On behalf of the greyblog, we do not approve this article.
http://http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/travel/escapes/26bus.html?pagewanted=1&em
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
it's like they've never read this blog
Greyhound pulls 'bus rage' ads
Becky Rynor, Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Greyhound Canada said Tuesday that it is in the process of pulling a series of ads in an extensive, cross-country campaign featuring the slogan, "There's a reason you've never heard of bus rage."
The company made the move in response to last week's gruesome beheading murder on an eastbound Greyhound bus near Portage la Prairie, Man., which claimed the life of Tim McLean, 22.
"We just felt, in light of the recent incident, it could be a very offensive message and we didn't think it was appropriate for it to be run any longer," said Greyhound Canada spokeswoman, Abby Wambaugh.
Undated handout proof of one of Greyhound's ads that the bus company recently pulled. The company made the move in response to the gruesome beheading murder on an eastbound Greyhound bus near Portage la Prairie, Man., which claimed the life of 22-year-old Tim McLean July 30, 2008.
The campaign included posters and ads in handbooks at universities and at the Alberta summer games. It used the slogan, "There's a reason you've never heard of bus rage," intending to encourage commuters to avoid the stresses of highway driving by taking the bus.
"(The ad) was saying you don't have to be behind the wheel, you don't have to be in the traffic, you can sit back and let someone else do the driving for you," Wambaugh said.
"It was aimed at potential and current Greyhound ridership. We don't think it's an appropriate slogan anymore, and that is why we've chosen to remove it."
Last week's horrific attack has resulted in a growing number of calls for beefed-up safety on intercity buses.
By late Tuesday, an online petition had gathered more than 600 signatures, demanding Greyhound improve its security.
"That was the bus I always take to go visit my parents in Manitoba and would like something to be done about this," wrote Melanie Schwarz on her posting to the petition. "This is not Greyhound's fault but now maybe its time to prevent it from anything like that happening again."
" . . . can't more security be legislated/mandated?" wrote D. McCoy. "It doesn't make any sense that there is more security getting into a night club than there is to ride a bus across the country!"
Janine King also signed the petition and wrote, "Greyhound needs to review its security measures to ensure that this never happens to another passenger. Please, for Tim's memory, something needs to be done."
Wambaugh said Greyhound Canada has been working with Transport Canada for the past 18 months to determine what security measures would be most effective for intercity bus companies.
But given the "rural nature of our network, airport-style security such as X-ray machines would not be practical," she said.
Wambaugh said Greyhound operates under an "open" system, while airports operate under a "closed" system.
"You get on a bus and it makes many stops along the way and everybody on the bus is free to come and go," she said.
"I believe we have around 600 locations in Canada and many of those are rural locations. A lot of them aren't even Greyhound terminals. They would be what we call agencies, which means we contract with a business and they operate as a Greyhound bus stop or ticket agent on our behalf. So that's very different, as well, from an airport."
She said that since 2003, the Department of Homeland Security has given Greyhound more than $16 million in grants to implement security improvements, such as random "wandings" with metal detectors.
"We're working with Transport Canada and we are hoping for funding from them, as well," Wambaugh said.
"As far as security goes, this was an incident that we were very shocked and saddened by. We do still believe that it was truly an isolated incident. Nothing could have prepared us for what occurred."
Becky Rynor, Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Greyhound Canada said Tuesday that it is in the process of pulling a series of ads in an extensive, cross-country campaign featuring the slogan, "There's a reason you've never heard of bus rage."
The company made the move in response to last week's gruesome beheading murder on an eastbound Greyhound bus near Portage la Prairie, Man., which claimed the life of Tim McLean, 22.
"We just felt, in light of the recent incident, it could be a very offensive message and we didn't think it was appropriate for it to be run any longer," said Greyhound Canada spokeswoman, Abby Wambaugh.
Undated handout proof of one of Greyhound's ads that the bus company recently pulled. The company made the move in response to the gruesome beheading murder on an eastbound Greyhound bus near Portage la Prairie, Man., which claimed the life of 22-year-old Tim McLean July 30, 2008.
The campaign included posters and ads in handbooks at universities and at the Alberta summer games. It used the slogan, "There's a reason you've never heard of bus rage," intending to encourage commuters to avoid the stresses of highway driving by taking the bus.
"(The ad) was saying you don't have to be behind the wheel, you don't have to be in the traffic, you can sit back and let someone else do the driving for you," Wambaugh said.
"It was aimed at potential and current Greyhound ridership. We don't think it's an appropriate slogan anymore, and that is why we've chosen to remove it."
Last week's horrific attack has resulted in a growing number of calls for beefed-up safety on intercity buses.
By late Tuesday, an online petition had gathered more than 600 signatures, demanding Greyhound improve its security.
"That was the bus I always take to go visit my parents in Manitoba and would like something to be done about this," wrote Melanie Schwarz on her posting to the petition. "This is not Greyhound's fault but now maybe its time to prevent it from anything like that happening again."
