# Intercity Bus Cuts Due to Pandemic



## Willbridge

I haven't seen announcements and operating bulletins are incomplete, but...

*Greyhound Lines has gone to less-than-daily service on additional once-a-day lines. *The one change that was bulletined, Table 502 - Spokane<>Portland, was effective July 23rd. They'll depart Spokane X67 and Portland X56.

Table 509 - Spokane<>Ellensburg<>Seattle is X34 from Spokane and X23 from Seattle.

Table 509 (also) - Stanfield/Pasco<>Ellensburg<>Seattle is X17 from Stanfield and X67 from Seattle.

Table 545 - Salt Lake City<>Las Vegas is X23 from Las Vegas and X34 from Salt Lake City.

There might be more. Flix was competing on Seattle<>Spokane, but that has not been restored since their pandemic shutdown.

For those not familiar with the geography, the Stanfield <> Seattle route is a connection from SLC and DEN and points east. The attached photo is the transfer when there were two trips daily on both DEN<>SLC<>PDX and the Seattle branch.


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## Willbridge

Further reference GL<>Amtrak; as of August 22 Greyhound has not updated their ticket sales site to blank out the Reno<>Salt Lake City rail bridge on the days it won't run. (Enough negatives!) Most of their tickets are sold on short notice, but they do offer lower fares for advance purchases. I found the Trains 5/6 connection daily into November for Greyhound reservations.


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## bms

Megabus has cut back a number of routes and looks like it is in financial trouble. I got an email from Megabus asking me to show my support for the Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services Act (CERTS Act). "If passed, the CERTS Act will allow us to continue providing reliable travel to you with your safety at top of mind." They still are running some routes but haven't served Ohio since the pandemic started.


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## railiner

The legislator's are not 'bus passenger's', so are not giving much support or sympathy to their plight...


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## Exvalley

For kicks I checked a Flix Bus reservation for tomorrow between Boston and New York. On the screen to reserve a seat, the bus shows as being basically empty. They must REALLY be hurting.


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## railiner

Boston/New York is an incredibly competitive market for all modes of transport...perhaps _the _most competitive of all....


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## Bob Dylan

railiner said:


> Boston/New York is an incredibly competitive market for all modes of transport...perhaps _the _most competitive of all....


More so than Washington-New York and Philly- New York??


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## Seaboard92

railiner said:


> Boston/New York is an incredibly competitive market for all modes of transport...perhaps _the _most competitive of all....



More so than Moscow to St. Petersburg which has three different sleeper train operators running 9 nightly trains?


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## railiner

Bob Dylan said:


> More so than Washington-New York and Philly- New York??


Maybe not in total passenger's, but I believe there may be more bus lines competing....


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## metrolinecoach111

railiner said:


> Boston/New York is an incredibly competitive market for all modes of transport...perhaps _the _most competitive of all....



On a passenger demand side, it's in the Top 5 for sure.

NY-DC is higher - if we're taking the entire Metropolitan DC region (+30 miles), it's 2.5x the size of NY-BOS.
On Sunday January 12, 2020, there were 169 departures from Metro NY to Metro DC operated by 12 different brands (10 different companies).
There were only about 1/3 operating from Metro NY to Metro Boston operated by 8 different brands (7 different companies).

That said, NY-DC is "likely" not the most competitive market. While we can't verify because several carriers do not publish schedules, cross border services operating between Laredo, TX and Nuevo Laredo, MX carry as many passengers, if not more.


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## railiner

Seaboard92 said:


> More so than Moscow to St. Petersburg which has three different sleeper train operators running 9 nightly trains?


I was only comparing the markets I am familiar with...don't know much about internationally.....


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## metrolinecoach111

Exvalley said:


> For kicks I checked a Flix Bus reservation for tomorrow between Boston and New York. On the screen to reserve a seat, the bus shows as being basically empty. They must REALLY be hurting.



Every carrier in that corridor is averaging at or below 50% capacity (25-30 ppl) for peak day schedules, 30% (15-20ppl) capacity for midweek. There are outliers for sure, but that's the general consensus.


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## railiner

metrolinecoach111 said:


> On a passenger demand side, it's in the Top 5 for sure.
> 
> NY-DC is higher - if we're taking the entire Metropolitan DC region (+30 miles), it's 2.5x the size of NY-BOS.
> On Sunday January 12, 2020, there were 169 departures from Metro NY to Metro DC operated by 12 different brands (10 different companies).
> There were only about 1/3 operating from Metro NY to Metro Boston operated by 8 different brands (7 different companies).
> 
> That said, NY-DC is "likely" not the most competitive market. While we can't verify because several carriers do not publish schedules, cross border services operating between Laredo, TX and Nuevo Laredo, MX carry as many passengers, if not more.


