Guardian article about Greyhound in US

[endecotp]

I thought some here might be interested in this Guardian article about the state of Greyhound in the US:

A beautiful, broken America: what I learned on a 2,800-mile bus ride from Detroit to LA

Gone are the small, clean, cheap motels and public spaces where anyone can find a place to nurse a cup of coffee. Yet the camaraderie of the Greyhound is hanging on

www.theguardian.com

Sample:

My 20-minute stopover in Columbus was where a picture began to form of what Greyhound travel looks like today. The bus station consisted of a parking garage the size of a small airplane hangar. At both ends, electric doors opened and closed when a bus entered or exited. Between the two bus lanes sat a small concrete island where passengers were disgorged. There was a chemical toilet, no drinking fountain, very few seats and no windows. The air was choked with exhaust. A police van was parked at one end of the tunnel and armed policemen stood against a wall facing us.

If you had commissioned an urban planner to design the most hostile, uncomfortable and unhealthy environment for passengers, this would be the result.

It's not a happy story. One tiny glimmer of hope is that Greyhound is now owned by Flixbus; let's hope that Greyhound gets more like their European operations, rather than vice-versa.

 

[yorksrob]

A very enjoyable read.

I wonder whether this is the "vibe" the Treasury are trying to achieve on the railway.

 

[AndrewE]

A very enjoyable read.

I wonder whether this is the "vibe" the Treasury are trying to achieve on the railway.

Please, No!
They (DfT) have already had a bloody nose over the indecent haste with which they tried to bulldoze the booking offices closures through, let's hope they have learnt from that - and aren't as blindly doctrinaire as the Home Office are. The withdrawal of (still much-needed) XC and GWR capacity by diktat doesn't give me any hope however...

 

[yorksrob]

Please, No!
They (DfT) have already had a bloody nose over the indecent haste with which they tried to bulldoze the booking offices closures through, let's hope they have learnt from that - and aren't as blindly doctrinaire as the Home Office are. The withdrawal of (still much-needed) XC and GWR capacity by diktat doesn't give me any hope however...

Indeed. I wouldn't put it past em !