My Thanksgiving Greyhound Trip Wasn't a Greyhound

[@magicbyrd7045]

TA here! FlixBus will officially take over Greyhound starting January 3rd. Lots of changes coming with this as well. Fun fact: Almost all BoltBus drivers are Greyhound drivers, they were either plucked from the Greyhound driving school or they were offered to join BoltBus while being a Greyhound driver. Back in the day, some BoltBus drivers cleaned the buses on their 5th work day. All trips for the drivers were 4 days driving, 1 garage day, and 2 days off. Also another fun fact: Amtrak customers can take Greyhound buses if they choose to; Greyhound is supposed to take Amtrak passengers; don’t think it works the other way though. This is only good until January 3rd.

[@jareddean8139]

Do you have a source on this? I have been interested in the Flixbus-Greyhound merger hoping for better frequency from Greyhound side of things and better travel times from Flixbus. I haven't been able to find any updates on it though.

[@magicbyrd7045]

It’s mostly internal unfortunately, and it seems that they like to spring things on the customers a lot (like day of or 12 hrs beforehand), so that’s why you’re not hearing much. It’s going to be hard, because Greyhound drivers are unionized, FlixBus drivers are not...so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out after the formal transition.

[@Railfan56]

Didn't Peter Pan also contribute to Bolt Bus, since they were coordinating service between Boston and Washington DC with Greyhound? Except for owning Greyhound, Flixbus farms out all there schedules to private bus firms. When you book trips now on the Greyhound webpage, FlixBus departures are included at a much lower cost. Of course you need to catch Flix outside of PABT in NYC.

[@MilesinTransit]

Wow, I'm VERY curious to see what happens with that...I mean, one can still book Greyhound trips for after that date, so I find it hard to imagine changes being THAT drastic? But gosh, who knows...

[@kitchin2]

@@Railfan56 There’s a pen of Flixes at Penn, 31st and 8th, SW corner. Don’t know where they go. Kinda weird to see a surface lot on the grid there.

[@sammymarrco2]

this has got to be one of the chillest videos from MIT ever, very enjoyable

[@JacksonBetz]

This actually completely evokes the joy of setting out from the Philly Greyhound terminal really early on a weekend morning! I've made that trip so many times :) Enjoyed this video a lot too!

[@MilesinTransit]

I really appreciate that, guys, thank you!!

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

I agree, the NJ Meadowlands region is definitely fascinating. If you want a closer look, recommend taking the NJ Transit 320 from PABT to Harmon Meadow-Mill Creek (the 78 from Newark Penn and 85 from Hoboken Terminal will take you there too) in Secaucus and if you behind the Bob's Furniture store, there's an entrance to the Mill Creek Marsh and you have a whole nature trail around the marsh typically to yourself. You'll see a lot of stumps in the water there because it explains on markers that the marsh used to be a thriving Atlantic white cedar forest that was burned in the 1790s to eliminate hiding places for pirates who preyed on shipping in Newark Bay, and then a dam at the Oradell Reservoir built in 1923 allowed saltwater to reach farther into the Meadowlands, transforming it from a freshwater marsh to a tidal saltwater one.

[@MilesinTransit]

Fascinating! That sounds like a really cool walk.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

The GWB Bus Station was designed by Pier Luigi Nervi from the Italian province of Sondrio. He also designed the Norfolk Scope arena in Norfolk, VA, the PalaLottomatica and Palazzetto dello Sport arenas in Rome (which hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics basketball tournament), UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (as part of a collab with Bernard Zehrfuss from France and Marcel Breuer from Hungary), Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco (collab with Pietro Belluschi), and the Paul VI Audience Hall which is part of the Vatican complex.

[@raymondmuench3266]

Scope AND Paul VI Hall? Who’d a thunk it?

[@ZT3G]

Can't wait for next video. "Only take local buses from Boston to Philadelphia"

[@MilesinTransit]

It's absolutely on my list!

[@Unmannedperson]

Amtrak actually did you a service: In addition to saving severals of dollars, you also got a video out of it!

[@MilesinTransit]

True!

[@eveostay]

mucho severals

[@madeleineyoung9358]

i live in western canada where greyhound hasn't operated for a few years but i used to take it all over when i was a teenager. other than the scenery on some trips it was never an amazing experience but i have this weird nostalgia for greyhound trips now. just discovered your channel & these videos are oddly comforting edit: also just saw your video where you visited my city (victoria bc) i hope you enjoyed your time here!

