Greyhound is a bus line service that takes people all over the United States with more than 2,000 bus terminals. This is a great option for those that want to travel for the holidays and not drive there themselves. You will find the lines at the Greyhound terminal to be less hectic than at the airport and you can simply get into your seat and relax for the trip.
Greyhound also offers amazingly fares so you can definitely save money over driving your own vehicle or those expensive airfares. The routes that are offered by Greyhound are continually updated in order to meet the needs of consumers so take a look online or call their headquarters to see what they can offer you. They offer comfortable seats that recline, heating and air conditioning, and lights so you can read after dark. Dont expect meals to be served though. You will need to bring along your own food and drinks on the bus.
Since there are no assigned seats on a Greyhound bus you will want to arrive at the terminal early when you travel for the holidays. You want to make sure you get a choice of seats. If you are traveling with companions you want to make sure they have seats close to you as well. It can be a mess for a single parent traveling on a Greyhound bus to have to spread her children out. You can always hope some people will be willing to change seats but you cant guarantee it.
One issue that many people are concerned with this is security issues aboard Greyhound buses. They havent updated their security measures since 09/11/01 like Amtrak and the various airlines have. The use of metal detectors on the buses have been randomly installed but they arent guaranteed to be in place. This means there may be people traveling on the bus that have weapons with them. This is a risk that some holiday travelers find to be too creepy to use this mode of transportation.
In light of this, Greyhound has been working to improve their image and to gain more confidence from consumers traveling for the holidays. They are working on offering quality bus terminals in case you have a long wait before yours departs. Many of these bus terminals also have a rental car agency inside so you can get to your final destination without having to inconvenience someone else to come pick you up.
They have also started random security checks at various Greyhound bus terminals in large cities. Those purchasing a ticket have to show photo ID and their luggage is subject to a random search. They are also working on providing video cameras to record what takes place on the bus. While there havent been any major issues with security while people travel for the holidays on the buses, they want to ensure the public that they are doing their part to make sure it doesnt.
For many holiday travelers though, riding a Greyhound bus ensures that they can get to their destination without any stress and without having to drive themselves. The cost is very affordable. You need to make sure you understand that riding on a Greyhound bus does take longer to get there because they only go the speed limit and they will make stops at various bus terminals along the way.