High gas prices are helping Greyhound and other intercity buses shun their loser-cruiser reputation. Ridership on the U.S. intercity bus system fell by a third between 1960 and 1980, by half again by 2006 -- but jumped 13 percent in the past two years. "People are starting to feel good about stepping aboard a bus," says transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman. "Many see it as a socially responsible way to go." Bus services are eager to burnish that reputation: Low-cost operator Megabus gave away 100,000 bus tickets earlier this year to "increase awareness about reducing carbon emissions by encouraging bus travel." Megabus estimates that one filled-to-capacity bus is equivalent to taking 56 cars off the road. To those for whom time is not of the essence, busin' it is a convenient, eco-friendly, cost-effective option -- tragic and unprovoked beheadings aside.
source: The Christian Science Monitor
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Comments
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mmmoongoddess Posted 1:26 pm
01 Aug 2008
However, I think omitting the last five words in this blurb would have been better than mentioning this heinous act - even as an "aside".
I groove to much of the humor and pun-nishment here on Grist, but what happened on that bus in Ontario really doesn't bear mentioning. It was a terrible act by a disturbed person and we grieve the loss of the young man's life.
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GonzoDon Posted 9:56 am
02 Aug 2008
It has always mystified me why the demand for such service hasn't been greater, given the abysmal traffic problems and the out-of-control drivers one must tolerate to travel that stretch of highway.
All gruesome stories aside, let's admit that just about every Greyhound Bus ride these days has at least a couple of odd birds on board that creep out ordinary people. Alas, we have ghettoized inexpensive inter-city bus travel in the same way we have ghetto-ized our K-12 schools, our college system, our neighborhoods.
As long as our social structure makes the rich richer and the poor poorer, it's gonna be hard to "normalize" a sensible system like inter-city buses in the United States.
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infp Posted 2:37 am
04 Aug 2008
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Delay And Deny Posted 8:15 am
04 Aug 2008
Buses and trains are not for use by people who have jobs...just like unemployment insurance, they are there when your down on your luck...and can't afford the basics: a car.
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