Passenger Trains > Greyhound uses Amtrak...ride a train on a bus ticket!

Greyhound bus routes are shrinking all the time.

Posted by a reliable source to another forum:

"Now Greyhound doesn't even go east of Reno. Want to take Greyhound San Francisco to Cheyenne, WY?

"Greyhound bus San Francisco-Reno, Amtrak Reverse Thruway Train (train ride on a bus ticket) Reno-Salt Lake City, Greyhound bus Salt Lake City-Cheyenne. Really. A through Greyhound ticket includes the California Zephyr between Reno and Salt Lake City. So you live in Lovelock, or Wells, or Wendover, Nevada and don't have a car? Too bad for you."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/21 08:05 by GenePoon.

Rural America is getting hammered on issues like transportation, medical services, cable and cell phone, etc.

The question about whether there is a right to any of those is far from settled.

Posted from Android

IIRC it's been that way for several years, Greyhound passengers on the train Reno - Salt Lake City.

Jim

Edited to add here's a discussion from 2018 on the same subject.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4610603,4610603#msg-4610603



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/21 09:13 by Jimbo.

When the Pioneer was dropped. Greyhound had 3 frequencies along its route. Pre-Covid, just 1, and it runs on the Pioneer's old schedule, but it does not connect with the Zephyr. Lose-Lose situation for both entities. Salt Lake Express runs a SLC - Boise service. Beyond there, you are SOL.

Must be a real struggle to get the Greyhounders off the nice comfortable coach seats of #6 at 3:30am to get back on the bus. 

Is that an old Continental Trailways route ? I remember 4 transcon schedules a day between LA/SF and New York via I-80. I rode it a few times from WIlliamsport, PA to NYC. Euro-built Eagle buses, much nicer than MCI MC5's and MC-7's's at the time. 

rgzfan Wrote:
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> Oh, that's just what Amtrak needs...Greyhound
> passengers on the train. Does this mean that
> Greyhound's inmate shuttles (transporting released
> inmates) will be riding on Amtrak trains? Will
> Amtrak trains start to smell like urine all the
> ti

Released imates have been riding Amtrak for many years

rgzfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh, that's just what Amtrak needs...Greyhound
> passengers on the train. Does this mean that
> Greyhound's inmate shuttles (transporting released
> inmates) will be riding on Amtrak trains? Will
> Amtrak trains start to smell like urine all the
> time?

Heh. Humor aside, an Amtrak California Thruway bus or two in my past journeys also had the "unsanitary" rear bathroom problem, too.

An ex-con sat next to me on the Coast Starlight one time. I gave him a nod to allow him and his wife to sit next to each other cross-aisle next to me, and the conductor didn't mind me changing his seating assignments. How did I know he was an ex-con? He told me he was jailed in one of the buildings as we arrived into Los Angeles Union Station. Straight-talk, no trolling.

Maybe having inmates onboard a train isn't so bad?

I boarded a Greyhound bus from San Diego to Oceanside one time, since the flight I took arrived later than the last northbound Surfliner. While waiting for the bus, I got into a conversation, and one passenger asked me nicely why I wasn't onboard the train. Hmm, I guess I didn't belong on the bus? Anyway, "missing the train" was good enough of a reason, so we continued with our conversation.

So I could have been an "outcast" onboard a Greyhound bus! :-)
 

rgzfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh, that's just what Amtrak needs...Greyhound
> passengers on the train. Does this mean that
> Greyhound's inmate shuttles (transporting released
> inmates) will be riding on Amtrak trains? Will
> Amtrak trains start to smell like urine all the
> time?


Oh, that's just what travelers of limited means need...bashing of buses/bus riders.

Look, as a railway enthusiast, I have always preferred riding trains over buses.  However, during my younger years, I didn't always have money for train fares, so it was Greyhound.  This included several San Francisco - Santa Barbara Greyhound trips as well as a couple cross-country bus trips. 

However, even into my later years I have continued to ride buses when Amtrak service was just not available.  My most recent ride was an Erie - Pittsburgh trip in 2019.  NONE, I mean NONE of the passengers matched your negative stereotypes of Greyhound riders.
 

rgzfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A funny thing happened to me at Moscone Center
> January 2008. Macworld and a bus convention were
> there simultaneously. I was there for both. The
> bus convention people looked MUCH different than
> the MacWorld attendees. When I went into the bus
> show, several people tried to direct me to
> MacWorld. I didn't mind that people judged me to
> be a computer person and not a bus person.

A funny thing did not happen to me when I ride buses (either local transit buses or intercity motorcoaches).  It never occurred to me that anyone would judge me for being a bus patron as my worth as a human being is not diminished for being a bus rider.

