| rev:text
| - My parents split up when I was quite young and lived in different cities for almost my entire childhood, so I've been riding the greyhound alone since I was about 8 years old. I'm used to it. I mention that by way of possibly explaining why I don't loathe the bus as much as everyone else.
That's not to say I find it enjoyable. I agree wholeheartedly with other reviewers ' issues. A few additional things I hate:
1) standing in line for ages, stuffed between no fewer than two buses that are idling with engines running and therefore spewing heat and fumes all over me. This usually results in me feeling slightly pukey even before my motion sickness kicks in.
2) I always end up smooshed next to the biggest person on the bus. Perhaps this is my fault for being quite small - more room next to me for other people.
3) the anxiety involved in traveling on busy days. If there are more passengers than available seats, greyhound simply sends out for another bus. Which is great. But they never seem to anticipate this need (and who couldn't anticipate something like, say, thanksgiving weekend, being busy?). As a result, the overflow passengers end up standing around for quite some time after the first bus departs waiting for the overflow bus and you can never be quite sure when you'll reach your destination.
In recent years much of my bus travel has been between Toronto and Peterborough, and this journey is usually reasonably enjoyable because a) the bus takes only about 15 minutes longer than the drive b) it's only 90 minutes and I can withstand almost any discomfort for 90 minutes c) the station in Peterborough is right downtown, unlike some other places (Kingston's station is in the middle of bloody nowhere).
The cheapskate in me also likes that if I plan ahead, the bus is super cheap. Tickets can be purchased online three weeks ahead for half the normal price. Normal price, however, is way too high. Still cheaper than training or flying, though, so I'll continue to take the bus for shorter trips. Anything longer than three hours makes it feel worth spending the extra money.
|