That was some really funny stuff. Do you think it was true or did some people practice creative writing? I have done some checking and found that travel by bus is not very available any more. I have relatives in Kentucky I would like to visit but neither the train or the bus go there anymore. You either have to fly and rent a car, or drive cross country.

What has happened to transportation in this country? It’s just criminal. There are lots of us old fogies who don’t want to drive, shouldn’t drive, and, thanks to TSA, don’t relish flying.

Yep, quite a ride.
Amen to Treva.
My wife and I once took Amtrak from Boise to Washington, D.C.
It was a blast. Everybody on trains was friendly (cuz they’re not jammed into a tube and thrown through the sky). You can get up and walk around whenever you want to, walk the length of the train for exercise, stop in the bar car for a shot, get decent meals, sleep when you feel like it, go to the restrooms whenever you want to … and no fear of falling 30,000 feet or running into the top of a mountain.

We wanted to have a sleeping room the whole way and back, but could get one for only two of the three nights one way and one of the three nights the other way, beause they were sold out. Nearly all the seats in the other cars were full. So the brilliant folks who run Amtrak eliminated the Boise train, said it didn’t get enough passengers (Of course it didn’t; they wouldn’t add any more cars so it *could* get more passengers).
Airlines have crammed in more seats, eliminated most food, blankets, pillows and anthing else that might make the trip a bit easier. Then add the NSA paranoia …

And whatthehell ever happened to Greyhound and Trailways. We used to be able to get a bus from anywhere to anywhere. Now their routes are so limited that they’re about as useful as Boise’s alleged bus system.

The nation keeps adding more people, but the big companies keep cutting services instead of expanding and improving to try to attract the thousands of new potential customers.

But I guess as long as CEOs can run companies into the ground and then get multimillion-dollar golden parachutes when they get fired, they have no incentive to improve anything.
(Hey, Guardian: Howcum a certain company we both know didn’t give us each a few million? Look into that, would you?)

I love this site !!! And, Gordon, thanks for your Amtrak story. I am dying to go East by rail.

Yep, it’s true. I received live coverage via a friend who called me from one of the many roadside locations Bus#1 (the Hotel California bus) lurched to a halt at.