anyone take greyhound bus past or recently?

[Mole177]

Going to take a GH bus from dtown la to Fresno, ca.

Any advice?

[TheBigDave]

I haven't used Greyhound in 20 years. But my advice is, try to get an express or direct route. Even if it costs extra. If you end up on one of those routes that stops in every podunk town, it'll take twice as long.

I took one trip, I think it was LA to Santa Barbara. Should have taken 2-3 hours. Ended up being 7+ hours. We got hung-up for one dumb reason or another at every damn stop. It was a nightmare.

Actually, you might want to think about taking the train. Probably around the same price. Might be a little faster and more comfortable.

[fumanstan]

When I was in college, my first experience on taking a Greyhound was when I took one from Santa Cruz to Oakland, where some guy sitting behind me passed me his phone number. Pretty awkward for a 17 year old kid a few months into college. I've also took the Greyhound a few times from Orange County up to Santa Cruz (attending UCSC) and back during my breaks. Nothing really crazy in those trips, just a long bus ride for the most part where I just slept most of the way.

Fresno isn't too far, oddly enough I just drove there and back this weekend. I wouldn't expect anything crazy.

[emanon]

Depends on where you'll be heading...

[Shannon Nutt]

http://www.wtae.com/news/local/inves...h/-/index.html

[The Bus]

Guessing there's no Bolt Bus or Megabus equivalent out west? (Although Bolt Bus is Greyhound).

[Vibiana]

Wear something comfortable like sweats, but layered on top in case it gets too warm. If it's going to be longer than a ten-hour trip, take a travel pillow and microplush throw. (I'm a cozy freak ... )

Bring several books, maybe some crossword puzzles or handheld games.

Don't chat with your neighbor. People who travel by bus are weird.

[Dragon Fly]

When my wife (then girlfriend) was going to college in NY, I used to take the greyhound from Bangor Maine to her school for vacation. 18 hours of riding in the bus. It was hell and I vowed never to use the service again.

[MWB]

I took a Greyhound bus trip once.

Once.

[Crocker Jarmen]

I would urge you to look into the train. I travel by train usually a couple times a year and it is miles more comfortable and relaxed and those hellacious buses.

The most I can handle is a 3 hour bus trip. Two years ago I broke that rule to go visit a friend 8 hours away. The bus was jammed packed, so the air was hot and dry, people smelled, people were loud.... I knew within two minutes I had made a big mistake. The absolute topper was I was sitting next to this dopey 18 year old dreadlock kid who had a fucking cat with him. Not in a carrier cage under the seat. He had this mangy stray cat he picked up somewhere sitting in his fucking lap! He said the cat was pregant and kept lifting it up to show me her engorged nipples. All night long the cat was climbing all over me. Did the bus driver car? Nope.

Incidently, this was the same route that the beheading happened on a couple of years earlier. When I caught the bus back from the Winnipeg station, they had airline style security before you were allowed to board. They looked through everyone's bag, they waved you with a wand and gave you a thourough pat down... and then twenty minutes later the bus stops in some small town and picks a bunch more passengers up from the side of the road.

[BradJ]

Originally Posted by Dragon Fly

When my wife (then girlfriend) was going to college in NY, I used to take the greyhound from Bangor Maine to her school for vacation. 18 hours of riding in the bus. It was hell and I vowed never to use the service again.

Bangor? I barely knew her!

Sorry, it is early...

[TomOpus]

Originally Posted by Crocker Jarmen

I would urge you to look into the train. I travel by train usually a couple times a year and it is miles more comfortable and relaxed and those hellacious buses.

Unless it's changed, it's better for his route to take the bus. Many years ago, I needed to go from the L.A. area up to Hanford (a little bit south of Fresno). I had to take a connector bus from L.A. up to Bakerfield and then get on the train for the rest of my route. The train from L.A. goes north up the coast and not the central part of the state, which is where he's going.

I guess he could check to see the cost and time of travel taking the train/bus. Just seems like it would be less of a hassle to just do the bus. I think it's only a 2.5 - 3 hr trip anyway.

[movie diva]

Originally Posted by Mole177

Going to take a GH bus from dtown la to Fresno, ca.

Any advice?

I would take the train or fly, if you can, BUS Like MWB said just once.

[WallyOPD]

Originally Posted by Crocker Jarmen

Did the bus driver car? Nope.

No, he bussed. (Trick question? )

[Nick Danger]

Originally Posted by MWB

I took a Greyhound bus trip once.

Once.

Me too.

Three days on the road. No comfortable way to sleep, all the passengers got kicked off the bus for every driver change (including 3 AM), and most other passengers assume you're a creep.

On a train, there was no comfortable way to sleep, most other passengers assume you're a creep, and the views are terrible. If you go to the train tracks in your town, you see dirty industry and the backside of run-down warehouses, right? When I took a train from Chicago to Boston, I saw that for a thousand miles.

[Mabuse]

How much is the Greyhound from LA to Fresno? I bet you could rent a car and drive it to Fresno for $100. Why deal with a bus?

EDIT: I checked, it's $30 one way. That is pretty cheap.

[ResIpsa]

TomOpus is right, there is is no direct train service to Fresno from LA. I occasionally take Greyhound to get to trailheads along the PCT. It is smelly, crowded and I almost always end up next to someone who is bothersome and/or weird in some way. The downtown LA station is in possibly the seediest place I have ever been (and I spent 7 years in Berkeley ...) I think it must be near Skid Row. It's pretty bad. Getting out of LA is interminable as the bus will make stops at several nearby stations, some of which are quite a distance from the freeway.

