Greyhound seats and fleet questions

[Swadian Hardcore]

Maybe not BoltBus Plus then, but Greyhound Plus. All those families with kids on Greyhound in the summer, aw, they'd get so excited about PTV's, they would never ride Megabus again, or drive their own car unless it's a really, really nice car.

Greyhound has long fought private cars, this will be a great breakout and would make their reputation so much better, so much faster.

 

[rickycourtney]

Today, Greyhound schedule 0306, had to depart with empty seats, as the baggage bays were jammed full, and no more passenger's could board, unless they could carry what they had aboard. This happens this time of year, with the new freshmen going to Syracuse (and other colleges), with everything including the kitchen sink, microwaves, tons of books, clothes, etc. At least the new flat screen TV's don't take as much space as the old TV's did...

That's ridiculous. Paying customers being left at the station... while the excess baggage rides for free.

 

[rickycourtney]

Maybe not BoltBus Plus then, but Greyhound Plus. All those families with kids on Greyhound in the summer, aw, they'd get so excited about PTV's, they would never ride Megabus again, or drive their own car unless it's a really, really nice car.

Greyhound has long fought private cars, this will be a great breakout and would make their reputation so much better, so much faster.

Sorry, John. I disagree. PTV's are on the way out.

Consider United Airlines... for years they offered PTV's on planes (with video on demand and DirecTV) but they recently decided to stop buying planes with them. Why? The systems are incredibly expensive to install (often costing hundreds of dollars per seat) and to maintain (I'm sure Greyhound's Denver shop would be thrilled to take a bus out of service to fix a PTV considering they can't even fix the HVAC). Plus passengers on red eye flights complain they glow all night with advertisements (they're not user friendly to turn off).

United is now investing in the same technology as Greyhound... on-board servers that can stream content to devices owned by passengers. Doing "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) is cheaper for the company and frankly a better experience (my iPad's screen is larger than most PTV's I've ever used).

 

[Green Maned Lion]

John, I don't think you understand the mindset of the (relatively) well heeled. I don't want to brag but I AM fairly wealthy, I do own a fairly expensive car, I do own my house lock stock and barrel no mortgage, and so on. I don't want to take up to seats. I want a wide, comfortable recliner, such as that offered in Amtrak Midwest Business class. I want no stress about people even thinking of pestering me about an "empty" seat either.

 

[rickycourtney]

John, I don't think you understand the mindset of the (relatively) well heeled. I don't want to brag but I AM fairly wealthy, I do own a fairly expensive car, I do own my house lock stock and barrel no mortgage, and so on. I don't want to take up to seats. I want a wide, comfortable recliner, such as that offered in Amtrak Midwest Business class. I want no stress about people even thinking of pestering me about an "empty" seat either.

Right, having two seats is not the same as having one really nice seat.
While I'm firmly middle class I don't mind spending more when I see the benefit of something. For example I would never purchase Economy Plus seats, it's the same lousy seat with 4 more inches of legroom. I would however consider upgrading to business class on airlines that keep it affordable (AirTran is a good example) because you get a much nicer seat along with the legroom.

I think that by offering nicer 2-1 seating, a "BoltBus Deluxe" would be able to attract both business passengers and people like me who just want a little more room.

Plus the dimensions of 2-1 seating stacks up nicely compared to airline business class.

Greyhound - 18.5" width + 30" pitch

2-1 Bus Seating - 22" width + 36" pitch

Airline Business Class: 22" width + 37" pitch (AirTran 737)

Airline Coach 17" width + 31" pitch (United 737)

Airline Economy Plus 17" width + 35" pitch (United 737)

Amtrak Coach- 21" width + 48" pitch

There is one company that does sell two seats... that sketchy CA Shuttle Bus. They offer to sell you the second seat for $15 more.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Actually what I really want to see is seething like the Megabus Gold service in England. Some luxury, overnight, berth.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Greyhound actually has 36" pitch already, I measured it in the upright position. Definitely not 30" unless you get a reduced legroom seat which is usually around the wheelchair lift and the front "theater" portion on MCI's.

I've found PTV's very useful on Trans-Pacific flights, and Delta recently installed PTV's in their 747-400's.

Hey Railiner, #1333 is a really rare bus, it's a second-hand D4505 from Hotard. Surprised it went to Canada since it has a wheelchair lift and could easily have joined the current D4505 Stronghold in Los Angeles. Seems to be based from Toronto as many photos of that unit were taken in Toronto.

I found this photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/buses-international/14238589605/sizes/l. Check out that "D4505" label by the entrance door, most Greyhounds don't have that.

Oh yeah, it lost paint a while back: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dj_surf_lfs/11764928585/sizes/k/. You can see the part under the paint is stainless steel. No wonder NJT didn't paint theirs, probably doesn't even matter.

Wonder what seating it has.

Oh yeah, #1334, one number higher, used to #1170 which was the scene of the beheading in Canada back in 2008.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

The one I wanna see is 1337.

 

[Misty.]

I must agree with GML there ^_^

 

[rickycourtney]

The one I wanna see is 1337.

 

[railiner]

Hey Railiner, #1333 is a really rare bus, it's a second-hand D4505 from Hotard. Surprised it went to Canada since it has a wheelchair lift and could easily have joined the current D4505 Stronghold in Los Angeles. Seems to be based from Toronto as many photos of that unit were taken in Toronto.

I found this photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/buses-international/14238589605/sizes/l. Check out that "D4505" label by the entrance door, most Greyhounds don't have that.

Oh yeah, it lost paint a while back: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dj_surf_lfs/11764928585/sizes/k/. You can see the part under the paint is stainless steel. No wonder NJT didn't paint theirs, probably doesn't even matter.

