GO GREYHOUND - and leave the flying to us

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http://www.boston.com/dailynews/261/nation/Greyhound_the_nation_s_largest:.shtml

Greyhound, the nation's largest bus line, says its ridership soared after terrorist attacks

By David Koenig, Associated Press, 9/18/2001 18:44

DALLAS (AP) Grounded airline passengers took the bus last week, pushing ridership for Greyhound Lines to levels typically seen only during busy holidays, the company said.

The company said it pressed nearly all of its 2,300 buses and 5,000 drivers into service a big jump from its fleet of 1,800 buses that roll across America on a normal day.

''It was all hands on deck,'' said Kristin Parsley, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Greyhound, the largest U.S. bus line.

By Sunday, however, passenger counts returned to the daily average of about 70,000, the company reported.

Greyhound didn't provide specific numbers, but said passenger counts last Thursday which marked the return of limited air service after Tuesday's terrorist attacks rose from 10 percent above normal in New York to nearly 500 percent above average in Las Vegas.

In some places, ridership approached numbers more typical of Greyhound's annual peak, around the July 4th holiday, Parsley said.

On Tuesday, Marvin Johnson sat in the bus depot in Lincoln, Neb., after visiting his girlfriend in Chicago.

''I don't trust flying right now. Maybe in a couple of years maybe longer. Now ... it's strictly bus,'' Johnson said.

Penny Holmquist of Lincoln, who was waiting for a bus to Chicago, said she briefly considered traveling by air.

''I don't think they can promise that flying is safe yet,'' she said.

An employee of The Associated Press who rode Greyhound from New York to Dallas a 39-hour ride said the bus was packed, including many riders with fancy luggage who appeared unfamiliar with bus travel.

The boost for Greyhound varied greatly by location, and some routes were disrupted by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Greyhound's terminal in the New York Port Authority building was closed Tuesday after the destruction of the World Trade Center and didn't reopen until Thursday.

Across the Northeast, Greyhound's biggest market, other bus stations were also closed because of safety concerns, especially those near federal buildings, Parsley said.

The busiest bus terminals were in Las Vegas and South Florida traffic was up 378 percent Thursday in Key West and 291 percent in West Palm Beach. Greyhound officials speculated that many of the Florida riders were cruise-ship passengers whose flights home were canceled.

As for the Las Vegas boom, ''Possibly that's because it's a short-haul market people are going back home to California, which is just a short bus trip,'' Parsley said.

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2001

Answers

I'll wait till the WINGS sprout on my back!!!!! thank you very much!

-- Anonymous, September 18, 2001

Friend of mine (braver than I!) flew from New York to Los Angeles yesterday (Tuesday) on one of those wide-body 767s. He counted 11 -- yes, ELEVEN -- passengers aboard the entire plane. All business travelers, apparently.

-- Anonymous, September 19, 2001

not only very brave, CoastWatcher, patient, too.

-- Anonymous, September 19, 2001

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