For many years, I have travelled by bus and mostly by Greyhound. When I lived in Ottawa, I frequently travelled to Toronto by Greyhound and fondly remember the rest stop in Tweed, Ontario where Elvis Presley allegedly sought refuge from the world. Alas, Greyhound ceased all domestic service in Canada a little over two years ago.
Having lived in Boston for more than 20 years, I have traveled to New York and back by Greyhound countless times.
But no more.
The quality in Greyhound's service has significantly diminished over the past six months or so:
November 2022 - Boston to New York. Upon our arrival in NYC, the bus driver somehow misses the Port Authority, goes to the East Side of Manhattan and then down south to Canal Street before correcting course making us close to an hour late.
April 2023 - New York to Boston. We depart more than 30 minutes late and when we do, we are in the hands of a bus driver who was both unfamiliar with the controls and unfamiliar with general directions to Boston as she is using GPS. She ends up taking us to Brooklyn. I was afraid we were heading to Philly before she finally corrected course. Our arrival in Boston was more than an hour late. Greyhound did provide a 10% discount for my next trip. Well, about that....
June 2023 - Boston to New York. This ride is going smoothly. We are minutes away from the Port Authority driving down Columbus Avenue. Inexplicably, the driver makes an abrupt left hand turn on West 65th Street onto Central Park West and spends the better part of 10 minutes trying to turn onto West 64th before eventually making his way to Columbus Circle then east on 59th Street before finally making his way to the Port Authority rendering our arrival more than 30 minutes late.
June 2023 - New York to Boston. There are two buses going to Boston from the Port Authority. One in the usual spot at Gate 84 and another at Gate 85. The former is Express while the latter is a local bus. We are twice flipped back and forth between the two lines before boarding causing chaos and confusion. This delayed our departure by 30 minutes. Then when we arrive in Hartford, we are told that we need to switch buses causing further chaos and confusion only to be told to stay put. Yet this is a small consolation as a foul odor emanates from the bathroom in the rear of the coach.
July 13, 2023 - Boston to New York. My bus is scheduled to depart at 6 p.m. Nothing. Nada. No news until around 6:35 when we are told the bus will be coming in 10 minutes. A bus does come, but it is not for us and eventually leaves. About 40 minutes later we are told it will be another 10 minutes. We do not leave South Station until just before 7:45 p.m. - nearly an hour and 45 minutes late. The driver does not apologize, but says things are delayed "because it's Greyhound". Needless to say, this does not inspire my confidence even though we are offered another 10% discount. That discount is not nearly enough. I do not arrive in NYC until about 1 a.m.
Today (July 16, 2023) - New York to Boston. The bus to which I am directed has a destination of Cleveland and when I ask the baggage handler if it is the right bus, he very rudely says that I need to ask the driver, not him.
Unlike 72 hours earlier, we depart on time. However, it is raining heavily outside, and the rain comes into the bus onto my seat (for which I paid extra as Greyhound now has assigned seating). I move up one seat when the rain becomes unbearable. But when new passengers board in Hartford, the seat becomes unavailable. Fortunately, I did raise the matter with the driver, and he escorts me to the front seat for the second half of the trip.
The driver, however, is unfamiliar with the route and he is by guided by the same driver who got lost on his way to the Port Authority scarcely a month ago. However, we manage to get into Boston albeit about an hour behind schedule.
Based on the above-mentioned incidents, I can only conclude that this kind of chaos is now the rule at Greyhound rather than the exception. Amid such unreliable service, I cannot justify doing any further business with Greyhound.
Going forward, I will travel by Peter Pan Bus Lines. For many years, Peter Pan and Greyhound were partners until Peter Pan severed ties back in 2017. I have used Peter Pan for my travel to Western Massachusetts in September 2022 when I traveled to Northampton en route to Goshen where I celebrated my birthday with June Millington of Fanny and more recently last month when I saw June in concert in Amherst.
While Peter Pan has a habit of including what I consider to be unnecessary stops in Hartford thus adding 90 minutes to 2 hours of travel time, the departure and arrival times have been reliable. Based on my recent experience with Peter Pan, I shall utilize them when traveling to New York.
I would consider going to New York by Amtrak, but it is significantly more expensive and for the price one pays to take the train, one might as well fly. Personally, I prefer not to fly unless it is absolutely necessary. My two most recent flights were when I moved from New York to Atlanta and when I moved from Atlanta back to Boston only 7 months later. I can only hope Peter Pan doesn't force me to consider choosing between rail and air travel to New York.
As the late Harry Chapin (who died 42 years ago today) sang of Greyhound, "It's a dog of way to get around."
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