Comment by DoneWithAllThat

Here in bc Canada we had profitable intercity rail (bc rail), a previous conservative government were elected with the promise they wouldn’t sell it, they instead leased it for 99 years cheaply and that was the end of passenger rail for most the province. Greyhound took up the slack but 10ish years ago they pulled out leavings nearly no way to get between cities without a car. There are now some private bus companies but as I understand it they are really expensive with terrible schedules.

It’s honestly sad how public transport was left to rot/fail/or sold off in North America.

And how people now go “it won’t work here! Europe is more dense! Things are too far apart” Ignoring it did and was (at least in bc) a few short decades ago

There is a network but in my experience it's not the most reliable and with no accountability. I tried to use it twice so far but experience was not too good. First time bus was just cancelled with no explanation (my guess is not enough passengers) so I had to take pretty expensive last-minute 1h flight. They refunded the ticket but kept credit card processing fee. Second time it bus was late for 1h and it didn't even stop where it was supposed to. I had to pay for an Uber and since bus company refused to refund my ticket I had to charge back.

Maybe I was just unlucky but I don't plan to try them again.

Fairly recently (maybe in the last five years or so), Greyhound in some cities has been selling their city-center land and moving their stations to much less convenient places. Near me it's a side-of-the-highway industrial area with occasional local buses downtown.

There are even FlixBusses in the US. I see them pretty often.

There are a number of nation-wide and regional inter-city bus systems. They're just not extremely popular since car ownership is typically pretty high, fuel costs are generally low-ish, and chances are when you get to your destination you'll need a car anyways.

See companies like:

https://vonlane.com/

https://www.vamoosebus.com/

https://www.luxbusamerica.com/

It's dwindling. If the movie you saw was It Happened One Night, the fact that the bus breaks down is indicative of the state of Greyhound today. FlixBus recently bought Greyhound. We'll see if they have have a positive effect.

There is an extensive network of Greyhound busses, most people just prefer to take their own cars.

We do have a pretty extensive greyhound network in the US (it was recently bought by flixbus, but I think they're keeping the greyhound branding). But it is a totally different experience than long-distance buses in Europe.

I've taken a number of flixbuses in Europe and they were decent. Most cities had some sort of bus terminal where you could sit and grab food before the trip, the bus was clean, the advertised power outlets worked, seat assignments were respected, and they'd make stops at places with clean restrooms.

I've also taken a few flixbuses in the US west and wouldn't recommend people do that. The cleanliness is poor, the on board amenities like power outlets/wifi are frequently broken (or don't exist), paid seat assignments have never been enforced, bathroom stops are disgusting, and there is a lack of order/safety on board. And the bus terminals simply don't exist - in Los Angeles you stand in an uncovered parking lot outside the central jail and there is no notification of which bus goes where. Everyone just runs (literally) up to each bus as it arrives, preventing passengers from disembarking, and asks the bus driver where it's going, and then tries to cram on immediately because that's the only way to avoid getting an undesirable seat.

Safety is a huge issue on these buses. I conduct most of my life on foot and by public transit in southern California and there's some sense of safety from knowing you could avoid/move away from people acting dangerously. But on the bus you're stuck, and I often arrive with my nerves frayed by the behavior of other passengers. They don't publish stats on this but my friends who have taken these buses also reported they also feel extremely unsafe, with one telling me they were on a trip where a stabbing occurred.

I regularly take the Amtrak from San Diego to LA to see friends and family, and during the track closure last year I tried flixbus a few times. After 4 tries, I simply stopped discretionary travel to LA for the better part of a year because it was such a bad experience.

extensive geographic distance wise yes, but convenient or on time, no.

They are quite shit and you still need to get dropped off and picked up from them.

Anybody who mentions it online is only trying to win an argument and literally never uses it because it’s shit. You only use it if you don't have a car.

[dead]