[@MilesinTransit]

We loved Victoria! Thanks for watching!

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Greyhound hasn't operated anywhere in Canada for a few years.

[@newdivision00]

The best greyhound ride I ever took was from SF to Modesto, CA. I'm not from the area, so it was really exciting to see all the farms and rolling green hills.

[@JacksonBetz]

2:17 There is NO WAY you got good enough sleep on a Greyhound bus to be able to have DREAMS lmaooooo

[@MilesinTransit]

I swear it happened!! It must've been because I could sprawl out between two seats!

[@condor237]

Yeah I’ve accidentally gotten on a Peter Pan and ended up beating my original bus

[@ednajohnson8771]

I'm sorry about your trip on Thanksgiving have a safe Thanksgiving

[@hgraham93]

What a cliffhanger! Need more video, thanks. Love the journey so far; excited for more. I've never ridden an Amtrak before, but I've been thinking about trying it out cross-country..... well I'm in Chicago, so mid-cross-country LOL One of my favorite parts about travelling on a train is the ability to look out the windows and study the landscape better than if I'm driving, and it seems like these long distance train rides are good for that. Being above the clouds in an airplane is cool, but I'd rather be able to see what I'm travelling past. What's a good train route for me to explore?

[@MilesinTransit]

The California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco is the classic one to take - the scenery on it is incredible!

[@MTobias]

Weird ass buses once again, just how I like it!

[@michaelimbesi2314]

Wow, impressive use of the bus! I typically just take Amtrak and eat the cost

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you! The bus was SUCH a fraction of the cost that I felt like I had to take it one way...

[@paulriv]

I miss BoltBus terribly... They were usually more punctual than Greyhound, Bolt rewards was a really generous program, and they had free standby even though Greyhound charged $20 for the same thing. I'm seeing other comments regarding the future of Greyhound next year and it looks umm interesting... The last 2 years have been full of change for intercity bus travel and I guess we'll have more changes into next year too!

[@baconmcbacon62]

Sirens and peculiar aromas at Greyhound stations. Feels like home xD

[@NEPATransitnTravel]

They subbed in one of these once for my Scranton to Syracuse trek to catch the Lake Shore!

[@richard-mtl]

Great shot with that reflected Bolt in the office building.

[@MilesinTransit]

Thanks!

[@CactusPHLyer]

I used to ride Bolt PHL-NYC in my college days, always preferred Bolt's Prevosts & CX45s over the TD925s of Megabus, which I found to be cramped.

[@maxsilverstone8600]

4:10 - Hello Peter (It's where Peter fought Doc Ock in No Way Home)

[@lorumipsum1129]

I’ve only used that bus station when coming in and leaving Philly from Easton pa. Oddly enough , the Philly station looks better at night then during the day

[@lewnwdc]

I miss BoltBus. I took that many times between Washington and New York, and it was good almost every time.

[@injustifiiable]

I miss BoltBus. Taken it from Midtown to Philly and it was always pleasant.

[@MilesinTransit]

I never got to ride it!

[@phronsiekeys]

Loved the final comment. What day of the week was this? So quiet! Are you coming to Boston for the GLX grand opening on Dec 12?

[@MilesinTransit]

It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving - I'm SHOCKED there wasn't more traffic! And yes, I'll be there for the GLX opening!

[@piewhackit2me]

Want to do a trip on Greyhound in the future,but after serious consideration I’ve decided to just rent a car,because I’ll need one anyway once I get three (staying a week) and I can take one of my dogs.Only 500 miles 7.5 hours versus 22-27 hours on the bus

[@davidsixtwo]

At what point does it make sense to take septa + NJT to NYC, and then MNR to connecticut, and then bus or bus/mbta the rest of the way? This is still insane, but has to be cheaper than holiday amtrak.

[@mkkm945]

Amtrak's NEC is the best, but it's got a long way to improve. The fact that the trains aren't higher capacity double-deckers (like Stadler KISS or something similar) is a shame. There really shouldn't be as many buses running these routes. They exist because of Amtrak's idiotic pricing.

