The Greyhound Odyssey

When was the last time you took a bus trip (if ever)? I'm not talking about a chartered bus, but actually purchased a ticket and traveled from point A to point B. Most people have never traveled by bus this way -- including me until recently.

I had the (mis)fortune of taking a Greyhound bus trip from Washington, DC to the southern Outer Banks of North Carolina. It's a long story why I ended up on, what I now call, my Greyhound Odyssey, but suffice it to say I did not have any other realistic, economical options (due to poor planning on my part), and thought it might be an interesting experience to make a bus trip. And it was...

Before the trip I solicited responses far and wide on the bus trip idea and received one of two reactions: "Ewww!," or a simple chuckle and look of puzzlement.

The fare from DC to North Carolina was seventy-nine dollars, included two bus transfers/layovers (Richmond, VA and Goldsboro, NC), five stops, and took nine and a half hours. By comparison, it normally takes about six hours to make the drive in an automobile. The bus departed from DC at 11:45 PM and arrived in North Carolina at 9:15 AM the next day.

I was struck by the number of people who use bus transportation. The main stations in DC and Richmond were packed with people waiting for buses. With the exception of a seat here or there (not more than a handful) the buses were all full. Passengers ranged from sketchy looking guys to mothers traveling with small children (mind you, it was the wee hours of the morning) to the elderly to me.

Most of the folks that read this blog probably travel frequently by airplane. There is no comparison to traveling by airplane to traveling by bus. The best analogy I can come up with to describe the bus riding experience is the difference between going to a Disney-like traveling show and going to the traveling circus/carnival. The traveling circus/carnival, which used to be a great source of entertainment, has taken a backseat to the gleaming traveling productions of Disney, Ice Capades, etc. Let's face it, when you take your kids to a Disney show (usually at a venue where the NBA, NHL, and concerts take place) everything "sparkles." When you take your kids to the circus/carnival (usually at a second-rate venue) if feels "dirty," or less than the Disney production. So, the airplane traveling experience is the Disney production, and the bus traveling experience is the traveling circus/carnival.

Traveling by bus is probably the most inefficient/uncomfortable way one can travel. Some may cry foul and say: What about train travel? I would disagree -- having been on a train recently, as well. Yes, the train probably makes as many stops as the bus and takes as much time, but there is a mystique about riding the train, and train seats are much more comfortable than bus seats.

The big lesson I learned on my Greyhound Odyssey is that you can't put a price on transportation. When you really need to get from point A to point B, you do whatever it takes to make it happen -- to get home.

However, after dealing with an "interesting" crowd and doing a lot of standing around, I also asked myself: How much is my time really worth? Even though I was on the Greyhound Odyssey as a result of my poor planning, would it have been worth three times the bus ticket price to rent a car or fly (although, flying probably would not have saved me much time)?

The next time I'll plan better, and if I get caught in the same bind, that three times price offset may be worth it...

Notes:
-The first picture was taken at the DC Greyhound station at 10:30 PM on a Friday night
-The second picture was taken at the Richmond, VA Greyhound station at 2:00 AM on a Saturday morning
-The third picture was taken at the Goldsboro, NC Greyhound station at 5:45 AM on a Saturday morning