# Greyhound Newsletter (Partial?)



## Swadian Hardcore (Apr 25, 2014)

Attached below is the Greyhound WindowSeat newsletter for March/April 2014, posted on GTE. I don't know if this is the full newsletter, it seems too short to be the full one. Maybe you would be interested.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Apr 26, 2014)

Previous one failed, got it now.

Greyhound Newsletter March-April 2014.pdf


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## railiner (Apr 26, 2014)

Thanks! Lookin' forward to seeing some of the Museum Fleet on its tour thru here in June....


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## Swadian Hardcore (Apr 26, 2014)

What do you think about the new electronic apps for Greyhound? I'm thinking Greyhound wants to emulate Amtrak's iPhone scanner, while using other electronics to eliminate cases of stranded passengers.


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## railiner (Apr 26, 2014)

Anything to improve efficiency is welcomed....


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## Swadian Hardcore (Apr 27, 2014)

Do you think the new electronics will be connected to CADEC? That would mean a massive communications increase between drivers, passengers, stations, dispatchers, and management.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Apr 27, 2014)

I just got an update from Anthony on GTE. He says that the dates on the newsletter are not for the public. This is his post:

"Hi
The attached Greyhound Seat, please don't follow that on the second page that tells of Greyhound's 100th Anniversary. The cities and the dates are only for special Media and Events and that is not for the public. The public invitation of Greyhound's 100th Anniversary will be posted on Greyhound.Com and Social Media. I got this information personally from Greyhound's Corporate Office Marketing Director. Please pass this information to fellow bus historians. Thanks Anthony"


So if you are interested in buses, make sure to follow Greyhound's website.


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## rickycourtney (Apr 27, 2014)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> What do you think about the new electronic apps for Greyhound? I'm thinking Greyhound wants to emulate Amtrak's iPhone scanner, while using other electronics to eliminate cases of stranded passengers.


Greyhound's system of making people have printed tickets seems dated at this point. Consider that Amtrak and nearly every airline (with the notable exception of Southwest) has moved to paperless ticketing. Even BoltBus does paperless ticketing, although it's a bit less high-tech (passengers can show the driver a text message or the email on their phone.)

It also opens up a lot of other opportunities to help improve efficiency. If driver discovers a seat is broken during, with an iPhone the driver can make a maintenance request and submit it while they are enroute. By the time the bus arrives at the final destination technicians can be waiting with the replacement part allowing the bus to get back out on the road faster.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Apr 28, 2014)

Those technicians probably won't be available at most stations. Greyhound only has parts inventories at Maintainence Centers, many of which were shut down in the "Dirty Dog" days. For example, a Portland-Sacramento bus would have to go to either Seattle or Los Angeles before receiving replacement parts.

The reason Greyhound hasn't adoped more electronics is because it really doesn't help that much when it comes to bus ops, and Greyhound was busy investing in their fleet.


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## rickycourtney (Apr 28, 2014)

I think you only have to look at Amtrak as a case study in how adopting more electronics helps with operations.
As a matter of fact... AT&T did a case study on how eTicketing transformed Amtrak's operations.

A couple of interesting nuggets from that newsletter:

* eTicketing will launch on BoltBus routes. This seems like a no-brainer... BoltBus customers already tend to be more affluent and tech savvy, making them more likely to have a smartphone and since BoltBus doesn't use stations it benefits customers to be able to buy, change and use tickets from a smartphone.

* Greyhound is moving to "airline style" pricing and capacity management. This is a natural outgrowth of eTicketing... when Greyhound knows how many tickets have been sold in real-time, prices can be adjusted accordingly. Correct me if I'm wrong but BoltBus and Greyhound Express routes already priced using a "dynamic pricing" system like this.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Apr 28, 2014)

Greyhound Express actually doesn't use "dynamic pricing", they use "bucket pricing", like Amtrak's old pricing system. You book early, you get lower fares. Then they all go up together in levels. Unlike BoltBus, Greyhound Express does not have different prices on different schedules for the same day.

As for Greyhound passengers, pretty much all of them have a smartphone already. Pretty much everyone books online these days. Of course there's suspicous passengers on some routes that don't book online, but they are very rare in Reno.

Remember, Greyhound doesn't overbook anymore, that's good so far. I don't know how they managed to achieve that, but I think they just introduced a new booking computer and capped the passengers at 50. Then for the 51-seat and 55-seat buses, those extra seats just go empty. By the end of the year, pretty much all Greyhounds will be upgraded to 50- or 51- seat status anyway, with extra legroom.


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## neroden (May 20, 2014)

Make no mistake, many people still have stupidphones rather than smartphones.


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## Swadian Hardcore (May 20, 2014)

neroden said:


> Make no mistake, many people still have stupidphones rather than smartphones.


But pretty much eveyr Greyhound passenger books online and in many cases, in advance. I know because I chatted with a black man about my age in Greyhound Oakland and he booked just like me: online and in advance. Again hinting that racial prejudice may be a big force against Greyhound's reputation.


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## jebr (May 20, 2014)

Swadian Hardcore said:


> neroden said:
> 
> 
> > Make no mistake, many people still have stupidphones rather than smartphones.
> ...


A single data point does not prove _anything_. I'd honestly be surprised if "pretty much every Greyhound passenger" books online. A majority, possibly, but not pretty much every passenger (which would indicate 90-95%, in my book.)


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## Swadian Hardcore (May 21, 2014)

jebr said:


> Swadian Hardcore said:
> 
> 
> > neroden said:
> ...


Single data point? You'd be surprised how much I chat with other Greyhound passengers, then. And even if they don't book online, booking in advance is virtually a requirement. With Greyhound's huge walk-up fares and the recent eradication of "overbooking", walk-up fares can only be considered over very short distances.

Now Greyhound pretty much operates the same way as Amtrak.


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