Greyhound bus - did you ever take a trip?

applecruncher

applecruncher

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Back in the late 60s (before all teenagers had cars) I used to sometimes take Greyhound home from college for the weekend, if nobody could come pick me up. (about 70 miles) I also took it a few times from school to my bf's parent's house (about 100 miles) but he usually took me back to school.

Then I remember flying to NYC to visit a friend in the early 70s, and taking Greyhound back home.

It wasn't a problem, and I remember it wasn't all that unusual. Buses were clean and quiet, I never ran into wierdos, The bathroom was kind of odd, but I think I only used it once. I used to get a kick out of the rest stops where you could get a snack, and they also allowed passengers to eat and drink on the bus.

I don't hear about Greyhound anymore, although they're still in business. I went to their site and fares are really cheap.....especially if you leave at 3:00 am :laugh:

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We had a Trailways station a couple blocks from where I lived growing up. Used that often. We lived in Batavia, about 30 miles west of Rochester, where I am now. At the time the Rochester station was along side the Midtown Mall. For about $5 round trip, I could go to the mall and do my Christmas shopping. Took Trailways to visit a friend in Baltimore a couple times. That was cool.
 
My grandmother and I took lots of trip, by train or Greyhound bus, when I was a youngster. In in college, "riding the hound" was my usual mode of transportation, to visit out-of-town friends or to get to and from college (55 miles). Even if I had had a car in college, cars weren't allowed on campus unless you were a junior or senior and I never made it that far. #Misspent youth#
 
Oh yes. Took a loong overnight bus trip from Raleigh, NC, to Akron, OH (once only) back in the 70's. They went through Washington, D.C.!!! A 14 hour trip with an aggressive weirdo knee-toucher sitting beside me, between Richmond, VA, and D.C. I was squeezed in on the window seat. Also several short trips between Raleigh and Anderson, SC, to visit a friend. Those were day trips, and not bad at all. Stopped everywhere. Bus stations in Durham, NC, and Anderson, were both "interesting."
 
I remember on one of my trips home from Baltimore, it was late at night and I had an hour or so lay over in some town in Pennsylvania It was about 3 AM. Station was in the downtown area. A nice man I had been chatting with since Baltimore got off too as this town was his stop. He very kindly offered to sit with me until my bus came so I would not be alone. I gladly accepted. We had a great chat, and shared some laughs. I was in my early 20's at the time and this was before every guy was perceived to be a weirdo. At one point he nudged me and said "watch that guy at the news stand. The guy had a newspaper in his hand. He soon picked up a magazine and tucked it into the paper, went over to the counter, paid for the mag and left the paper once mag was in a paper bag. My new friend said, I will bet you the guy bought a porn mag. then he said, "a fun thing to do would be to go get a newspaper, then grab something like a Time magazine, slip it into the newspaper, abd bring it to the counter". Figured it would give the cashier a chuckle.
 
In all the trips I took on a GH none of the buses were crowded. (Took my first trip.in 1968 and last one was 1976 ...total about 10) I never had anyone sit beside me, I always got.a window seat.

One trip in particular I remember I was so relieved there was nobody sitting near me. It was after a bad break-up, my heart was completely broken, and I was crying my eyes out. :(
 
Riding the dog!

I used to Go Greyhound from our house in the boondocks to the city when I was in college and when I started working.

It was sort of like a milk run in those days, the bus would stop in each little four corners and even stop to let you off in front of your house out in the country.

The winter was the worst for me. In those days the bus carried boxes of fresh cut roses, underneath the passenger compartment, for express delivery to local florists. The heat, diesel fumes and sickly sweet smell of the roses combined with the motion of the bus made a very nauseous combination.
 
I rode on a Greyhound bus when I was 12 or 13 from Wisconsin to Kentucky (543 miles) and then again from Wisconsin to Oklahoma (855 miles) when I returned from Vietnam.


