not what was advertised

The commercials on television lately have told me that Greyhound got new buses, new terminals, and better reliability. Judging from my experiences this weekend, that is a load of crap.

First, facilities. The station in Indianapolis was the same old chairs with arms broken off, bored staff, and general feeling of dirtiness as before. Champaign was approximately the same, only with new bathrooms. Springfield I couldn't see, since it was closed when I got there. But I'm guessing they didn't do much to the old bank they were using as a station. That's to say nothing of Decatur, IL, which uses the lobby of Sandy's Motel.

Second, buses. I have to say that perhaps the paint job and the seats looked a little nicer than last time I rode, but that's about all that changed. The reading lights above the seats were pretty much all broken on my second bus.

Third, overall quality and efficiency. My second bus was an hour late. Now, I can understand that due to the snow and traffic, there might be delays. However, when the dispatcher at the station can't tell me how late the bus is going to be, the driver takes a fifteen minute stop at a gas station when he is already an hour late, and there are no apologies made, I tend to doubt any increased reliability in the Greyhound Bus company.

I appreciate Greyhound's drive to make busing a more viable option for long distance transportation, but they are going to have to do more than just make pretty commercials before anyone really takes them seriously.