" . . . can't more security be legislated/mandated?" wrote D. McCoy. "It doesn't make any sense that there is more security getting into a night club than there is to ride a bus across the country!"
Janine King also signed the petition and wrote, "Greyhound needs to review its security measures to ensure that this never happens to another passenger. Please, for Tim's memory, something needs to be done."
Wambaugh said Greyhound Canada has been working with Transport Canada for the past 18 months to determine what security measures would be most effective for intercity bus companies.
But given the "rural nature of our network, airport-style security such as X-ray machines would not be practical," she said.
Wambaugh said Greyhound operates under an "open" system, while airports operate under a "closed" system.
"You get on a bus and it makes many stops along the way and everybody on the bus is free to come and go," she said.
"I believe we have around 600 locations in Canada and many of those are rural locations. A lot of them aren't even Greyhound terminals. They would be what we call agencies, which means we contract with a business and they operate as a Greyhound bus stop or ticket agent on our behalf. So that's very different, as well, from an airport."
She said that since 2003, the Department of Homeland Security has given Greyhound more than $16 million in grants to implement security improvements, such as random "wandings" with metal detectors.
"We're working with Transport Canada and we are hoping for funding from them, as well," Wambaugh said.
"As far as security goes, this was an incident that we were very shocked and saddened by. We do still believe that it was truly an isolated incident. Nothing could have prepared us for what occurred."
Thursday, July 31, 2008
there are no words.
Bus passenger beheaded seat mate, witness says
From CNN.com
As horrified travelers watched, a Greyhound Canada bus passenger repeatedly stabbed and then decapitated a young man who was sitting and sleeping beside him, a witness said Thursday.
Police officers and cars surround the bus near Portage la Prairie, Canada, on Wednesday night.
"There was a bloodcurdling scream. I was just reading my book, and all of a sudden, I heard it," Garnet Caton, who was sitting in front of the two men, said of the Wednesday night incident west of Portage la Prairie in Manitoba.
"It was like something between a dog howling and a baby crying, I guess you could say," Caton said. "I don't think it will leave me for a while."
Passengers exited the bus, and a trucker who stopped provided wrenches and crowbars to several of them so they could keep the suspect on the bus until police came, witnesses told Canadian TV.
The suspect was seized with the help of negotiators, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Steve Colwell said.
He said no formal charges had been filed, and he declined to identify either the man in custody or the victim, who were among 34 passengers.
The was no immediate indication of what prompted the attack, Colwell said. He said he didn't know how many times the victim was stabbed. Witnesses described the weapon as a large butcher-type knife.
Caton told The Associated Press that the victim appeared to be about 19 years old and had gotten on the bus in Edmonton.
Colwell praised the "extraordinary" level-headedness and bravery of the bus driver and passengers.
"What you saw and what you experienced would shake the most seasoned police officer. And yet I'm told that each of you acted swiftly, calmly and bravely," Colwell said. "As a result, no one else was injured."
The police received a call reporting the attack at 8:30 p.m. By the time they arrived at the scene, everyone except the knife-wielder and his victim had left the bus, Colwell said. The incident ended about 1:30 a.m.
The bus was traveling along the Trans-Canada Highway from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was about 45 minutes from its destination when the attack occurred, Greyhound spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said in Dallas, Texas.
Caton said the victim was sleeping with his head leaning against the window when the attack happened. Caton said he shouted at the other passengers, many of whom also were sleeping, to leave. Watch Caton describe what he saw »
"Everybody got off the bus. Me and a trucker that stopped and the Greyhound driver ran up to the door to maybe see if the guy was still alive or we could help or something like that," Caton said.
"And when we all got up, we saw that the guy was cutting off the guy's head. ... When he saw us, he came back to the front of the bus, told the driver to shut the door. He pressed the button and the door shut, but it didn't shut in time, and the guy was able to get his knife out and take a swipe at us," Caton said.
Caton told the AP that the attacker didn't sit near the victim when he first got on the bus, about an hour before the attack.
"He sat in the front at first; everything was normal," Caton said. "We went to the next stop, and he got off and had a smoke with another young lady there. When he got on the bus again, he came to the back near where I was sitting. He put his bags in the overhead compartment. He didn't say a word to anybody. He seemed totally normal."
Half an hour later, the attack began, Caton told the AP. "There was no rage or anything. He was like a robot, stabbing the guy."
The incident occurred on the first of two Greyhound Canada buses that were traveling together, Wambaugh said. The bus was carrying 37 passengers. As many passengers as possible among those not directly involved in the incident were transferred to the second bus, she said.
Others were taken to a hotel in Brandon, where they were met by Greyhound managers and police, Wambaugh said.
Once they are released, Greyhound will take them by bus to Winnipeg, and "we will do whatever is required to help them, and that includes counseling," she added.