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I took the bus from St Augustine Florida to Montreal Quebec.
Left at 6:00 a.m. Friday morning & arrived in Montreal around 8:00 Saturday night. Then took bus to Ottawa Ont.
where friends picked me up.
 
Well, GH isn't the most desired way to travel anymore, a lot of times due to the people who ride them. GH doesn't get the same "type" of people to travel as does the airlines or train. No "higher class" folks would even think of traveling by bus.

Back in the late 90's, took a GH from Anaheim, CA to Ft. Wayne, Indiana once. Very hard time sleeping, not very comfortable, but did stop to eat at McDonald's at times. Way to long of a trip to be on a bus, but that's all I could afford at the time.

In choosing between flying, riding a train or taking a GH, flying and the train would, to me, be much better.............BUT, is much more expensive.

Use to see ads on tv about GH travel, but haven't seen those ad's in years. GH is still going, just not nearly as popular as years and years ago.
 
CR you're right, I haven't seen a GH ad on TV in a very long time. I looked at their website just before posting the thread.

Remember the scene in Midnight Cowboy with Jon Voight & Dustin Hoffman on a Greyhound?
 
I used 'Grayhound' once when I was in high school when I took it to Washington, DC from Philadelphia for the funeral of JFK.
 
I was six years old in 1940 and went with my mother and father on a Greyhound Bus from Newark, New Jersey to Littleton Colorado to attend the 50th wedding anniversary of my mother's parents. Later on as a teen ager I made several cross country trips by my self from Oakland, California to Hartford, Connecticut.
 
Not that I'm planning on doing it, but I'm betting if I'd take a trip today on GH it would be considerably different than the nostalgic memories I have of a long time ago.
 
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applecruncher said:
Not that I'm planning on doing it, but I'm betting if I'd take a trip today on GH it would be considerably different than the nostalgic memories I have of a long time ago.
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Noting your first post- if your last trips were in the 1970s, yes it has definitely changed.
I took many many trips from the late 1970s thru the 1980s, and after not riding for a long time found in the late 1990s: a) no more cigarette smoking on buses (didn't care, didn't smoke anyway) and b) you've gotta deal with all of your own luggage. When traveling a distance, the latter is aggravating- hauling luggage around every time I transferred from one bus to another.
In 2002, though, I took a trip on Jefferson Lines- they show movies!

My first trip, though, was at 13- went from NY to NC to meet my new baby nephew.
 
I have noticed that I’m the only one who has mentioned some of the type of people that used GH years ago. IOW, the “not so desirable” types to be around.

The buses of today do look better, but I still wonder about the people that ride them.

There are pluses and minuses to air, bus, train or private vehicle travel. If a person wants to get to someplace quick, air is definitely the way to go...... most of the time, anyway.
 
When I went to a girls boarding school in Toronto in the late 60's,I would take the Greyhound bus from the downtown terminal here in Buffalo.My parents would make sure I got on safely,even though I hated going to that school. The terminal is still open and running with buses
When my parents lived in a retirement community in Hanover,NH,I would fly to Manchester,NH,take either the Vermont Transit or Darmouth bus .They certainly were more comfortable and updated compared to the ones I took in the 60's Sue
 
ClassicRockr said:
I have noticed that I’m the only one who has mentioned some of the type of people that used GH years ago. IOW, the “not so desirable” types to be around.

The buses of today do look better, but I still wonder about the people that ride them.

There are pluses and minuses to air, bus, train or private vehicle travel. If a person wants to get to someplace quick, air is definitely the way to go...... most of the time, anyway.
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Maybe you could be more specific about "not so desirable".
 
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applecruncher said:
Maybe you could be more specific about "no so desirable".
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Well, folks that use the "f" word, without even thinking about how some feel about folks that say it or other cuss words.

Folks that don't believe in using deodorant or brushing their teeth/mouthwash.

Folks that have a tremendous odor of cigarette smoke on their clothes and/or on their breath.

Shall I continue?:)
 

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