[@drdewott9154]

Yeah. I even wonder if open access operators could have a shot at operating on the NEC. Like imagine a Flixtrain service once or twice a day on the line with rockbottom prices and trains composed entirely of multilevel cars

[@troybellamy4615]

The bolt bus you were on was an emergency used replacement order! Bolt was originally a joint venture between Peter Pan and Greyhound! As part of the breakup of the joint venture Peter Pan took away the fifteen buses they assigned to Bolt! To replace them Greyhound purchased these used coaches for Bolt! As part of the negotiations for the sale of Greyhound, Flixbus stipulated that Bolt be shut down as it interfered with Flixbus's market! Bolt was quite a successful operation starting with an initial fleet of thirty buses and shutting down with a fleet of over one hundred buses! They brought alot of positive changes to the industry would have been poised for major expansion if not for Greyhound's woes! Bolt buses have always been owned by Greyhound as evidenced by Greyhound operating certificate being listed on the baggage bins! Those 0900 series coaches are the only only ones in the fleet that come backup cameras and tire changing equipment! They're very nice to drive!

[@MartyGlenn72]

I assume that this bus took the I-87 to I-287 to I-684 to I-84 route to get from NYC to Hartford as opposed to the I-95 to I-91 route…

[@MilesinTransit]

Yes it did!

[@xingcat]

I used to take the Bolt bus from Boston to NYC regularly. It wasn't too bad a way to travel.

[@FerdinandCesarano]

I loved Bolt Bus because it allowed bikes in the cargo hold. FlixBus could do likewise, but it chooses not to. I brought my bike by Bolt Bus many times to Philadelphia and Washington, and once to Baltimore, just to ride around in those cities.

[@lewnwdc]

The end cuts off. Were you trying to show how odd it is the BoltBus website hasn't been stickered over even though the company has been closed for a couple years?

[@SeaBassTian]

"Hi White Plains! Bye White Plains!" Lolo

[@hucklebucklin]

Your dream is what they do when a Ryanair flight arrives on time

[@realIncognitoTGT]

Same happened to us too!

[@theconezy]

I scored a $85 Acela ticket from Boston to Philly for ride back after Thanksgiving

[@kitchin2]

I got Acela WAS-NYP for $71 on Friday after Tgiving, but only because it was the 6am departure. Probably got RPA 10% off.

[@MilesinTransit]

They had the prices jacked up in the summer and then (I assume) they realized they were a little TOO high and brought them down for bit...

[@trainandmore]

Gotta stop everything for a Miles video, this time I Paused Mobile Suit Gundam. Also, 1.what are you gonna do if Ned gets kicked out of office? 2, dear Amtrak, fix your price structure 3. How did Greyhound buy a bus company, but at the same time, close a ton of stations?

[@sgt.eclair]

because execs are just allergic to infrastructure spending

[@deanc9453]

1 - Get another Ned 2 - At cost pricing. Use that Economy of Scale! 3 - That's Capitalism, baby!

[@steelers3814]

Get Ned to run for president

[@kevanhubbard9673]

I think that Greyhound act as an agent for other smaller companies too for example when I went from Boston to Montreal I bought the ticket from Greyhound but the company running the bus was called Vermont Transit.Bolt Bus is probably a similar arrangement?

[@MilesinTransit]

No, this was a Bolt Bus running on a Greyhound route - Bolt doesn't exist anymore, and it was never a partner company in the sense that you could book it through Greyhound.

[@drdewott9154]

Its funny, thats actually what Flixbus does. I mean Flixbus doesnt own a single bus of their own, they serve to unify branding and as an agency to book various cheap bus trips. Last summer I booked a trip on Flixbus from Odense to Denmark, but the bus itself wasnt Flixbus branded at all. Just a Neoplan Cityliner from a small operator named "Roskilde Turistfart", who seem to run a coach route between Sønderborg and Copenhagen thats booked through, and integrated with Flixbus.

[@alk61695]

Just found out they closed that bus terminal in Philadelphia. It was moved to 7th and Market. Not even a terminal it is just an empty storefront.

[@MilesinTransit]

It's awful! This video is like historical preservation now!

[@johnhawkinson]

$36 for the bus? Huh, Amtrak is $33 PHL/BOS in the low bucket. That said, I do think you have to book Thanksgiving like >6 months in advance, or it may even have a cheap fare blackout. Sadly (?) you can't book Thanksgiving 2023 until Christmas 2022 (11 month maximum advance fare), so you can't check now. But of course, since we still have no change fees on fares booked by 2/28/23, might as well go guess your turkeyday travel plans on xmas day and buy some tix. Also bidup prices went up by 25% today, go figure.