Wambaugh declined to comment further.
"I don't want to compromise the investigation," she said.
From CNN.com
As horrified travelers watched, a Greyhound Canada bus passenger repeatedly stabbed and then decapitated a young man who was sitting and sleeping beside him, a witness said Thursday.
Police officers and cars surround the bus near Portage la Prairie, Canada, on Wednesday night.
"There was a bloodcurdling scream. I was just reading my book, and all of a sudden, I heard it," Garnet Caton, who was sitting in front of the two men, said of the Wednesday night incident west of Portage la Prairie in Manitoba.
"It was like something between a dog howling and a baby crying, I guess you could say," Caton said. "I don't think it will leave me for a while."
Passengers exited the bus, and a trucker who stopped provided wrenches and crowbars to several of them so they could keep the suspect on the bus until police came, witnesses told Canadian TV.
The suspect was seized with the help of negotiators, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Steve Colwell said.
He said no formal charges had been filed, and he declined to identify either the man in custody or the victim, who were among 34 passengers.
The was no immediate indication of what prompted the attack, Colwell said. He said he didn't know how many times the victim was stabbed. Witnesses described the weapon as a large butcher-type knife.
Caton told The Associated Press that the victim appeared to be about 19 years old and had gotten on the bus in Edmonton.
Colwell praised the "extraordinary" level-headedness and bravery of the bus driver and passengers.
"What you saw and what you experienced would shake the most seasoned police officer. And yet I'm told that each of you acted swiftly, calmly and bravely," Colwell said. "As a result, no one else was injured."
The police received a call reporting the attack at 8:30 p.m. By the time they arrived at the scene, everyone except the knife-wielder and his victim had left the bus, Colwell said. The incident ended about 1:30 a.m.
The bus was traveling along the Trans-Canada Highway from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was about 45 minutes from its destination when the attack occurred, Greyhound spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said in Dallas, Texas.
Caton said the victim was sleeping with his head leaning against the window when the attack happened. Caton said he shouted at the other passengers, many of whom also were sleeping, to leave. Watch Caton describe what he saw »
"Everybody got off the bus. Me and a trucker that stopped and the Greyhound driver ran up to the door to maybe see if the guy was still alive or we could help or something like that," Caton said.
"And when we all got up, we saw that the guy was cutting off the guy's head. ... When he saw us, he came back to the front of the bus, told the driver to shut the door. He pressed the button and the door shut, but it didn't shut in time, and the guy was able to get his knife out and take a swipe at us," Caton said.
Caton told the AP that the attacker didn't sit near the victim when he first got on the bus, about an hour before the attack.
"He sat in the front at first; everything was normal," Caton said. "We went to the next stop, and he got off and had a smoke with another young lady there. When he got on the bus again, he came to the back near where I was sitting. He put his bags in the overhead compartment. He didn't say a word to anybody. He seemed totally normal."
Half an hour later, the attack began, Caton told the AP. "There was no rage or anything. He was like a robot, stabbing the guy."
The incident occurred on the first of two Greyhound Canada buses that were traveling together, Wambaugh said. The bus was carrying 37 passengers. As many passengers as possible among those not directly involved in the incident were transferred to the second bus, she said.
Others were taken to a hotel in Brandon, where they were met by Greyhound managers and police, Wambaugh said.
Once they are released, Greyhound will take them by bus to Winnipeg, and "we will do whatever is required to help them, and that includes counseling," she added.
Wambaugh declined to comment further.
"I don't want to compromise the investigation," she said.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Mediocre
Friday, 4:00 bus to DC.
The ticket kiosks are out of order. I have to wait on a short line for the Will-Call tickets. A man in the general ticket-buying line tells me that I should wait on line because he had to wait on line. We are next to eachother. I am in a separate short line, and he is in a looping wrap-around long line. He says that I shouldn't be allowed to cut the fucking line. He says this to me again and again. I am not even looking at him. I normally avoid confrontational strangers, but he kept going on and on. I told him that I am on the Will-Call line, and he did not understand. I told him that I did not cut him on line, and he could read the fucking sign that said this was the Will-Call line. He was quiet. I normally ignore people like him who are obviously wrong and cranky, but I was already angry that the kiosks were broken. He stared at me the rest of the time I was on line. I got my ticket before him, and I smiled meanly when I walked away. I hoped that he wasn't going to DC.
The 4:00 to Silver Spring arrives, people board. People wonder if they should get on or wait for the 4:30 Express. I text Matt to see what he thinks. I decide to wait. The bus leaves 9 minutes early. Several Silver Springers arrive after bus departs and are confused/angry. One girl missed the bus, and from my before and after the bus left observation of her -- she missed it because she was waiting for a female relative to bring her McDonalds - a female relative who did not wait with her for the next Silver Spring bus -- scheduled for 6:00.
