific about where I live, but I've lived in a couple of large cities in Tennessee and been all over the state, and my previous comment applies to all of them. I can say the same for all of the other cities I regularly visit as well.
ethbr0 3y ago
> She was a nice lady, but clearly was having a pretty rough go of it. Most of the people on the bus seemed like that. This pretty much describes my long-haul Greyhound experience (Atlanta to Texas). It's also why I think everyone should travel more Greyhound for perspective. Take a book, some shareable food, some alcohol (concealable) and an extra cup, a willingness to have a conversation with a stranger, and an open mind. There's a LOT of America and Americans we don't see these days.
Glyptodon 3y ago
Lordsburg is a pretty odd place to stop. Going just slightly on to Deming seems like 10x better.
- RandallBrown 3y ago
  Lordsburg is where shuttles to the beginning of the Continental Divide Trail leave. The trail also walks right through town.
safety1st 3y ago
So in Thailand, inter-city buses and even shuttles are a hugely popular mode of transport. They are cheap, clean, reasonably fast and comfortable. This is a third world country, how do they do it? How do they have vastly better inter-city bus transport than the richest country in the world? I'm pretty sure it boils down to one word, which astoundingly is never mentioned in this article. Monopoly. The American government has seen fit to grant Greyhound a monopoly over most inter-city bus routes, like it has done for so many other lucky companies in so many other sectors. The result of monopoly is almost universally a worse consumer experience. I don't see why it would be any different here. In Thailand there is no monopoly over bus travel, if you want to take a bus there are state-run options, private options, you name it. So this is how a random middle-income country on the other side of the world, with a name that one former US President couldn't even pronounce correctly, has beaten the pants off of America. It hasn't (yet) succumbed to monopoly (in this area).
- herbst 3y ago
  > How do they have vastly better inter-city bus transport than the richest country in the world? There is your error in thinking. The US is lacking a lot of basic infrastructure, even if it is it doesn't act like a rich Country at all.
  - gottorf 3y ago
    > The US is lacking a lot of basic infrastructure The difference in ridership experience in the NYC or Chicago subway system vs. any East Asian major city subway system is eye-opening.
- janalsncm 3y ago
  I also wonder if some parts of their tourism industry aren’t also subsidized. Tourism is a huge component of Thailand’s economy. But yes, even on domestic flights you will get a free hot meal in Thailand. A lot better than the tiny bag of pretzels you can expect on a 5 hour flight in the US.
- yurishimo 3y ago
  Are busses a monopoly in America? From my anecdotal experience growing up in North Texas and driving all over the state up and down i35, most of the buses appear to be charters for specific routes from the border or between a major city and the casinos in Oklahoma. Do those not count? There's nothing to stop you from taking the casino bus from Houston and getting off in Dallas. I just googled it and apparently Flixbus is now available in the US; even for the HOU->DFW route I just mentioned.

friend_and_foe 3y ago

I wonder what it was like 30 years ago. I would guess some of the same people rode these busses? Were they always like this? I assume the mad dash for the door to have a smoke has been around about as long as restrictions on smoking, before that the bus would've been unbearable to a non smoker. What I really wonder about this all: was america always like this but people were just more OK rubbing shoulders with each other's filth and sweat in those days, or are these people hollowed out, dying versions of the Americans of yesteryear? What's changed: our willingness to tolerate the greasy, sweaty animals that we are and that surround us, or the health of our society?

bombcar 3y ago
Other forms of transportation are (relatively) cheaper and faster so only those absolutely forced to remain on the bus. Amtrak is not allowed to sell bus-only tickets because those busses are much nicer than Greyhound.
lapcat 3y ago
> I wonder what it was like 30 years ago. Aside from "people were watching movies or playing games on their phone", it was the same.
wrp 3y ago
I took some trips on Greyhound through the West and Midwest in the 1980s. Stations and buses were clean, quiet, and orderly. No homeless or people with obvious issues. It was pretty much like the experience of taking a commuter flight today. I started hearing bad things about traveling Greyhound in the 1990s but I don't know what caused things to change.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  I've heard the Greyhound level of service plummeted after they acquired their competitor Trailways, but that was before my time so can't comment first-hand. That + plummeting prices of air travel due to deregulation likely gutted the industry profits, which led to less reinvestment in their capital assets, which led to poorer experience, GOTO 20.
- hotpotamus 3y ago
  There's a famous family story where my grandmother kicked my 14 year old uncle out of the car for being an asshole (I'd imagine that he was) on a family road trip. This would probably have been the mid 70's. She got him a bus ticket and then forced my mother (recently gotten her learner's permit) to drive off without him. When he came back he said he had a good trip with the "winos" on the bus, so I always thought it had a reputation even back then as being a bit rough, but I suppose good enough to send a teenager on.
pigeons 3y ago

