Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
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Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#2In Germany, we have had a quite extensive network of night trains with proper beds (and the more expensive tickets also have a shower in the carriage); unfortunately the network got massively thinned out in the last years and only the profitable core routes are in service now by Austrian ÖBB.
Shouldn't something like this be possible in America, especially between far-away cities? Could at least be more profitable because you don't need to shunt around carriages every couple hours and if it gets kept between hubs there's no need for inter-route stops either.
Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#3This is like the night train I used to take from Oslo to Trondheim. It's about 660 km and takes less than an hour by air. But I live a taxi and train ride from the airport and my final destination is a two hour drive north of Trondheim.
To get there before lunch I would have to get up before five in the morning and I would arrive tired or I could leave home at 21:00 the night before catch the night train at 23:30 and arrive in Trondheim at 07:00 catch the train to Steinkjer and be there by 10:30 refreshed after a good night's sleep and a civilized breakfast.
Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#4"The drivers intentionally go slowly and take back roads so that the trip, normally six hours, lasts eight."
Why not just get there 2 hours early, park, and sit for 2 hours. This would (1) reduce vehicle motion, so you can sleep better, and (2) allow people who aren't asleep anyway to get out early if they want. It may also save gas, although once buses are electric, this becomes less of a factor.
Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#5"The drivers intentionally go slowly and take back roads so that the trip, normally six hours, lasts eight." Why not just get there 2 hours early, park, and sit for 2 hours. This would (1) reduce vehicle motion, so you can sleep better, and (2) allow people who aren't asleep anyway to get out early if they want. It may also save gas, although once buses are electric, this becomes less of a factor.
[deleted]
Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#6"The drivers intentionally go slowly and take back roads so that the trip, normally six hours, lasts eight." Why not just get there 2 hours early, park, and sit for 2 hours. This would (1) reduce vehicle motion, so you can sleep better, and (2) allow people who aren't asleep anyway to get out early if they want. It may also save gas, although once buses are electric, this becomes less of a factor.
Presumably because most people who fall asleep on any vehicle in motion will wake up as soon as it stops.
Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#7I’ve taken Megabus from LA to SF (for like $20) and it’s one of the most beautiful routes I’ve ever been on, especially from the observation seats on the second floor. Just miles and miles of rolling, golden hills.
Sleeping through it seems like a waste.
Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#8My wife and I got a room on the California Zephyr train from SF to Chicago one year and we loved it. So much less hassle than flying. Better food and scenery too.
Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#9In Germany, we have had a quite extensive network of night trains with proper beds (and the more expensive tickets also have a shower in the carriage); unfortunately the network got massively thinned out in the last years and only the profitable core routes are in service now by Austrian ÖBB. Shouldn't something like this be possible in America, especially between far-away cities? Could at least be more profitable be…
shrug
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/08/e...
These guys tried to answer that question. Still, it seems to me that even they didn't touch on any good answers.
shrug
Re: Why an eight-hour bus ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco might beat a flight
#10> the current route is a perfect example of that awkward travel distance to which there is no good solution. Others abound, such as Washington-Boston or London-Edinburgh
There is a very good sleeper train, the Caledonian Sleeper, between London and Edinburgh (and several other points in Scotland). That's a "good solution" for that route, and I'm more than a little surprised that the London-based Economist seems not to have heard of it.