I buy a Diet Coke, and only realize two days later that I was overcharged.
I give some money to a man in a Sick of It All shirt, who claims that he needs money to get to Chicago. He didn't say thank you.
Board bus, use overhead bin. I choose a perfect seat, and was already comfortable when two women board. They want a seat together. I avoid eye contact, I text someone to give me the appearance of a busy person. They ask the woman behind me if she minded moving, so they can sit together. She thinks it's fine. I end up moving, and am not happy about it. One woman jokingly said that they won't talk the whole time. They did. One of them also moved her seat back all the way.
My seatmate is quiet and sleeps. She texts, and sleeps, and wears sunglasses. We don't talk, but I overhear her speaker-phone conversation. Her two children are staying with their grandmother, one of them needed to ice some body part, and she will be getting on a plane on Saturday to pick them up. Her phone will be fixed the next day, if she finds time.
The ride is fine. No stops. No stinks. I started and finished a book. I watched a Netflix. I texted. I studied for 2 minutes. I accidentally texted M when I meant to text P and it was about M. He called me out on it.
I get off the bus, and one of the women who made me move my seat asks me where she can get a cab. I tell her.
I announce M's address to the group of taxi-drivers. One says he will be bring me there for $20.00. I smile and laugh and think he is joking. He is not. Another driver tells me that he will bring me for $500.00. I feel uncomfortable with the $20 man still looking at me, and knowing that he knows that his other guy is making fun of him, and say that I could take the train for less than $2.00. I go with the man who said $500. It came out to 8-something. He drove so fast. I had to switch seats because my original seatbelt didn't work, and I believe he made fun of me for being scared. I then made an awkward comment about traumatic brain injuries and car accidents. We didn't speak again.
Sunday to NY. Line is short. M waits with me. I have my Washington Post, a coffee, and a water.
I have a seat-mate. He is quiet and has an arm tattoo that says "I love you." He stares out the window the whole time.
A man across from me is very annoying and reads up to Chapter 4 in a book and then calls several people to talk about it. He is loud.
A woman behind me -- who I noticed switched her seat twice before settling down behind me -- had her sneaker in my face the whole time. She put her sneaker on my arm rest. I made sure to brush my A Fig Walked into Bar fruit bar crumbs onto her sneaker. I took a cell-phone photo and texted it so someone else knew that I had to deal with a sneaker in my face. I stared at the sneaker. I wanted it to move. It did at one point, but it came back.
A couple ate McDonalds breakfast in front of me. At approximately 1:30, maybe. It smelled. So much. I texted about it. I was told through text that McDonald's breakfast stops being served at 11:00, so this was an old McMuffin. Cold, but still smelly. A total of four McMuffins and four Hash Browns.
Ride took way too long.
I studied. I texted. I read a magazine.
So much rain, so much traffic. I was angry. That sneaker woman managed to get off the bus before I did.
The ticket kiosks are out of order. I have to wait on a short line for the Will-Call tickets. A man in the general ticket-buying line tells me that I should wait on line because he had to wait on line. We are next to eachother. I am in a separate short line, and he is in a looping wrap-around long line. He says that I shouldn't be allowed to cut the fucking line. He says this to me again and again. I am not even looking at him. I normally avoid confrontational strangers, but he kept going on and on. I told him that I am on the Will-Call line, and he did not understand. I told him that I did not cut him on line, and he could read the fucking sign that said this was the Will-Call line. He was quiet. I normally ignore people like him who are obviously wrong and cranky, but I was already angry that the kiosks were broken. He stared at me the rest of the time I was on line. I got my ticket before him, and I smiled meanly when I walked away. I hoped that he wasn't going to DC.
The 4:00 to Silver Spring arrives, people board. People wonder if they should get on or wait for the 4:30 Express. I text Matt to see what he thinks. I decide to wait. The bus leaves 9 minutes early. Several Silver Springers arrive after bus departs and are confused/angry. One girl missed the bus, and from my before and after the bus left observation of her -- she missed it because she was waiting for a female relative to bring her McDonalds - a female relative who did not wait with her for the next Silver Spring bus -- scheduled for 6:00.
I buy a Diet Coke, and only realize two days later that I was overcharged.
I give some money to a man in a Sick of It All shirt, who claims that he needs money to get to Chicago. He didn't say thank you.
Board bus, use overhead bin. I choose a perfect seat, and was already comfortable when two women board. They want a seat together. I avoid eye contact, I text someone to give me the appearance of a busy person. They ask the woman behind me if she minded moving, so they can sit together. She thinks it's fine. I end up moving, and am not happy about it. One woman jokingly said that they won't talk the whole time. They did. One of them also moved her seat back all the way.
My seatmate is quiet and sleeps. She texts, and sleeps, and wears sunglasses. We don't talk, but I overhear her speaker-phone conversation. Her two children are staying with their grandmother, one of them needed to ice some body part, and she will be getting on a plane on Saturday to pick them up. Her phone will be fixed the next day, if she finds time.