akudha 3y ago

All through the night about a dozen people were watching movies or playing games on their phone with the sound on This was surprising and irritating to me, when I first came to the U.S. I have had the pleasure of experiencing this everywhere - elevators (what kind of person thinks it is a good idea to play loud music in a tiny space like an elevator?), subway cars, Cafes (they play music on top of the music the coffee shop plays) and even in planes.

RandallBrown 3y ago
I've never seen behavior like this anywhere else in the US in similar contexts. If you did this on an airplane people would yell at you and the flight attendants would make you stop.
tayo42 3y ago
What mythical country are you from where this doesn't go on? Ime this behavior crosses cultures, country and social class
- DangitBobby 3y ago
  Not true. Very few people do this in an enclosed space where I live. They aren't doing it on the plane, at the gym, in the store, in the restaurant, etc. Unfortunately people do seem to think it's cool to play their music outdoors just about everywhere, though.
  - tayo42 3y ago
    How can you say those without including where you live lol
    - DangitBobby 3y ago
      I'm not comfortable being too specific about where I live, but I've lived in a couple of large cities in Tennessee and been all over the state, and my previous comment applies to all of them. I can say the same for all of the other cities I regularly visit as well.

ethbr0 3y ago

> She was a nice lady, but clearly was having a pretty rough go of it. Most of the people on the bus seemed like that. This pretty much describes my long-haul Greyhound experience (Atlanta to Texas). It's also why I think everyone should travel more Greyhound for perspective. Take a book, some shareable food, some alcohol (concealable) and an extra cup, a willingness to have a conversation with a stranger, and an open mind. There's a LOT of America and Americans we don't see these days.

Glyptodon 3y ago

Lordsburg is a pretty odd place to stop. Going just slightly on to Deming seems like 10x better.

RandallBrown 3y ago
Lordsburg is where shuttles to the beginning of the Continental Divide Trail leave. The trail also walks right through town.

safety1st 3y ago

So in Thailand, inter-city buses and even shuttles are a hugely popular mode of transport. They are cheap, clean, reasonably fast and comfortable. This is a third world country, how do they do it? How do they have vastly better inter-city bus transport than the richest country in the world? I'm pretty sure it boils down to one word, which astoundingly is never mentioned in this article. Monopoly. The American government has seen fit to grant Greyhound a monopoly over most inter-city bus routes, like it has done for so many other lucky companies in so many other sectors. The result of monopoly is almost universally a worse consumer experience. I don't see why it would be any different here. In Thailand there is no monopoly over bus travel, if you want to take a bus there are state-run options, private options, you name it. So this is how a random middle-income country on the other side of the world, with a name that one former US President couldn't even pronounce correctly, has beaten the pants off of America. It hasn't (yet) succumbed to monopoly (in this area).

herbst 3y ago
> How do they have vastly better inter-city bus transport than the richest country in the world? There is your error in thinking. The US is lacking a lot of basic infrastructure, even if it is it doesn't act like a rich Country at all.
- gottorf 3y ago
  > The US is lacking a lot of basic infrastructure The difference in ridership experience in the NYC or Chicago subway system vs. any East Asian major city subway system is eye-opening.
janalsncm 3y ago
I also wonder if some parts of their tourism industry aren’t also subsidized. Tourism is a huge component of Thailand’s economy. But yes, even on domestic flights you will get a free hot meal in Thailand. A lot better than the tiny bag of pretzels you can expect on a 5 hour flight in the US.
yurishimo 3y ago
Are busses a monopoly in America? From my anecdotal experience growing up in North Texas and driving all over the state up and down i35, most of the buses appear to be charters for specific routes from the border or between a major city and the casinos in Oklahoma. Do those not count? There's nothing to stop you from taking the casino bus from Houston and getting off in Dallas. I just googled it and apparently Flixbus is now available in the US; even for the HOU->DFW route I just mentioned.