Greyhound Lines Downsizes

The residents of states throughout the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest are still reverberating from the elimination of Greyhound Lines service to over 250 locations. Although the cutbacks have been announced in the media, they have not been emphasized and the people and towns affected are experiencing significant hardship. Deemed unprofitable, routes in California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming were eliminated as of August 18.

Greyhound states the reason for the changes are that the company has seen a dramatic decrease in revenue over the past several years which placed it in a financial crisis and costs had to be cut. The number of travelers decreased while expenditures increased, most notably after Sept. 11, 2001, when security and insurance costs ballooned. Aggressive management action in response has included increasing long-distance fares, delaying or canceling capital spending, and slicing total management personnel by 20%. In that 75% of Greyhound's customers travel less than 450 miles, a network of short and medium length routes has been developed as the company's primary focus.

Literally left without a ride are thousands of passengers in small towns throughout a large portion of the United States. Fortunately, in some places regional and local bus lines and AMTRAK are stepping in to help fill the void in service. But regional and local lines offer only partial help since their pricing tends to be higher than Greyhound. And, many locations will still be left without any service. What this means to the small town customer is that they'll have to find a way to get to a location that is served. In many cases, the closest regular bus stop is situated 50 to 100 miles away.

The changes made can also be considered to mark the end of an era in America. For most of the 20th Century, the familiar Greyhound bus visiting every little community in the rural heartland has been a traditional, legendary, and romantic part of America, from sea to shining sea.