I have not studied this as well as you apparently have...thanks for the info....


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## metrolinecoach111

You're welcome!


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## jebr

Megabus has dropped their schedule to 1x/day (from 4x/day pre-COVID) between MSP and CHI. They're also hard-pricing their tickets (after the first $1 promotional fare) at $69.99 each way. That price is higher than the saver Amtrak fare for that route and the Greyhound price for that route (which is also now hard-set at $50-$52, instead of generally being in the $20-$30 range.) Greyhound has also cut from roughly 4x/day to just 2x/day, with none of the routes being "express" like before.

I'm not sure if the pricing is set in such a way as to try and only get essential travelers who'll basically pay any price, or if they're just not seeing enough demand to price the trips more competitively. Generally speaking, it's cheaper to book a flight MSP - CHI (at least more than a couple days out) than it is to take the bus there.


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## Willbridge

I should have written up some of the earlier cutbacks. GL Table 600 ends at Portland now, instead of Seattle (Table 601 Portland<>Seattle<>Vancouver, BC vanished.) They transfer the Washington passengers to the lone BOLT bus that runs Portland<>Seattle with intermediate stops. My dad, who is 97, is one of the few people who can remember when that always happened (Pacific Greyhound Lines owned by the SP connected with North Coast Lines owned by the former Seattle area interurban company). The problem with doing that today is that BOLT is in a separate part of the Greyhound Lines computer and so the information is not in all channels.

The lone BOLT bus takes 4:50 with six stops. It's the classic travel time problem when buses have to get off and on limited access highways. The lowest fare on Thursday, August 27th for EUG>SEA is $57. On Train 500 it's $58 and Business Class is "sold out." On Train 14 it's $75 ("3 left at that price").

On the PDX/SEA <> Spokane service cut to 5 days a week, an informed source told me that GL was looking at ways to combine the two routes. Flix was running one trip a day from Portland to Spokane and Couer d'Alene via Seattle before the curtain fell on them. At the end of June Flix restored one PDX<>SEA trip 5x a week with intermediate stops.

This whole situation reminds me of watching a car crash in slow motion.


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## railiner

Just shaking my head over the fall of the bus industry, as I knew it.....


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## Willbridge

railiner said:


> Just shaking my head over the fall of the bus industry, as I knew it.....


In the 1975 Oregon Intercity Bus Study we spotted the trend, but tiptoed around the issue. There never was a final report because the new governor was a friend of Bill Niskanen, Sr (president of Pacific Trailways). I don't know that he ever issued an order to that effect, but the way top bureaucrats keep their jobs is by not doing anything that might rock the bus. So we junior people printed hundreds of copies of the draft to fill requests.

If I survive the pandemic and housecleaning attempts, I want to write another LinkedIn essay, this one about the decline of the intercity bus industry. One of the repeated phenomena is that there is only one generation of customers shifted over from a discontinued rail service to the competing bus service. Then the bus service is cut back or restructured. The process sped up with the 55 mph speed limit, then the big GL strike, the collapse of Trailways, deregulation and now the pandemic. Each time the industry has come back smaller, with some routes gone.

One of the problems that faces the interests who for the past 50 years have tried to do in the long-distance trains is that all of the transcontinental routes that have survived have long stretches with no parallel Interstate and bus riders loathe riding on old US or state routes. So the population at intermediate points sees their towns being abandoned if the trains are discontinued. That'll go into that essay.


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## MARC Rider

railiner said:


> Just shaking my head over the fall of the bus industry, as I knew it.....


You'd think the climate change activists would be on top of this issue, as supporting intercity coaches is probably the easiest way to get people out of cars in most of the less dense parts of the US. (which is most of the US, even the smaller cities.)


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## railiner

Willbridge said:


> One of the problems that faces the interests who for the past 50 years have tried to do in the long-distance trains is that all of the transcontinental routes that have survived have long stretches with no parallel Interstate and bus riders loathe riding on old US or state routes. So the population at intermediate points sees their towns being abandoned if the trains are discontinued. That'll go into that essay.


Indeed...lots of good points. One illustration of this was the initial selection of the Empire Builder route, over the North Coast Limited route in part because the "Hi-Line" had no Interstate Highway...

