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America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

cnn.com

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Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#11

Post by linotype »

briandear wrote: post #9
Reason077 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting how airports, especially regional airports, are often heavily subsidised in the US. But bus terminals, apparantely, are something that the private sector should provide without government support. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[flagged]

EVs aren’t wasteful. The US alone consumes 9 million gallons of gas a day. It’s not sustainable. If we don’t transition in the next fifty years no one will be driving except for the extraordinarily wealthy.

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#12

Post by undersuit »

briandear wrote: post #9
Reason077 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting how airports, especially regional airports, are often heavily subsidised in the US. But bus terminals, apparantely, are something that the private sector should provide without government support. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[flagged]

But I might want to spend 4 hours on a bus and I can't now. I have to take 2 1.5 hour flights thanks to the Delta hub.

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#13

Post by krasin »

edm0nd wrote: post #8
searealist wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don't use greyhound because of the other people who use greyhound. Making this a public utility only worsens this problem.

This so much. Anyone who has ever spent time having to be stuck at a Greyhound terminal in the south knows what true hell looks like. They are full of the sketchiest people of every city. Not great places unless you are into smoking crack with homeless people and getting threatened or stabbed by them.

Outside of the US, this is usually addressed by having a dedicated police unit residing at a station. Everything is pretty calm and civil after that. The fact that it's not the case in the US does not mean that it's inevitable to have such unsafe stations.

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#14

Post by bachmeier »

briandear wrote: post #9
Reason077 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting how airports, especially regional airports, are often heavily subsidised in the US. But bus terminals, apparantely, are something that the private sector should provide without government support. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[flagged]

Downvoted this because it's basically just a bunch of off-topic political talking points. They bring nothing relevant to the comment you're replying to.

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#15

Post by senkora »

bdndndndbve wrote: post #2

It's amazing how something that should be a public utility has been carved up by private equity and sold to a foreign company. Greyhound has completely stopped operating in Canada and the impact has been tremendous.

Well, to be fair, someone did get eaten on a Greyhound in Canada: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Tim_McLean

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#16

Post by mcone »

briandear wrote: post #9
Reason077 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting how airports, especially regional airports, are often heavily subsidised in the US. But bus terminals, apparantely, are something that the private sector should provide without government support. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[flagged]

The majority of Americans didn't fly anywhere last year and I'm not sure they would agree with your assessment. This is a case where more democracy — putting region airports on ballots — makes a lot of sense. If the majority of people vote for it, then by all means, subsidize it.

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#17

Post by chasil »

kibwen wrote: post #3

> The threat of a closure has reached a stress point in Chicago because Greyhound, the largest intercity carrier in the United States, no longer owns its terminals in the city and dozens of others. Greyhound, owned by German company Flix Mobility (which also owns FlixBus), has sold its terminals to investors for lucrative redevelopment in recent years, including dozens to investment firm Alden Global Capital. Alden i…

Union Station in Chicago would be the obvious place to put Greyhound.

Greyhound will never go there for one reason: it has a bar that sells alcohol.

CTA also does not have a presence in Union Station for the same reason, so no subway/el or local bus presence.

Metra and Amtrak are alcohol-friendly, and I've seen people boarding Metra carrying open containers quite often.

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#18

Post by yaksha »

linotype wrote: post #11
briandear wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

EVs aren’t wasteful. The US alone consumes 9 million gallons of gas a day. It’s not sustainable. If we don’t transition in the next fifty years no one will be driving except for the extraordinarily wealthy.

Do you have references backing up the claim of such gas consumption not being sustainable?

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#19

Post by tehjoker »

Reason077 wrote: post #4
bdndndndbve wrote: post #2

It's amazing how something that should be a public utility has been carved up by private equity and sold to a foreign company. Greyhound has completely stopped operating in Canada and the impact has been tremendous.

It's interesting how airports, especially regional airports, are often heavily subsidised in the US. But bus terminals, apparantely, are something that the private sector should provide without government support. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Yes, but also airlines will completely fail without government support. The only aspect of aviation that is private is the buying a ticket and purchasing and operating planes, creating a thin fiction of a free market. Everything else is supported. The airports, the airline manufacturers (that also make expensive weapon systems via govt. contracts), the fuel system (supported by endless diplomacy, monetary policy, and war), radar and satellite networks, subsidies when revenue can't support operations.... it goes on and on.

The airlines are critical to a big country like the US when our passenger rail networks are so slow, so the government supports it. They should also support bus networks etc. I suspect much of their road policy is designed to support Americans buying cars, the second biggest purchase next to a house that most people buy. It's very cynical.

Re: America's Greyhound bus stations are disappearing

#20

Post by noodlesUK »

briandear wrote: post #9
Reason077 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting how airports, especially regional airports, are often heavily subsidised in the US. But bus terminals, apparantely, are something that the private sector should provide without government support. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[flagged]

I think regional airports are great, but I don’t think they can meaningfully compete with intercity coaches. It will never be financially viable to price a commercial flight on a small aircraft at the sub $30 point. I also don’t think the interchange network can possibly have the same level of coverage.

It needs to be possible for people to use public transport to get around, including between smaller destinations, otherwise you’re just completely abandoning the population who can’t drive.

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