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[Tycho?] wrote:

Yeah its pretty nuts. I just traveled through there actually, I'm happy I was safely hitch-hiking instead of braving one of the busses where the murderers lurk.

One of many reasons I don't ride buses.

ScifiterX wrote:

Particularly Greyhound buses.

Yeah.  Really any sort of cross-country bus.  It seems like they always crash--or alternatively a passenger goes crazy and stabs people.

I vaguely remember Greyhound coming out in 2001 claiming that, for that year, riding a bus was safer than flying.

(I tried to googling that and the first result had this title:  "6 Die in Greyhound Crash After Driver’s Throat Is Cut")

Yes yes, that was the joke.  (Only it was actually said, which makes it worse.)

I've never had a problem with the bus. I've seen a lot of crazy people on the bus and tend to steer clear of them. I've also slept in the terminals with a lot of luggage including my laptop and no one hassles me. as long as you don't give off the "I'm an easy target" vide you should be fine.

Donkey Butter wrote:

I've never had a problem with the bus. I've seen a lot of crazy people on the bus and tend to steer clear of them. I've also slept in the terminals with a lot of luggage including my laptop and no one hassles me. as long as you don't give off the "I'm an easy target" vide you should be fine.

Some greyhound hubs are more dangerous than others.

Tallgeese wrote:

I rode a Greyhound cross-country once.
Never again.

I agree. I use greyhound to get to SFBA and Washington State. Not long trips, very affordable.

For cross country - use Amtrak or fly. Amtrak is really nice because you get to see a lot of the country. I've done Amtrak cross country a couple time - I love the Zephyr route - though the southern route is nice too.

resedit wrote:

If you pay attention to your surrounds, don't wear anything too flashy, etc. - your greyhound trip will probably go just fine.
Borrow a cheap cell phone if you have one that screams money, don't use Apple's signature earphones and try to keep your iPod concealed, etc. and there is little chance of getting jacked.

However - the bathrooms on the buses smell and the bathrooms at the stations can be dangerous places (except when they are crowded) as they are generally not monitored by security (no cameras), so that makes for a rather unpleasant trip.

If you've got a layover of any amount of time, use the locker and put your ticket in it - because tickets are often stolen. The thieves try to get them refunded later on or use them later on. Only hitch is - if it is a long layover over night, security will want to see your ticket several times - as vagrants try to spend the night at a station.

Anyway - as long as you don't look like you have something worth taking, you generally don't even get looks from the criminal types.

Golly.  If smurf's really that bad, no wonder people put up with the TSA's BS for commercial air travel.  While getting metaphorically raped by the government is no fun, it's sure better than getting actually raped in a bathroom on a bus line...

jkahless wrote:

Weird.  I've never had any problems with greyhounds, and they seemed really unsketchy.  Especially compared with city buses and light rail.

Try riding with a layover in Sacramento or Oakland or LA.

A few rides ago, a 17 year old girl who's dress and mannerisms screamed naive was riding alone. The ticket agent looked at her schedule and re-routed her a different way, which took longer to get to where she was going. When she asked why, he told her "because if you have this particular layover (I forget which city), there's a good chance I'll read about you in the morning paper"

Oakland is OK if you stay inside the building, the private security is pretty good at figuring out the nut cases fairly quickly. Sacramento though absolutely sucks, it's a bigger station and it's not advisable to even step outside unless the sun is shining.

I remember once going to sit down in a chair. There was a plastic bag on it. The plastic bag contained fecal matter. It was neatly tied at the top, but still quite gross. I've seen several fights there - including one knife fight where the idiot drew upon the security guard.

The police didn't even come - police are so busy in Sacramento that they generally only respond if there is an actual injury. Yesm security notified them, they had to, but the police didn't come since the incident was "resolved without injury". Security disarmed the guy and threw him out - and that was the end of it. He hung around outside the building for a little while though, continually muttering about how he was gonna teach them respect (I know because I smoke, and the smoking area is obviously outside).

Redding - fairly safe station, but there's only one agent at night - so if something happens at the station, it's easy for it to go un-noticed. Unfortunately Redding is a long stop for the I5 runs - so the scum going to portland or LA get off the bus there, and there sometimes are fights. Also - the alcoholics sometimes get off there, buy a bunch of liquor, and then are not allowed back on the bus because they are drunk - so they have to wait around until the next bus in their direction. They sometimes are on the receiving end of trouble (often robbed). Redding Police are fairly quick to respond though - the police station is just a couple blocks away.

Anyway - the safety of the stations vary largely by time of day and where the station is.
Chico station is a nice one - pretty much just college kids.

resedit wrote:

Amtrak is really nice because you get to see a lot of the country. I've done Amtrak cross country a couple time - I love the Zephyr route - though the southern route is nice too.

I agree whole heartedly

The TSA nonsense sucks because it adds quite a bit of time to fly, which is supposed to be faster. Hell, going on short trips to places like LA, Vegas or Denver from SFO it takes more time in the airport than on the plane getting there. It's the taking off shoes, belts, having to pull my laptop out and put in in a separate bucket and watch it carefully. Then say goodbye to only using carryons if you want to actually carry toiletries with you. Yes, it can be easy if you know what to expect, but it's still a PITA.

Combined with the airlines now nickeling and diming everyone for everything - including checked bags and air travel isn't pleasant at all. I'd love to see high-speed rail here. No need for long security lines or other nonsense. Unfortunately rail travel isn't very fast because our tracks are antiquated. But if fuel prices continue to soar and more airlines are forced out and prices rise, perhaps it will become a viable alternative.