The ride is fine. No stops. No stinks. I started and finished a book. I watched a Netflix. I texted. I studied for 2 minutes. I accidentally texted M when I meant to text P and it was about M. He called me out on it.
I get off the bus, and one of the women who made me move my seat asks me where she can get a cab. I tell her.
I announce M's address to the group of taxi-drivers. One says he will be bring me there for $20.00. I smile and laugh and think he is joking. He is not. Another driver tells me that he will bring me for $500.00. I feel uncomfortable with the $20 man still looking at me, and knowing that he knows that his other guy is making fun of him, and say that I could take the train for less than $2.00. I go with the man who said $500. It came out to 8-something. He drove so fast. I had to switch seats because my original seatbelt didn't work, and I believe he made fun of me for being scared. I then made an awkward comment about traumatic brain injuries and car accidents. We didn't speak again.
Sunday to NY. Line is short. M waits with me. I have my Washington Post, a coffee, and a water.
I have a seat-mate. He is quiet and has an arm tattoo that says "I love you." He stares out the window the whole time.
A man across from me is very annoying and reads up to Chapter 4 in a book and then calls several people to talk about it. He is loud.
A woman behind me -- who I noticed switched her seat twice before settling down behind me -- had her sneaker in my face the whole time. She put her sneaker on my arm rest. I made sure to brush my A Fig Walked into Bar fruit bar crumbs onto her sneaker. I took a cell-phone photo and texted it so someone else knew that I had to deal with a sneaker in my face. I stared at the sneaker. I wanted it to move. It did at one point, but it came back.
A couple ate McDonalds breakfast in front of me. At approximately 1:30, maybe. It smelled. So much. I texted about it. I was told through text that McDonald's breakfast stops being served at 11:00, so this was an old McMuffin. Cold, but still smelly. A total of four McMuffins and four Hash Browns.
Ride took way too long.
I studied. I texted. I read a magazine.
So much rain, so much traffic. I was angry. That sneaker woman managed to get off the bus before I did.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
shiftless when idle (mega-bust!)
This past week was my first and last Megabus experience. It all started innocently enough at the corner of 11th and G. Unsurprisingly, the party got off to a bumpy start that involved me sitting on a non-air conditioned bus for 30 minutes. The driver kept explaining that she couldn’t put the bus on because she got a summons for “idling” earlier today. Turns out the hold up was a gentleman on the phone with the bus company who was unsure as to whether this was his bus. I myself had a similar confusion (we’ll get to this later) but decided that 15 minutes after the bus was supposed to leave was not the appropriate time to be contacting the company and making arrangements.
I sat in the second to last row and it smelt like manure. Also, the seat/bench I was sitting on swiveled leaving me to swirl around every time the driver moved abruptly. This was a problem as I’d characterize this woman’s driving style as heavily influenced by free jazz. The bus had short bursts of power and then stopped on a dime, following no traffic pattern I’m familiar with.
The bus was filled with tourists which wasn’t really an issue until we got into the New York area and then people’s view became important. A man in front of me ate something that by its pungent odor and general shape could only be described as a cheese patty (Think beef patty/rice cake with a smell of cheese). Every time he ate one, I would look up from my book because the stench had taken hold. This happened three times. He told stories about getting ridiculed in DC about his Rangers baseball hat. If a Capitals/Rangers rivalry exists, it is not recognized by the fine sports fact gathering folks at Wikipedia making this not completely implausible but kind of suspicious. What other lies was he telling? Three very nice individuals from South Dakota sat behind me and asked me for advice on where to go. I told them to avoid Times Square and to eat at John’s Pizzeria on Bleeker. After living in New York for about two decades, these are the only suggestions I can muster up when pressed. I also told them not to trust anyone’s directions because invariably they are wrong. Only in New York!
In the scope of bus rides, the ride home was a nightmare. Cell phone use was out of control with the loudest perpetrator seated directly behind me. He seemed to be desperate to talk considering the two people he did call had not known he was in New York that weekend. He carried on basically the same conversation twice, mentioning that he had a 15 minute presentation coming up and that his work concerned Aviation and Belgium. Apparently, it’s his job to make sure Belgium turns a profit with their air travel? I am not sure. I also found it odd that the recipients of these calls did not know what this man’s job entailed, leaving me to assume once again that this man was seriously reaching out to second perhaps third string friends on this bus ride. Other things I now know about this individual include: he doesn’t like to listen (as demonstrated by his incessant yammering), he thinks that the MoMA is something to “see once and that’s it,” and he enjoys kicking the seat in front of him. At the time my mind was racing trying to wish harm upon him and his family but my rage has since subsided.
Now faithful readers I will state 5 reasons why you should boycott using the Megabus line:
1) There is no flexibility to reschedule without incurring a fee. This is currently not the case with Bolt, Greyhound, Apex or DC2NY. I paid ten dollars to change my bus for another two hours earlier.