I hope you do get around to producing that essay...

Here's an interesting study, sent to me by another member...




https://las.depaul.edu/centers-and-institutes/chaddick-institute-for-metropolitan-development/research-and-publications/Documents/New%20York%20-%20Washington%20Working%20Paper%20Final%20(1).pdf


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## metrolinecoach111

Willbridge said:


> I should have written up some of the earlier cutbacks. GL Table 600 ends at Portland now, instead of Seattle (Table 601 Portland<>Seattle<>Vancouver, BC vanished.) They transfer the Washington passengers to the lone BOLT bus that runs Portland<>Seattle with intermediate stops. My dad, who is 97, is one of the few people who can remember when that always happened (Pacific Greyhound Lines owned by the SP connected with North Coast Lines owned by the former Seattle area interurban company). The problem with doing that today is that BOLT is in a separate part of the Greyhound Lines computer and so the information is not in all channels.
> 
> The lone BOLT bus takes 4:50 with six stops. It's the classic travel time problem when buses have to get off and on limited access highways. The lowest fare on Thursday, August 27th for EUG>SEA is $57. On Train 500 it's $58 and Business Class is "sold out." On Train 14 it's $75 ("3 left at that price").
> 
> On the PDX/SEA <> Spokane service cut to 5 days a week, an informed source told me that GL was looking at ways to combine the two routes. Flix was running one trip a day from Portland to Spokane and Couer d'Alene via Seattle before the curtain fell on them. At the end of June Flix restored one PDX<>SEA trip 5x a week with intermediate stops.
> 
> This whole situation reminds me of watching a car crash in slow motion.



About a year back they integrated BOLT into Greyhound's core TRIPS system, where it now corresponds and coordinates with Greyhound. Though separate brands, they are now effectively a Greyhound service running a Greyhound route (at least for the time being). 

The current BOLT route is Portland-Seattle-Bellingham via all the Greyhound stops on I-5.

Why run a BOLT schedule instead of Greyhound? Money and branding. BOLT pre-pandemic not only ran more service and carried more passengers, but made a significant percentage more than all of the GL branded services in the PNW combined and has a better brand perception to the riding public.

Yes, there were efforts pre-pandemic to "streamline" that particular route and the entire region in general. Lots of chatter, but no results.


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## metrolinecoach111

MARC Rider said:


> You'd think the climate change activists would be on top of this issue, as supporting intercity coaches is probably the easiest way to get people out of cars in most of the less dense parts of the US. (which is most of the US, even the smaller cities.)



The biggest problem intercity buses have is public perception, for better or for worse.
In the minds of many, still to this day, the bus is the lowest transport mode in the hierarchy of options - the option of last resort.


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## MARC Rider

metrolinecoach111 said:


> The biggest problem intercity buses have is public perception, for better or for worse.
> In the minds of many, still to this day, the bus is the lowest transport mode in the hierarchy of options - the option of last resort.


Well, that's true, but such perceptions could be changed through both effective propaganda and by some changes in the hard and soft product offered by the bus operators. But it might require some public funding, at least at the edges, which is why some agitation from the climate change folks would be politically helpful, given that a full intercity bus is extremely CO2-efficient on a tons per passenger mile basis.


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## jebr

MARC Rider said:


> Well, that's true, but such perceptions could be changed through both effective propaganda and by some changes in the hard and soft product offered by the bus operators. But it might require some public funding, at least at the edges, which is why some agitation from the climate change folks would be politically helpful, given that a full intercity bus is extremely CO2-efficient on a tons per passenger mile basis.



This is anecdotal, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the regional brands have a better reputation than Greyhound or even Megabus. I know Jefferson Lines does quite a bit of marketing, including some radio spots, and I've even had family members ask about Jefferson Lines even though they've sworn off Greyhound based on the advertising they've heard on the local radio. Do some digital marketing to draw in younger generations, and have a decent on board product, and you've got a recipe for success. (I know I have a much more favorable opinion of Jefferson Lines than Greyhound, and wouldn't mind them taking over the lone Greyhound route left in Minnesota to Chicago.)


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## railiner

jebr said:


> This is anecdotal, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the regional brands have a better reputation than Greyhound or even Megabus. I know Jefferson Lines does quite a bit of marketing, including some radio spots, and I've even had family members ask about Jefferson Lines even though they've sworn off Greyhound based on the advertising they've heard on the local radio. Do some digital marketing to draw in younger generations, and have a decent on board product, and you've got a recipe for success. (I know I have a much more favorable opinion of Jefferson Lines than Greyhound, and wouldn't mind them taking over the lone Greyhound route left in Minnesota to Chicago.)


