# Has Anyone Seen a Current Bus Route Map?



## ehbowen (Aug 16, 2019)

You hear here and elsewhere about the decline of scheduled intercity bus service. I was curious and wanted to find a route map to see what is left of the network and what city pairs might be ripe for new service, especially in the western U.S. However, it seems that route maps and bus timetables in general are now classified Top Secret. Oh, if you put in a city pair Greyhound or some aggregator will give you a semblance of an itinerary...but if you want to know anything more than connection points and times you're out of luck. At least as far as I've found so far. Any of our more "hardcore" members know where to dig up such information?


----------



## Eric S (Aug 16, 2019)

The closest example I've come across is here, put together by the American Intercity Bus Riders Association. No idea how reliable the map is, but FWIW a number of other articles and organizations have referred back to the map put together by AIBRA. And it does seem to be updated pretty regularly.


----------



## railiner (Aug 16, 2019)

Eric S said:


> The closest example I've come across is here, put together by the American Intercity Bus Riders Association. No idea how reliable the map is, but FWIW a number of other articles and organizations have referred back to the map put together by AIBRA. And it does seem to be updated pretty regularly.


Wow, I was never aware of that site...looks like a lot of info contained within, but unfortunately, they don't include an "index map" to local schedules between the various points depicted on their maps. Requires quite a bit of additional research, but it is better than nothing...
Thanks for posting it.
I have used this https://nabtguide.com/ but it doesn't include non-NABT carrier's...


----------



## railiner (Aug 16, 2019)

ehbowen said:


> You hear here and elsewhere about the decline of scheduled intercity bus service. I was curious and wanted to find a route map to see what is left of the network and what city pairs might be ripe for new service, especially in the western U.S. However, it seems that route maps and bus timetables in general are now classified Top Secret. Oh, if you put in a city pair Greyhound or some aggregator will give you a semblance of an itinerary...but if you want to know anything more than connection points and times you're out of luck. At least as far as I've found so far. Any of our more "hardcore" members know where to dig up such information?



Are you thinking about going into the 'business'?
You might want to talk to Swadian about that, before you pull the trigger...


----------



## ehbowen (Aug 16, 2019)

Well, right now my vehicle is a 20-year-old minivan, so a lot would have to happen. But I can dream, can't I?


----------



## ehbowen (Aug 16, 2019)

Eric S said:


> The closest example I've come across is here, put together by the American Intercity Bus Riders Association. No idea how reliable the map is, but FWIW a number of other articles and organizations have referred back to the map put together by AIBRA. And it does seem to be updated pretty regularly.


Thank you; that's excellent!


----------



## railiner (Aug 16, 2019)

ehbowen said:


> Well, right now my vehicle is a 20-year-old minivan, so a lot would have to happen. But I can dream, can't I?



Right now used buses can be purchased dirt cheap...getting commercial insurance is the big expense for a would be start-up...not to mention hiring a CDL qualified driver with a clean record....


----------



## ehbowen (Aug 16, 2019)

Let's just say that if I ever did it, I would want to do it right.


----------



## railiner (Aug 17, 2019)

ehbowen said:


> Let's just say that if I ever did it, I would want to do it right.


I totally agree with that. 
That said, if I were looking to get into some entrepreneurial endeavor, it would not be the intercity bus business, and I have a lifetime of experience working in that business...

I am considering buying a used bus, strictly for personal use, as in maybe converting it to a motorhome, now that I have plenty of room to park it at my new home The low prices are tempting, but then again I am reminded of the old adage about owning a boat....the happiest two days are the day you buy it....and the day you sell it....


----------



## Bob Dylan (Aug 17, 2019)

railiner said:


> I totally agree with that.
> That said, if I were looking to get into some entrepreneurial endeavor, it would not be the intercity bus business, and I have a lifetime of experience working in that business...
> 
> I am considering buying a used bus, strictly for personal use, as in maybe converting it to a motorhome, now that I have plenty of room to park it at my new home The low prices are tempting, but then again I am reminded of the old adage about owning a boat....the happiest two days are the day you buy it....and the day you sell it....


How do you turn a Large Fortune in to a Small One?

1) Own a Racehorse
2)Own a Boat
3) Own a Motorhome
4) Visit Vegas


----------



## jis (Aug 17, 2019)

I just stumbled upon this one for what it may be worth....

https://gizmodo.com/every-bus-and-amtrak-route-across-the-us-mapped-1517300003

The alleged PDF file is apparently not available since the alleged domain in which it is supposed to be located isn't there. But the JPG in the article is pretty good.

I have no idea how valid it is today.


----------



## velotrain (Aug 17, 2019)

Eric S said:


> The closest example I've come across is here, put together by the American Intercity Bus Riders Association. No idea how reliable the map is, but FWIW a number of other articles and organizations have referred back to the map put together by AIBRA. And it does seem to be updated pretty regularly.



I had been considering a trip taking the Downeaster to Portland, bus over to White River Junction, Vermonter to Springfield and LSL back to Boston. Then I discovered that all bus routes between those points go through Boston - where I'm starting from. The AIBRA East Coast map clearly shows the V of all routes using the N-S Interstates, with nothing going E-W. There was likely (more) direct train service in the latter half of the 19th century and some of the 20th. My next thought was to look for car rentals in Portland that I can return in Vermont.


----------



## dogbert617 (Aug 17, 2019)

Jefferson Lines has a map, of all the intercity bus routes(in northern Midwest, northern Plains states, and certain northern Mountain West states) they run: https://2qwuxr33v1ei2x0kjw27ngl7-wp...nt/uploads/All-States_Udated-4.23.18-01-1.jpg

I'll have to check that Gizmodo article later, to see how accurate that map is.


----------



## jis (Aug 18, 2019)

dogbert617 said:


> I'll have to check that Gizmodo article later, to see how accurate that map is.


Apparently it is an AIBRA National Maps, of what vintage I don't know.


----------



## Seaboard92 (Aug 18, 2019)

Bob Dylan said:


> How do you turn a Large Fortune in to a Small One?
> 
> 1) Own a Racehorse
> 2)Own a Boat
> ...



5) Own a Private Railcar


----------



## adamj023 (Nov 2, 2019)

ehbowen said:


> You hear here and elsewhere about the decline of scheduled intercity bus service. I was curious and wanted to find a route map to see what is left of the network and what city pairs might be ripe for new service, especially in the western U.S. However, it seems that route maps and bus timetables in general are now classified Top Secret. Oh, if you put in a city pair Greyhound or some aggregator will give you a semblance of an itinerary...but if you want to know anything more than connection points and times you're out of luck. At least as far as I've found so far. Any of our more "hardcore" members know where to dig up such information?



I am aware of transit data maps which include bus routes but not of a specific bus map with intercity pairs. Google maps, busbud and others will include bus routes. Google maps users can select bus only mode.

Bus is still needed in USA but other methods are generally better when available. While Amtrak has cut back overall, they did add back as well. And lots of commuter rail lines have been built over the years and continue to be built. The big thing in bus now are the lower cost bus like BoltBus and MegaBus. Airline alliances have their route maps public. Unfortunately some route pairs are incredibly expensive.


----------