2) They stop at rest stops in New Jersey to “change drivers.” Why this is necessary for a 5 hour trip is beyond me. How the other driver gets to this rest stop without abandoning another bus/ and how they get home is a mystery although I’m pretty sure the explanation involves the phrase “park and ride.”
3) Cell phone use is not discouraged/ drivers do not verbally shame those who do it. This is a real problem that has the potential to become an epidemic.
4) There is no way to know whether the bus you are on is express to NYC or instead stops at White Marsh Maryland. One bus I took stopped while the other did not.
5) My friend Pia missed out on seeing Wire because of their mega-incompetence. This could happen to you or YOUR friend Pia!
Please share your stories if you have them…we’re here to listen.
-m
I sat in the second to last row and it smelt like manure. Also, the seat/bench I was sitting on swiveled leaving me to swirl around every time the driver moved abruptly. This was a problem as I’d characterize this woman’s driving style as heavily influenced by free jazz. The bus had short bursts of power and then stopped on a dime, following no traffic pattern I’m familiar with.
The bus was filled with tourists which wasn’t really an issue until we got into the New York area and then people’s view became important. A man in front of me ate something that by its pungent odor and general shape could only be described as a cheese patty (Think beef patty/rice cake with a smell of cheese). Every time he ate one, I would look up from my book because the stench had taken hold. This happened three times. He told stories about getting ridiculed in DC about his Rangers baseball hat. If a Capitals/Rangers rivalry exists, it is not recognized by the fine sports fact gathering folks at Wikipedia making this not completely implausible but kind of suspicious. What other lies was he telling? Three very nice individuals from South Dakota sat behind me and asked me for advice on where to go. I told them to avoid Times Square and to eat at John’s Pizzeria on Bleeker. After living in New York for about two decades, these are the only suggestions I can muster up when pressed. I also told them not to trust anyone’s directions because invariably they are wrong. Only in New York!
In the scope of bus rides, the ride home was a nightmare. Cell phone use was out of control with the loudest perpetrator seated directly behind me. He seemed to be desperate to talk considering the two people he did call had not known he was in New York that weekend. He carried on basically the same conversation twice, mentioning that he had a 15 minute presentation coming up and that his work concerned Aviation and Belgium. Apparently, it’s his job to make sure Belgium turns a profit with their air travel? I am not sure. I also found it odd that the recipients of these calls did not know what this man’s job entailed, leaving me to assume once again that this man was seriously reaching out to second perhaps third string friends on this bus ride. Other things I now know about this individual include: he doesn’t like to listen (as demonstrated by his incessant yammering), he thinks that the MoMA is something to “see once and that’s it,” and he enjoys kicking the seat in front of him. At the time my mind was racing trying to wish harm upon him and his family but my rage has since subsided.
Now faithful readers I will state 5 reasons why you should boycott using the Megabus line:
1) There is no flexibility to reschedule without incurring a fee. This is currently not the case with Bolt, Greyhound, Apex or DC2NY. I paid ten dollars to change my bus for another two hours earlier.
2) They stop at rest stops in New Jersey to “change drivers.” Why this is necessary for a 5 hour trip is beyond me. How the other driver gets to this rest stop without abandoning another bus/ and how they get home is a mystery although I’m pretty sure the explanation involves the phrase “park and ride.”
3) Cell phone use is not discouraged/ drivers do not verbally shame those who do it. This is a real problem that has the potential to become an epidemic.
4) There is no way to know whether the bus you are on is express to NYC or instead stops at White Marsh Maryland. One bus I took stopped while the other did not.
5) My friend Pia missed out on seeing Wire because of their mega-incompetence. This could happen to you or YOUR friend Pia!
Please share your stories if you have them…we’re here to listen.
-m
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
it's all gonna break
The Friday afternoon crowd at the DC Bolt stop has provided this blog with a nice amount of fodder but last week’s events take the cake. A mass of confusion swirls upon boarding and although I am scheduled for a 3:00pm departure, I am shuffled onto a bus around 2:40. A privileged problem, I'll admit. Three blocks into our journey disaster strikes! The driver announces that the bus has broken down. This feels like an odd declaration considering its still moving and has not seeming lost any of its bus going capacities. How often does a broken down bus drive back to its journey’s starting point? Through the seats, I notice that one gentleman has already incorporated this minor tragedy into a twitter update. Thank goodness!
We arrive back at 11th to find three buses and a complete lack of functional direction. I board a bus only to find there are no seats left. People are yelling, demanding answers. Tickets are shoved in drivers’ faces while the staff argues amongst itself. Around 3:20 I have finally left DC seated next to a chatty cathy who bellows her plans and opinions in a matter usually reserved for those in promotional agreements with P.T Barnum. I am also 33% sure that at points she pretends to read her book.