I think your perception is spot on, and it has been that way for a fairly long time. 'Family owned' bus line owner's, have a management that takes a greater interest in the reputation of their company, and good customer service. They often take a 'hands on' approach, to manage their property, and get to know their employees, as well as their customer's personally. They are active participants in their communities civic affairs, and just seem to care more, in general....


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## Willbridge

metrolinecoach111 said:


> The biggest problem intercity buses have is public perception, for better or for worse.
> In the minds of many, still to this day, the bus is the lowest transport mode in the hierarchy of options - the option of last resort.


The "carrier of last resort" image is enhanced -- if that's the right word -- by people who use GL in emergencies during peak travel times and without any advance planning. And then they have a poor or bad experience.

Like Amtrak, GL has tried to eliminate middle-management jobs and those were the people who would straighten things out when needed. It's hard to imagine now, but when we did that 1975 Oregon study we were dealing with GL's regional manager in Portland (I think he had Oregon, Washington and Idaho). Today were we to do that study the regional manager would be in Denver. When I last worked on relations with them in Denver (for RTD) their very good regional manager was engaged in setting up BOLT, so everything took longer while we were doing the Denver Union Station project -- he was up in the Pacific Northwest.

BTW, after retiring from GL, he was hired by CDOT to continue development of the state's Bustang system. Oregon, of course, set up a statewide network after the collapse of the Trailways system, but it doesn't have a statewide image. As Canadians recently have demonstrated, the negative bus image is the perfect excuse for doing nothing -- until a crisis level is reached.


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## railiner

Willbridge said:


> As Canadians recently have demonstrated, the negative bus image is the perfect excuse for doing nothing -- until a crisis level is reached.


From what I have read on another forum, they're still doing basically nothing in Canada...just a few operator's trying to cherry-pick would-be lucrative routes here and there, and nothing like the national network that Canada once enjoyed....


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## jiml

railiner said:


> From what I have read on another forum, they're still doing basically nothing in Canada...just a few operator's trying to cherry-pick would-be lucrative routes here and there, and nothing like the national network that Canada once enjoyed....


I don't follow bus services too closely, but certainly aware of frequent news stories regarding reductions and discontinuations that started long before the pandemic. I believe cutbacks have been most severe in Western Canada - especially in smaller communities where bus was the only option. Here in Ontario, the previous government slashed the northern trains in favor of bus services, but then those networks were in turn substantially reduced. The current government promised to look at the situation, along came Covid19 and there's certainly been no progress. Down east things might be a bit better - when in Halifax at the end of last year, the combination train and bus station seemed to be well-served by the latter, although ironically many of those buses run in place of long-gone trains.


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## Willbridge

Some update notes...

+ Amtrak Thruway service is to return to the *Los Angeles <>Las Vegas *route effective May 7th. Operating 2x daily it includes stops in San Bernardino, Victorville and Barstow. In the _Pacific Surfliner_ website it says that the station in Las Vegas is the South Strip transit center (now home to Greyhound) and that customers should ride the strip transit bus to get to downtown. In the Amtrak computer the bus is stopping on the street downtown AND ending up at the South Strip station. So the Vegas roulette wheel station issue continues to spin.

+ Greyhound has restored a second run between *Sacramento <> Seattle*, extending a Los Angeles <> Sacramento turn. They are continuing to run the original pandemic trip Los Angeles <> Sacramento <> Portland, with the lone BOLT run connecting for Seattle.

+ Greyhound is experiencing the CDL shortage. In addition to on-line advertising they've run full-color ads in big city dailies.

+ Flix restored a single* Eugene <> Portland <> Seattle <> Bellingham* run. As of May 5th, it did not show in their computer past May 17th.

+ Flix has begun developing service via *Binghamton into NYC* from Niagara Falls/Buffalo and from Ithaca. This is all head-on against Greyhound and another curbside carrier.