[@MilesinTransit]

Amtrak just jacked up the Thanksgiving prices because they could - when I booked, most of the trains were 0%-10% full. They walked back on it later in the year and made the prices slightly cheaper.

[@davidrivera9743]

I consider Philadelphia greyhound station to be the worst one.

[@JeffersonLeeEng]

Baltimore greyhound station needs to be nuked.

[@hobog]

In my mind, flixbus is a better bolt bus, targeting direct service along competitive corridors

[@hobog]

QuickShuttle / QuickCoach is the best for Seattle-VancouverBC trips, because it has the shortest intermediate stops, and does SEA-Bellingham-YVR airport connections

[@whyimsmarterthanyou]

Westchester County? Isn't that where the X-men have their little mutant school?

[@josiahdillard7428]

Ah the George Washington Bridge Bus terminal in Washington heights where I used too live

[@Jadens_Trains83]

Miles Did you know the Green line extension Medford branch opened today.

[@MilesinTransit]

No

[@Jadens_Trains83]

@@MilesinTransit Yeah It Just Opened this Morning at 4:50 am.

[@PabloBD]

Sir you need to have a seat!

[@JustAnotherPoorSlob]

@2:45 I don't think it's Amtrak hiked its prices in June--it's that they sell only so many $33 dollar PHL->BOS seats per train (so many per tier for each price tier per train), and in high demand times those sell out earlier. When my kid started college in the Philly area, we bought a ton of $19 PHLNYC tickets to accommodate their schedule--you just need to do it very early [admittedly, easier for the Thanksgiving return (Sunday) than the way out (Tuesday? Wednesday?) when you don't know the time... We already have Fall break seats booked for next fall/NYComicon @4:08 Snort. Agree on the Power Broker, who apparently raised his staff and split the Harlem River, so 95 could go over it.

[@MilesinTransit]

They did hike them for Thanksgiving because they knew it would be a high-demand time - when I booked it, no train was fuller than 20%, and many were still at 0%, but they were all the same high price.

[@JustAnotherPoorSlob]

@@MilesinTransit Maybe. Thanksgiving-ish fares should be available from ~Christmas. Let's see whether there are $19 seats on some trains (even now, looking at, for example April 10, only some routes with "0% full" are $19. Some trains start out at ~$40 and at least one 0% train is "sold out")

[@MilesinTransit]

If we're talking about Philly to New York, I'm seeing only one train that's 0% full and $38, and it's a Keystone 15 minutes after a Regional in the morning rush - maybe that train sees a lot of commuters so they're hiking the price in advance. Besides that, nearly everything is $19; the 0% full one that's "sold out" is the Crescent from New Orleans, which doesn't take passengers on that portion of its route, so it glitches out the booking system. You can also see a $114 Palmetto, which is priced that high because they'd rather people use it from points south of DC (it comes from Savannah) than from Philly.

[@JustAnotherPoorSlob]

@@MilesinTransit Miles--forgot about that pricing problem. Also happens on DC-NYC that originate south of the NER. As to what we'll see for Thanksgiving, we'll know in a few weeks. My guess is that there will be some $19, but it wont last too long--the min the tracker shows above 0% is 10%, isn't it? If so, let's see if we can periodically check on PHL-NYC and PHL-BOS prices for Thanksgiving. If they are running 10 car consists around Thanksgiving, they may sell many seats and still stay below the 20 - 30% threshold. For NY, btw, we often get another cheap[ish] option. Long after PHL-NYC gets more sold out and north of $100. Ardmore still has $50 seats. It's not $19, but seems to sell out slower than the PHL ones for a small Septa ride (and extra time). I wonder whether that will stay cheaper longer as an $80 2 segment to Boston for you? (I suppose the DC equivalent is taking the metro to Alexandria and the amtrak north from there--both have the extra time of a loco change, but both are better than the bus)

[@JustAnotherPoorSlob]

FYI, the day before Thanksgiving is up for next year, and it looks like they have all the saver fares available for it ($19 PHL to NYC, and $33 to BOS). I suspect that the absolute number of saver fares that they have on those trains is similar to a normal day, but the trains are longer so they sell out of the saver fairs much earlier in terms of % sold (and much earlier in terms of time because those are high travel days where people know well in advance that they're going to be traveling).