The trip home came in the midst of an oppressive heat wave, part of which had temporarily transformed my knees to resemble Bunsen burners after a nail biter at Yankee stadium the afternoon prior. I cozy up to my copy of Don Delillo's White Noise in-between afternoon siestas. My seatmate is an interesting, somewhat intense older woman who wields a laptop and a box full of smelly veggies from Sbarro's. She almost exclusively reads MLB.com for the duration of the trip, a site not within my first 500 guesses of her assumed internet browsing material. She makes frequent phone calls regarding the traffic behind us, even referencing a chat she had with the driver. Apparently the bus that preceded us took an hour getting out of the Lincoln tunnel. Hearing this, I am left with an undeniable sense of Schadenfreude, patting myself on the back for prudently picking the right departure time. During one call, she states that she'll get to DC in about an hour or so but that this is just "guesswork." You have to respect this kind of professionalism within colloquial exchanges.
At some point during the trip my body realizes that it hasn’t ingested anything for about 8 hours and that it is desperately in need of nourishment. My only preparation for my journey is two ziploc bags of oatmeal cookies my mom made. The rest stop left me with dismal choices (a fast food seafood restaurant's crab pretzel left me with a mild case of existential dread) I inhale the cookies with a fervor that would embarrass those who raised me. I am pawing out crumbs, spooning them into my mouth. Some trickle down my mouth...others onto my lap. I am shoeless, eating strange looking prepared food out of plastic baggies. I come to the silent realization that no one in their right mind would choose me as a seat partner.
-m
We arrive back at 11th to find three buses and a complete lack of functional direction. I board a bus only to find there are no seats left. People are yelling, demanding answers. Tickets are shoved in drivers’ faces while the staff argues amongst itself. Around 3:20 I have finally left DC seated next to a chatty cathy who bellows her plans and opinions in a matter usually reserved for those in promotional agreements with P.T Barnum. I am also 33% sure that at points she pretends to read her book.
The trip home came in the midst of an oppressive heat wave, part of which had temporarily transformed my knees to resemble Bunsen burners after a nail biter at Yankee stadium the afternoon prior. I cozy up to my copy of Don Delillo's White Noise in-between afternoon siestas. My seatmate is an interesting, somewhat intense older woman who wields a laptop and a box full of smelly veggies from Sbarro's. She almost exclusively reads MLB.com for the duration of the trip, a site not within my first 500 guesses of her assumed internet browsing material. She makes frequent phone calls regarding the traffic behind us, even referencing a chat she had with the driver. Apparently the bus that preceded us took an hour getting out of the Lincoln tunnel. Hearing this, I am left with an undeniable sense of Schadenfreude, patting myself on the back for prudently picking the right departure time. During one call, she states that she'll get to DC in about an hour or so but that this is just "guesswork." You have to respect this kind of professionalism within colloquial exchanges.
At some point during the trip my body realizes that it hasn’t ingested anything for about 8 hours and that it is desperately in need of nourishment. My only preparation for my journey is two ziploc bags of oatmeal cookies my mom made. The rest stop left me with dismal choices (a fast food seafood restaurant's crab pretzel left me with a mild case of existential dread) I inhale the cookies with a fervor that would embarrass those who raised me. I am pawing out crumbs, spooning them into my mouth. Some trickle down my mouth...others onto my lap. I am shoeless, eating strange looking prepared food out of plastic baggies. I come to the silent realization that no one in their right mind would choose me as a seat partner.
-m
Thursday, June 5, 2008
no shoes, no service
It's Monday morning, and I am trying to make a 10 AM bus. There is a line. This is a vacation day for me, a poorly utilized one -- but a vacation day nevertheless -- what are you people doing on a bus today? I am truly surprised. I expected a quiet double-seated ride. I expected half-empty. Optimists see the bus as half-empty.
What does not surprise me is the two Out-of-Order Ticket kiosks. I am forced to wait on line, and speak to someone get my ticket printed. M holds my spot in the NY bus line. The ticket is printed, and I sign for it WITH A GREYHOUND PEN. I wanted to take the pen. Unlike hotel soap, I left it behind.
I am one of the last people on the bus. As I wait to get my ticket ripped, I eavesdrop -- but how could I not -- the driver and another person were talking directly in front of me. I wasn't even trying to not look interested. Baggage had a meeting! -- yes,apparently there are enough people working in "Baggage," perhaps overseeing the printing and stocking of the paper luggage tags to attend meetings, and meetings large enough to take place UPSTAIRS, an area in the Greyhound terminal that I did not know existed. (ed. note: L has never looked up in the terminal, apparantly) And what happened to those paper luggage tags...Baggage, come on.
I digress...