Why not check out a local rides board or craigslist to catch a ride with someone going that way? What can go wrong on a trip of about 200 miles?

[movie diva]

Originally Posted by Mole177

Going to take a GH bus from dtown la to Fresno, ca.

Any advice?

How about renting a car?

[Mabuse]

Originally Posted by MWB

$30 including gas?

No Greyhound is $30. That would be cheaper than renting a car. But with a car you can get there faster and on your own schedule. And you can go exactly where you want to go and get around once you get there.

[Mole177]

i made it back, head on and all.

couple things, weird people, stinky smelly people and did i mention smelly?

leg1- la to bakersfield. there was a triangle offense of 3 obese people. Not sure which person it came from, but mix hot carrots, sweat, onions and vomit together. reeked. had to wrap a shirt around my nose to somehow mask the smell.

break in bakersfield- wow. fresh air. great to breath fresh air. precious air.

leg2- bakersfield to fresno- moved seats, toward the back, no people stench, however i sat too close to the back and smelled urine. it's like breathing in a bathroom. but i'd welcome that anyday over the smell of whatever was created up front.

bus- new bus, it had wifi and power ports, the driver will take off without you, if you're not back by the time he said. he didn't even mention that he's leaving out loud or anything.

conclusion- never again.

i only did it to accompany a friend to buy a truck in fresno to drive it back down. he was bringing cash, so two bald asian guys is better than one.

on the way down, i stopped by to pick up some mochi downtown fresno and ate at golden corral (awesome buffet, wasn't expecting much, don't have any in LA and wanted to try it since they always advertise it) in bakersfield.

[SterlingBen]

Originally Posted by MWB

I took a Greyhound bus trip once.

Once.

This

More specifically; I took a grayhound from LA to Tulsa. It took for fucking ever, the bus was full of ex cons/weirdos you eat pretty much nothing but fast food the whole time, everyone gets greasy and edgy. Never doing that shit again.

[orangecrush]

I took one in high school from Nevada to Colorado. It was the worst. It took forever to get there and we stopped all the time. My advice: sell plasma in order to get plane tickets.

[Hadrian7]

I took Greyhound once going from Portland to Oakland during college. It did take around 12 hours but I honestly wouldn't say it was that bad. I've definitely been on worse plane flights. You just need to keep yourself constantly entertained. All I did during that trip was see how high I could count Pi up till. I think I got pretty far. Nowadays you have the whole interest at your fingertips.

[BuddhaWake]

I took a megabus from Philly to Toronto and back. took about 12 hours each way. I went with someone and I would do it again but not a greyhound, megabus is a bit better seat wise.

[Kmical]

The following story from The Onion is almost believable

30 Miserable Lives Lost In Greyhound Bus Crash

11.19.97 ALBANY, NY—In one of the most merciful disasters in recent years, a Greyhound bus traveling from Rochester to Albany, NY skidded into a ditch Tuesday, killing a dozen deadbeat fathers and penniless addicts, and putting nearly 20 more hapless bastards out of their misery.

According to Greyhound officials, the fatal crash occurred less than an hour after passengers gathered their pathetic belongings and dragged what little hope they had left onto the despair-soaked bus. Emergency crews called to the scene described the remains of the victims as "slightly more lifeless than they were before the accident."

"This is by far the saddest thing I've ever witnessed," said head rescue worker Charles Rabnett, referring to the sea of fast-food wrappers, losing lottery tickets, and scorched corpses that littered the crash site. "We've done our best to contact family members and loved ones, but so far we've only been able to reach four parole officers and 10 AA sponsors."

Added Rabnett: "Dear God, what a terrible waste of my time."

While officials are still not sure what happened aboard the Albany-bound bus, a number of theories have been posited, including icy roads, low visibility due to fog, and the likelihood that the driver, Ron Jenkins, fell asleep at the wheel after spending a restless night consumed by his failures as a husband.

Police investigators also suspect that the cause of the accident may have been as simple as "these luckless bastards getting shit on by the world one last time."

"Dental records have helped identify only two-thirds of the casualties, as the remaining 10 passengers were discovered to have none of their original teeth left," Albany police chief Henry Goodwin said. "Among those, one is believed to have been a recently disowned teenage mother, the other an elderly widow forced to pawn her favorite necklace in order to purchase a bus ticket, and what appears to be the hollow shells of several middle-aged men."

No survivors were reported following the accident. In addition, initial surveillance of the wreckage seems to indicate that those who managed to pull their world-weary bodies out of the overturned bus, gave up on their wretched existence within minutes. According to paramedics, it is likely that many of the casualties had suffered during the crash, and, if not then, for years earlier.

"Thank heavens nobody made it," said chief paramedic John Thurston, who described the "disturbing smell" at the scene as a combination of gasoline, body odor, Aqua Velva, and relentless disappointment. "For a second there, I was worried I'd actually have to interact with some of these people."

In response to the relative tragedy, Greyhound has agreed to donate $200 worth of rolled quarters and greasy, crumpled dollar bills they had collected as bus fare to a local charity. The casualties of the crash will also be memorialized with a small commemorative plaque that will hang at the Albany station, between an out-of-order vending machine and a set of bathrooms where customers can often be heard weeping.

"It's hard to believe that something like this could even happen," said Albany resident Carl Robinson, who, since losing his home to a fire earlier this month, has been sleeping in the city's dilapidated bus station. "To know that life, no matter how dreadful or hopeless, always has a chance of coming to an end—it's so inspiring."

As of press time, hundreds of men and women had gathered at the site of the fatal accident to mourn the loss of a perfectly good bus.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/30-...us-crash,2339/