[@Natalietrans]

Ay yo what that lightning bolt symbol is?

[@stevenroshni1228]

Wasn't Boltbus always owned by Greyhound? I remember they had the dog on the side of the arm rest

[@MilesinTransit]

Yeah, they were!

[@markw.schumann297]

So Greyhound, with a union workforce, created a non-union subsidiary and shifted routes to that subsidiary. Interesting.

[@kyleboehner535]

Dude my greyhound trip for Thanksgiving SUCKED!!! I ended up being stuck In Atlanta because my bus was late picking me up from Macon Georgia and late picking me up from Cincinnati Ohio which caused me to be stuck in Atlanta for 28 hours

[@MilesinTransit]

Nooooo that's AWFUL! I hope you made it home okay!

[@kyleboehner535]

I did man it just took alot longer than I expected and I had to miss work. But everything worked out

[@bcampbelnd]

Have you met Ned Lamont in person?

[@MilesinTransit]

Haha, no, I haven't!

[@johnp139]

Take the train. Oh, I just heard…

[@marcjohnson2574]

Station looked a lot like the one in Kansas City.

[@MilesinTransit]

Ooh, good point!

[@LifeOnCoach]

✌🏾

[@MachineWashableKatie]

miles how does ur hair look so luxurious

[@MilesinTransit]

Pure luck, I think - I never do anything to it!

[@Ahuntsicspotter]

How long was the ride?

[@CharlesReiche]

Yes

[@MilesinTransit]

A little under 7 hours, all told

[@perry968]

Bolt bus is now flixbus

[@gamelord12]

Yeah, I was hoping this would mean Greyhound would improve, but as far as I know, they haven't yet.

[@Railfan56]

That's not true. Flixbus bought Greyhound which discontinued Bolt during the Pandemic. Flixbus, besides owning Greyhound, farms out all their work/schedules to private bus companies. Same business model as "OurBus".

[@paulriv]

@@Railfan56 I find Ourbus to be more customer friendly than Flixbus. Refundable reservations up to 24 hours before departure (credit up to an hour before) on Ourbus can really come in handy!

[@timothyschollux]

How was the Thanksgiving Dinner? Any diner discussions *wink wink*?

[@MilesinTransit]

Unfortunately not!

[@nevango0690]

Hey miles, what degree are you doing?

[@MilesinTransit]

Urban studies!

[@SmokiesDen]

Looks like if you pick the right random wednesday you can fly the same route for $19 with frontier. As close to a bus in the sky as it gets.

[@thefareplayer2254]

I wonder if the lack of more Springfield-bound Northeast Regionals helps Greyhound?

[@MilesinTransit]

It very well could! I was really surprised at how many people got off in Hartford, but that is a trip that's a lot harder to do on Amtrak.

[@drdewott9154]

@@MilesinTransit Oh definitely. Bus operators thrive on making direct services where rail don't. Here in Denmark, in the western part of the country called Jutland, many direct trains to the capital Copenhagen have been cut in recent years. Cities like Herning and Holstebro which had direct trains every 1-2 hours only have 4 per day now. And cities like Viborg which had a few direct trains per day now have none. And as such much of the travel demand between these cities and the capital is now filled partially by Intercity bus operators (notably Flixbus and Kombardo Expressen, the latter being owned by a ferry company whose ferries they use as a shortcut and bus station at sea for transfers), and partially by people driving for an hour or 2 to the nearest airport and flying from there.

[@ericbruun9020]

When is the Filbert Street station closing? I guess everyone will have to wait curbside. The billionaires want that land for their new basketball stadium the city of Philadelphia will no doubt approve. While they are at it, they can take the Hahnemann Hospital too. Both of them only served the poor and elderly, so who cares?

[@johnp139]

Get rid of that mole!

[@MilesinTransit]

I don't think the guy with no profile pic has the right to criticize other people's faces :)

[@uniontpke772]

First!

[@ericbruun9020]

Hey you guys, keep up the good work. I used to teach at Penn and I have quite a bit of material I could share with you. Contact me on LinkedIn.

[@BsBsBock]

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