High gas prices boost bus travel

To go any distance the bus is certainly cost-effective, financially. For longer journeys – coast-to-coast, for example – prices can be found around $180-200, almost half of the average east-west airplane fare.
The psychic cost may be steeper, however.

Cross-country bus trips can be grueling. They are costly in terms of time (up to three days). Such journeys may also define sleep deprivation. Riders are awakened and told to disembark every two to four hours. Transfers to connecting shuttles, driver changes, cleaning time, and rest breaks become the routine.

For those pushing the 50-hour, 60-hour, even 90-hour mark, including delays, the demand simply to remain coherent can absorb all one’s energy. Passengers may feel at times that they are being treated like cattle; nevertheless, order and discipline are required to keep to a schedule.

Short trips, including overnight, are worth it for most people. But there is a degree of stamina and determination required when it comes to the second day or third morning. At that point your destination may still be far away, in hours and in your priorities, and you may begin to question the necessity of it all. (This writer speaks from recent and extensive experience – numerous cross-country bus trips and frequent day journeys in the Northeast.)

Longtime passengers have noticed a changing clientele. Amy Cogan, a 20-something who has traveled between Boston and New York by bus for a decade, says more young people and business types – the “train crowd,” as she describes them – have appeared on her bus.

Bus personnel have also noticed the shift. Byron G., a veteran of the Greyhound operations staff in the Washington, D.C., bus terminal, says passengers have “definitely become more diverse” in the last 10 years.

“I see more yuppies coming through,” Byron says, declining to give his full name because he is not an official Greyhound spokesman. “More young people, more economically advantaged people, you might say.”

Eighteen years ago, Greyhound and its competitors were embroiled in bankruptcy, stalled by years of labor strikes and going nowhere fast.

Older, less-trafficked bus stations (in this writer’s experience) may still feature a lone security guard at night overseeing throngs of weary travelers while trying to police the entrance, where peddlers, homeless people, and suspicious characters may set up shop at night.

By contrast, most larger, modern bus terminals are surprisingly well-ordered. If not exactly pleasant, they are well lit and smell like a hospital hallway.

Mass transit, with its environmental cachet, would seem to loom large in transportation’s future, says transportation expert Keith Schneider of the Apollo Alliance, a San Francisco-based think tank focused on clean energy and green-collar jobs.

“We’re seeing a shift to a more European model with less emphasis on private car ridership,” Mr. Schneider says. “It’s already happening. And it’s shaping how we design our country and how we move around it.

“Americans are not divided about these issues,” he adds. “In many ways it is hardly a political issue. It is transcendent partisanship.”

In other words: The bus is back.

Secrets of bus-trip success

Preparation is key: Tag your luggage with your destination and contact details. Never leave baggage unattended.

Go online first: The best fares are found there. Greyhound’s specials are only available as e-tickets and can be quite a steal. Megabus offers $1 fares if you book some weeks in advance. (This deal is limited to just a few seats per coach.)

Arrive early: Don’t expect to saunter onto your bus with five minutes to spare. Buses may be overbooked on popular routes, so arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled departure. Be prepared to stand in line.

Bring amenities: For longer distances (multiday or overnight trips), bring a pillow, toothbrush, books, music, earplugs, and other traveling aids with you in the coach. Seats are adequately comfortable and wide, but we all know this can’t help you if your seatmate is 300 pounds and sweating. (If you see such a person approaching, you might try the old “spread out your stuff and look absorbed” ploy.)

Bring food: Rest stops are not famed for their cuisine, and good food can keep you sane on a long-haul trip. Nutrition bars pack well and are filling, and offer a nice alternative to the mac & cheese that’s been sitting under the warming lamps for about a week now.

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