Wonder what seating it has.

Oh yeah, #1334, one number higher, used to #1170 which was the scene of the beheading in Canada back in 2008.

That coach used to be in the "NeOn" pool with us. The interior is much plusher than the typical GLI....has enclosed parcel racks, and video system, among its amenities. Don't recall what seats, but they were a plush looking blue patterned fabric. And you're right about the paint peeling off....saw more of the stainless on the left rear lower corner panel. I took a front and rear photo of it parked at gate 26....

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Took a photo? Could you please post it?

Has a "plush blue pattern fabric", maybe like this? http://www.barraclou.com/bus/greyhound/greyhound1280_back.jpg. That's Greyhound Canada's own D4505 interior, but I guess it doesn't have video system and enclosed parcel racks.

This is Greyhound Canada's old DL3 interior with enclosed racks and video systems: http://www.barraclou.com/bus/greyhound/greyhound1156_back.jpg.

Or perhaps similar to Jefferson's D4505 interior? https://www.flickr.com/photos/thetransitcamera/6247684472.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Finally you figured this out?

 

[rickycourtney]

Actually what I really want to see is seething like the Megabus Gold service in England. Some luxury, overnight, berth.

I like the idea. You're able to start exploring or get to work first thing in the morning and you save on hotel costs. The only problem I foresee is that the length of the route would have to be *just right*. I'd say between 6-9 hours. Too little time and nobody gets a good nights rest, but too long and you might as well fly.

LA-SF might work. It's a 6 hour drive and there's a big market for transportation between the cities.

Boston-DC would work too... but only if there was no stop in NY. I wouldn't want to ride if I had to make a stop in the middle of the trip, have the aisle lights come on and have people shuffle past my head. But without a stop in NY it might not be viable.

Any other thoughts on a service like this or routes?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

New York-Chicago would work if you developed a tray meal. New York- Detroit would work if you had anybody who wanted to go to Detroit.

 

[jebr]

Minneapolis to Chicago would work quite well. Almost exactly 8 hours.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Dose of Greyhounds: https://www.flickr.com/photos/95851032@N07/14818892157/.

 

[railiner]

Took a photo? Could you please post it?

Has a "plush blue pattern fabric", maybe like this? http://www.barraclou.com/bus/greyhound/greyhound1280_back.jpg. That's Greyhound Canada's own D4505 interior, but I guess it doesn't have video system and enclosed parcel racks.

This is Greyhound Canada's old DL3 interior with enclosed racks and video systems: http://www.barraclou.com/bus/greyhound/greyhound1156_back.jpg.

Or perhaps similar to Jefferson's D4505 interior? https://www.flickr.com/photos/thetransitcamera/6247684472.

Sorry, still haven't learned to post photo's... :blush: They are 'in' my phone......

But the color was like the first photo, and the fabric also covered the walls and ceiling like the second photo, IIRC

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Greyhound mechanic James Nelson from the Richmond Body Shop, 2002 report on the G4500:

"Seriously, has this construction error been corrected, or will

they wait until the G's are prepped for resale at ABC?

That retrofit has been taken care of. The fortunate thing about

the G4500's breaking down so often is that there is plenty of

time to do these engineering upgrades while you wait for repair

parts to be shipped from MCI.

Speaking from the trenches of the Greyhound maintenance system,

it is painful to hear upper management continue to sing the

praises of these things. It is my opinion that the worst is yet

to come. A large portion of the undercarriage is carbon steel,

like the Eagle 10's, which were infamous for rusting to peices -

literally. A tire blowout causes serious damage to the

underside and fenders of the bus, unlike the earlier models.

The driver's defroster unit and the two different electronic

HVAC systems have their own individual troubles, it is still

easy to drive the cooling fan into the radiator in a parking lot

accident, the mufflers are falling off, the driver's floor on

the G41 prototype units are getting a little soft, the entrance

door steps are becoming trampolines, the turn signal flashers

last for about a month before burning out, the tag axle bearing

boxes are failing (with a retrofit issued for the too-thin

retaining washer), the driver's modesty panel mounts break

loose, the under-reach that is the only way to tow a bus is

mangling the bottom of the spare tire compartment (which happens

with depressing regularity), there still is not a reliable

engine fan guard(A week or so ago, there was a G model towed

into the shop with less than 5000 miles on it - the fan guard

had fallen off and destroyed the cooling fan), and all of the

exterior door latches are too cheaply made to be reliable.

This does not include the massive coolant-related issues we are

having fleet-wide or the problems inherent in releasing a

completely new model without training the people who actually

have to use it, or the difficulties in stocking proper levels of

things like brake shoes, or heater valves, or bumpers.

However, none of that matters. Greyhound management is

dedicated to making the G model the new standard for the fleet.

There is a problem, however, in the fact that MCI is constantly

changing the equipment on them. Axles, brakes, and HVAC sytems

have all been changed in just the first 200 production units.

Ah well, at least it is job security for a lot of Greyhound mechanics."

 

[railiner]

There you go........

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Ha, obviously the G4500 ended up not being the standard coach of Greyhound's fleet, and the ensuing fleet shortage probably forced some profitable routes into cancellation.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Greyhound takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCj8AtF-fgw.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Want to see something interesting? A Greyhound J4500: https://www.flickr.com/photos/98444414@N08/9204308756/sizes/l.

Flat from front: https://www.flickr.com/photos/98444414@N08/9204312754/sizes/l.

 

[railiner]

links didn't work....got to some kind of flickr logon page......

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

These electronics! I'll try attaching. Photos courtesy Rashjan Berry@shawnyblyme/Flickr. You have to click on them. /Flickr.