+ Flix is setting up an uncharacteristic premium service between* Las Vegas and Los Angeles.*


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## NEPATrainTraveler

Martz Bus went through some changes during this pandemic. The Scranton to Philadelphia route that used to be 2x daily (3x daily on Fridays and Sundays) each way is now just once a day each way. Another change is that downtown Wilkes-Barre has become the starting point southbound and the last stop northbound instead of Scranton. Southbound the bus leaves W-B at 5:15 AM and arrives at 30th Street station at 9:20 AM and the Greyhound station at 9:30 AM. Northbound it leaves the Greyhound station at 5:30 PM and 30th Street station at 5:45 PM, arriving in W-B at 9:30 PM. A stop at the Wyoming Valley Mall was added to the Philadelphia route after the stop in Scranton southbound and before Scranton going northbound. Normally, only a handful of Martz’ New York City runs stopped there along with Martz’ Atlantic City run, which isn’t currently running at all during the pandemic.

Martz’ New York City runs have also seen reduced frequencies, but still more frequent than the Philadelphia run.


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## railiner

Thanks for the bus updates.
I am seriously considering going back to work, but part time. Even at my age (73), I can easily find a multitude of commercial driving jobs. I am looking for one that will allow me to make myself available, when I want to, and take off when I want to.


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## Deni

Does anyone know the situation with Magabus in Indianapolis? When you go on their website and start typing "Indi..." in to the schedule search nothing comes up. They still have an Indianapolis page but you can't search any busses to/from there. Don't know if they have cancelled permanently or just a COVID suspension. My wife is taking a new job with a company based in Indy. She'll stay based here in Chicago but will need to travel to Indy frequently. The Cardinal will probably not be an option very often due to it's thrice-weekly schedule and bad Indianapolis times...


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## Eric S

The last time I had taken a look at Megabus schedules, it looked like their Midwest service had shrunk to just a Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison-Twin Cities line. No idea how much of their pre-pandemic service will return, or when it might. It looks like the options right now are Greyhound or airlines.


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## jebr

Eric S said:


> The last time I had taken a look at Megabus schedules, it looked like their Midwest service had shrunk to just a Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison-Twin Cities line. No idea how much of their pre-pandemic service will return, or when it might. It looks like the options right now are Greyhound or airlines.



And that line is only running once a day, based out of Coach USA/Wisconsin Coach Lines (I think Janesville, WI is where the garage is at.) They've done that for a couple years pre-pandemic as well (though having 4x/day frequencies then) but I don't see that changing anytime soon.

I think the Indianapolis schedule actually feeds from Atlanta, so it might be dependent on when that grows. The Chicago maintenance base for Megabus is no more, so all the buses have to feed from their other bases currently.


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## Willbridge

Willbridge said:


> Some update notes...
> 
> + Amtrak Thruway service is to return to the *Los Angeles <>Las Vegas *route effective May 7th. Operating 2x daily it includes stops in San Bernardino, Victorville and Barstow. In the _Pacific Surfliner_ website it says that the station in Las Vegas is the South Strip transit center (now home to Greyhound) and that customers should ride the strip transit bus to get to downtown. In the Amtrak computer the bus is stopping on the street downtown AND ending up at the South Strip station. So the Vegas roulette wheel station issue continues to spin.
> 
> + Greyhound has restored a second run between *Sacramento <> Seattle*, extending a Los Angeles <> Sacramento turn. They are continuing to run the original pandemic trip Los Angeles <> Sacramento <> Portland, with the lone BOLT run connecting for Seattle.
> 
> + Greyhound is experiencing the CDL shortage. In addition to on-line advertising they've run full-color ads in big city dailies.
> 
> + Flix restored a single* Eugene <> Portland <> Seattle <> Bellingham* run. As of May 5th, it did not show in their computer past May 17th.
> 
> + Flix has begun developing service via *Binghamton into NYC* from Niagara Falls/Buffalo and from Ithaca. This is all head-on against Greyhound and another curbside carrier.
> 
> + Flix is setting up an uncharacteristic premium service between* Las Vegas and Los Angeles.*


Flix had a sort of lurch in their Pacific Northwest schedules and now have schedules posted into June, stepped up from once a day to two and then three PDX <> SEA trips. At three a day they have more trips than Amtrak or Greyhound.


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## Willbridge

railiner said:


> Thanks for the bus updates.
> I am seriously considering going back to work, but part time. Even at my age (73), I can easily find a multitude of commercial driving jobs. I am looking for one that will allow me to make myself available, when I want to, and take off when I want to.


Your best bet might be with a Gray Line member or a university town charter operator. When I was dispatcher for Gray Line of Portland (no, I was _not _the cause of its bankruptcy) I had access to a dozen or so part-timers for days with big conventions or football games (with every seat sold in the stadium). I'd go through the list without having to call by seniority. Soon I learned which guys liked which sort of run. The full-timers and I were bound by the contract to be called -- and work -- by seniority.