Baggage had a meeting -- and this particular driver, based on past conversations with Baggage, and the information she gleaned regarding said meeting, feels that the Hound is going to start charging for baggage ala American Airlines. I have only used the baggage hold once, so I am not worried. But Greyhound! -- stop with the extra charges already. I wish I had those meeting minutes in front of me now. I am only able to give you the slightest of information, which is just based on the feelings of someone else, who was not expressing these feelings to me, or at least not directly. Indirectly, she told me alot.
I walk on bus, gunning for a front seat.
I ask the first woman..who is sitting near the window, "Is this seat taken?" She points to a bag on the floor in front of the aisle seat.
"So someone is sitting there?" She points again. I clearly huff and puff, and sit directly across from her and her supposedly saved seat.
It's not saved. No one sits there.
I think mean things. Put the bag in the overhead. Put the bag in the baggage hold while it's still free. Put the bag at your feet. She talks on the phone, and gets reprimanded by the driver. I smile. She annoys me. She lounges. Across both seats. She takes off her shoes. M does that, everywhere, and I only deal it because I think I like the guy, but this woman's feet...I did not want them...in my face. Yes, in my face as she is lounging with her bare feet dangling into the aisle. One of her shoes slowly makes its way down the aisle, due to some sort of physics of the starts and stops of the bus. Perhaps even the forces of inertia were at play. I don't know the exact science, but it made its way pretty far down the aisle, and I hoped that it would go missing. Someone eventually picked it up, and gave it back to her. She was happy and surprised. Next time lady, keep track of your footwear. Keeping them on helps.
My seatmate slept. He was quiet. I took out a book to read, only to be disappointed when I remembered I finished the book on the bus to DC...and I finished the other book on the plane. (My flight to TEXAS was faster than Greyhound, quieter, less stinky, while I was also provided with carrots and chocolate and drinks. Where is your beverage service, Greyhound?)I watched some of Dr. Katz.
Got off bus, and made my way to class. Overall it was uneventful, full of well-directed but un-acted-on anger, and quick. No rest-stops or bathroom anecdotes to speak of.
What does not surprise me is the two Out-of-Order Ticket kiosks. I am forced to wait on line, and speak to someone get my ticket printed. M holds my spot in the NY bus line. The ticket is printed, and I sign for it WITH A GREYHOUND PEN. I wanted to take the pen. Unlike hotel soap, I left it behind.
I am one of the last people on the bus. As I wait to get my ticket ripped, I eavesdrop -- but how could I not -- the driver and another person were talking directly in front of me. I wasn't even trying to not look interested. Baggage had a meeting! -- yes,apparently there are enough people working in "Baggage," perhaps overseeing the printing and stocking of the paper luggage tags to attend meetings, and meetings large enough to take place UPSTAIRS, an area in the Greyhound terminal that I did not know existed. (ed. note: L has never looked up in the terminal, apparantly) And what happened to those paper luggage tags...Baggage, come on.
I digress...
Baggage had a meeting -- and this particular driver, based on past conversations with Baggage, and the information she gleaned regarding said meeting, feels that the Hound is going to start charging for baggage ala American Airlines. I have only used the baggage hold once, so I am not worried. But Greyhound! -- stop with the extra charges already. I wish I had those meeting minutes in front of me now. I am only able to give you the slightest of information, which is just based on the feelings of someone else, who was not expressing these feelings to me, or at least not directly. Indirectly, she told me alot.
I walk on bus, gunning for a front seat.
I ask the first woman..who is sitting near the window, "Is this seat taken?" She points to a bag on the floor in front of the aisle seat.
"So someone is sitting there?" She points again. I clearly huff and puff, and sit directly across from her and her supposedly saved seat.
It's not saved. No one sits there.
I think mean things. Put the bag in the overhead. Put the bag in the baggage hold while it's still free. Put the bag at your feet. She talks on the phone, and gets reprimanded by the driver. I smile. She annoys me. She lounges. Across both seats. She takes off her shoes. M does that, everywhere, and I only deal it because I think I like the guy, but this woman's feet...I did not want them...in my face. Yes, in my face as she is lounging with her bare feet dangling into the aisle. One of her shoes slowly makes its way down the aisle, due to some sort of physics of the starts and stops of the bus. Perhaps even the forces of inertia were at play. I don't know the exact science, but it made its way pretty far down the aisle, and I hoped that it would go missing. Someone eventually picked it up, and gave it back to her. She was happy and surprised. Next time lady, keep track of your footwear. Keeping them on helps.
My seatmate slept. He was quiet. I took out a book to read, only to be disappointed when I remembered I finished the book on the bus to DC...and I finished the other book on the plane. (My flight to TEXAS was faster than Greyhound, quieter, less stinky, while I was also provided with carrots and chocolate and drinks. Where is your beverage service, Greyhound?)I watched some of Dr. Katz.
Got off bus, and made my way to class. Overall it was uneventful, full of well-directed but un-acted-on anger, and quick. No rest-stops or bathroom anecdotes to speak of.
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