greyhound ~ miffed!

Dear Greyhound

I am not sure what to say about your services.

Three times so far in 2012, I have taken the local route from La Grande, Oregon to Pendleton, Oregon. I have had three different drivers and had three different experiences. The only thing consistent has been that the bus was late 30 or more minutes each time. In all three cases, I did not purchase a ticket beforehand because the stations at my point of departure and arrival were closed and I had no way to know sooner that I would be taking the bus. Each time, I arrived with cash to pay the driver.

The first time, the driver said the fare was $19.50. He refused to touch the money and handed me an envelope. I placed the money inside and the driver watched me slide it under the office door of the La Grande terminal. Three weeks later, another driver said the fare was $22. He took the cash and said that, since both stations were closed, he would purchase the ticket in Portland later that day. In both cases, the drivers took cash from other passengers as well. My experience has always been that we can pay cash to the driver. The third time, this past Sunday, after I waited 59 minutes past the scheduled departure time, the driver said he wasn’t allowed to take cash and that I was out of luck. He also said he didn’t even know how much it cost. I told him it was $22 and that I have paid cash the other times. He asked me if I was sure about that, although I am not sure why he would ask if I was sure considering I provided a rather specific amount and had exact change. That would seem to indicate that I was quite confident and familiar. Besides, there is a list on the window at the terminal that shows local fares so that other drivers may be able to collect the proper amount. When the driver this last time finally agreed to take the money, he said that other drivers were just doing me a favor and that I owe him one. I really don’t know what that means. What do I owe him and when will I see him again to get him back? And, honestly, it would have been a bigger favor to not allow me on the bus. Either I would have gotten the day off work, or I would have gotten a cheaper and faster ride by hitch hiking.

Today, I have noticed that the price has now raised to $22.50. Not sure if one of those drivers was wrong, or if the price has raised twice in the last two months. Do I need to pay Greyhound an extra 50 cents? On second thought, the day the driver said the cost was $19.50, I paid with a $20 bill and received no change, so that about makes it even. A big concern here about here is why should this cost $22.50? I have other options for commuting, including driving my gas guzzling Ford F150. A one way trip in that only costs me about $16 when gas costs $4 a gallon. Why would each passenger have to pay $6 more than it would cost one of the most fuel ineffecient cars on the road? The costs of operating the bus can in no way justify such an extreme amount of money, especially when considering the bus is at capacity everytime. Considering that the same stop has a free bus that runs three times daily on weekdays, I really feel ripped off. And that free bus usually runs with me as the only passenger. In comparison, I can get a free ride with front door service on a shuttle that is consistent within a few minutes even on the worst snow and ice over the pass - versus - I walk for twenty minutes to get to the Greyhound station, where I wait for a perpetually late bus just to find out if I will be lucky enough to pay $22 to get home depending on the driver’s “favors”? That makes no sense. Please explain why you need to extort riders for so much money and why your driver’s are not trained equally on how to accept passengers?

My guess is that you cannot provide a clear and acceptable answer for what is such a rediculous hassle of a situation to begin with. I am quite sure I will just hitchhike next time, considering the drive takes less time than I spend waiting for the bus and I could give another driver the same $22 that would pay for their gas most of the way to Portland. Sounds like a better plan. Thanks for not encouraging people to use public transportation.

daniel “kid” yoshida