Several of the part-timers were experienced retirees and I liked not having to explain a lot to them.


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## railiner

Willbridge said:


> Your best bet might be with a Gray Line member or a university town charter operator. When I was dispatcher for Gray Line of Portland (no, I was _not _the cause of its bankruptcy) I had access to a dozen or so part-timers for days with big conventions or football games (with every seat sold in the stadium). I'd go through the list without having to call by seniority. Soon I learned which guys liked which sort of run. The full-timers and I were bound by the contract to be called -- and work -- by seniority.
> 
> Several of the part-timers were experienced retirees and I liked not having to explain a lot to them.


Good suggestion. I am currently in the hiring process (take my DOT physical on Monday), with a local charter line. I'll let you know how that works out...


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## Mailliw

NEPATrainTraveler said:


> Martz Bus went through some changes during this pandemic. The Scranton to Philadelphia route that used to be 2x daily (3x daily on Fridays and Sundays) each way is now just once a day each way. Another change is that downtown Wilkes-Barre has become the starting point southbound and the last stop northbound instead of Scranton. Southbound the bus leaves W-B at 5:15 AM and arrives at 30th Street station at 9:20 AM and the Greyhound station at 9:30 AM. Northbound it leaves the Greyhound station at 5:30 PM and 30th Street station at 5:45 PM, arriving in W-B at 9:30 PM. A stop at the Wyoming Valley Mall was added to the Philadelphia route after the stop in Scranton southbound and before Scranton going northbound. Normally, only a handful of Martz’ New York City runs stopped there along with Martz’ Atlantic City run, which isn’t currently running at all during the pandemic.
> 
> Martz’ New York City runs have also seen reduced frequencies, but still more frequent than the Philadelphia run.


Not pleased with Martz; last time I went to Philly on Amtrak Truway they canceled return trip. Amtrak rebooked me on the Acela so I could get to NYC, but then I still had to buy a Martz ticket on my own. Scranton has terrible transport options.


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## railiner

Mailliw said:


> Not pleased with Martz; last time I went to Philly on Amtrak Truway they canceled return trip. Amtrak rebooked me on the Acela so I could get to NYC, but then I still had to buy a Martz ticket on my own. Scranton has terrible transport options.


Agreed. At one time, Scranton was a fairly busy bus hub, served by Eastern Greyhound on 6 different routes, as well as Capitol Trailways, Martz Trailways, and Short Line. Not to mention the Lackawanna and several other railroads, as well as several airlines. Not much choices, today...


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## Palmetto

And let's not forget the_ Phoebe Snow, _among other trains, called there! Never had the change to ride them.


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## railiner

Palmetto said:


> And let's not forget the_ Phoebe Snow, _among other trains, called there! Never had the change to ride them.


Rode the E-L Lake Cities in its final year thru there. Also rode a High Iron Company steam excursion through there one way to Binghamton (return the next day was via Port Jervis), powered by ex Nickel Plate, Berkshire 759.


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## bms

Mailliw said:


> Not pleased with Martz; last time I went to Philly on Amtrak Truway they canceled return trip. Amtrak rebooked me on the Acela so I could get to NYC, but then I still had to buy a Martz ticket on my own. Scranton has terrible transport options.



They don't even open the station for the morning connecting bus from Allentown. 3rd-largest city in the state is served by a deserted, closed station in a questionable neighborhood. The one time I took it, I had to talk down a tweaker who was making threats against me whenever he wasn't busy sexually harassing the female passengers who were waiting.

On the positive side, Reading, Scranton, and Allentown all have proposed train service on the recent 2035 plan, although only with service from Reading to Philadelphia, Scranton to New York, and Allentown to New York.


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## railiner

bms said:


> On the positive side, Reading, Scranton, and Allentown all have proposed train service on the recent 2035 plan, although only with service from Reading to Philadelphia, Scranton to New York, and Allentown to New York.


For some reason, historically there has always seemed to be more travel to New York, than to Philadelphia for 'upstate' PA residents, and now with the huge migration of New Yorkers to the 'bedroom' counties of PA, mostly made possible with the building of I-78, I-80, and I-84, even more so. The last passenger train service into the Lehigh Valley area was the Reading local's to Bethlehem from Philly. And also Reading trains ran to Reading and Pottsville. NJT last operated to Phillipsburg, (across from Easton), on its ex-CNJ Raritan Valley line from Newark.


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