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Greyhound bus San Francisco-Reno, Amtrak Reverse
> Thruway Train (train ride on a bus ticket)
> Reno-Salt Lake City, Greyhound bus Salt Lake
> City-Cheyenne. Really. A through Greyhound ticket
> includes the California Zephyr between Reno and
> Salt Lake City. So you live in Lovelock, or Wells,
> or Wendover, Nevada and don't have a car? Too bad
> for you."

This is old news, but the Salt Lake City-Reno portion of the CZ has the lowest ridership of the route, so this is a way to fill seats that would normally be empty.  BSB

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Greyhound bus routes are shrinking all the time.
>
> Posted by a reliable source to another forum:
>
> "Now Greyhound doesn't even go east of Reno. Want
> to take Greyhound San Francisco to Cheyenne, WY?
>
> "Greyhound bus San Francisco-Reno, Amtrak Reverse
> Thruway Train (train ride on a bus ticket)
> Reno-Salt Lake City, Greyhound bus Salt Lake
> City-Cheyenne. Really. A through Greyhound ticket
> includes the California Zephyr between Reno and
> Salt Lake City. So you live in Lovelock, or Wells,
> or Wendover, Nevada and don't have a car? Too bad
> for you."

Amtrak truly is "Greyound on Rails" !

rgzfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This has nothing to do with my story. The people
> going into the bus show were not bus passengers.
> Pay closer attention next time.
>
> > A funny thing did not happen to me when I ride
> > buses (either local transit buses or intercity
> > motorcoaches).  It never occurred to me that
> > anyone would judge me for being a bus patron as
> my
> > worth as a human being is not diminished for
> being
> > a bus rider.

Nothing in my post stated that I thought you were a bus patron.  However, the inference is there is something negative about being associated with buses, whether its being a bus patron, bus professional or bus hobbyist.  Moreover, given your negative commentary about bus riders in your previous post in this thread, your reply is disingenuous.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/21 05:46 by RuleG.

Back in July 1977, I had a whole month off from work (plant shutdown), so I had lots of time and relatively little money.  That summer, Greyhound would take you anywhere in the US, one way, unlimited stopovers with a 6-week limit for $75.  I sent off to the Great Kennel in Phoenix, requesting some timetables, and about a week later, a large envelope showed up with all the Greyhound schedules for the US, in effect, the front third of Russell's Guide.  This enabled me to layout a journey from El Monte (first stop east of Los Angeles) to Boston, with stops in Salt Lake City, Grand Island, Neb. Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto, and Boston.  Return trip was via New Haven CT for the Branford Trolley Museum, northern NJ for NY and NJ transit, brief stops in Philly and Pittburgh, Columbus OH for the Ohio Ry. Museum just before it went downhill, and Albuquerque NM for the Santa Fe diesel collection.
   After I got home, I took the Greyhound schedule book to OERM, where I loaned it to another traction fan with more time than money.  He found it very useful and the returned it.  I still have the book, and back in 2018, I sent off to Russell's Guides for a 40 years later comparison.  It's rather pathetic--the whole guide for all the inter-city bus services in the US is skinnier than the Greyhound-only version from 1977.  There was one route that served an area that once had interurban railway service--it's gone.  I haven't done a careful analysis, but it's rather like comparing a 1961 Official Guide to a 1971 editition.
Photos:  1) the schedule book.  2) Chicago Transit shuttle car on the formerly trolley powered line to Wilmette. 3)  Columbia Park & Southwestern/Trolleyville USA, Olmstead Falls OH (not there anymore)
 

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New rural bus service supported by the State of Nevada

RENO — The state Department of Transportation and a private transit operator are launching new bus service to connect rural and urban areas in Nevada, including a daily round-trip route from Reno to Las Vegas with several stops in smaller towns along the way.
The Reno-Las Vegas route operated by Salt Lake Express beginning Monday will includes stops in Fallon, Fernley, Hawthorne, Tonopah, Beatty and Pahrump, NDOT announced on Friday.
Routes also will be offered between Elko and Salt Lake City and Twin Falls, Idaho.
In Reno, the bus will pick up from Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Reno's Amtrak station and the Centennial Plaza bus terminal in Sparks. In Las Vegas, the bus runs to McCarran International Airport and the Greyhound bus station.
NDOT says the routes are projected to serve as many as 18,250 trips during the first year.
Funding comes in part from the approximately $10 million in Federal Transit Administration funds that NDOT administers annually to support rural public transportation connecting Nevadans to employment, recreation, medical services and more
Salt Lake Express currently operates routes through Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana while also connecting with carriers across the United States.
Ticket pricing and reservations are available at SaltLakeExpress.com or by calling 800-356-9796.