Okay, I’ll go first. It was 1990. I was in college traveling to my aunt and uncle’s for Thanksgiving and the ride that would have taken 2 hours by car took almost 5 hours by bus. But, that wasn’t the worst part. The most horrific part of the trip had nothing to do with the ride itself; rather it was the 30 minute wait at the bug infested Greyhound bus terminal that made me turn to my school’s ride board for subsequent out-of-town trips.
Yup, I ditched the dog after that trip. And really it wasn’t just the bugs, the urinating bums (near the front entry way to the terminal) and the occasional four-legged critter that made me research alternative modes of transportation. The final straw for me was when news broke that a woman was attacked outside the local terminal and police warned riders (especially women traveling alone) to stay alert.
So, that’s my Greyhound story. I thought about my adventures at the bus station the other day when I learned that Greyhound Lines announced it had recently spent $60 million to freshen up its fleet of 1,250 buses and several of its largest terminals. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier to hear it.
Greyhound officials say the company-wide makeover actually began in 2004, when it eliminated hundreds of small-town stops and routes to speed up service between larger cities. In the past three years the company has refurbished more than 900 buses with new seats and paint jobs and transformed 125 of its roughly 940 terminals by repainting, renovating restrooms and adding plasma-screen televisions in waiting areas. Kind of makes me wonder how the terminal in my college town looks today.
I am thrilled that Greyhound is improving its facilities, but the news that made my eyebrow arch even higher was the revelation that the company is now planning to launch an advertising campaign designed to bring back former customers and attract new riders between 18 and 24, and Hispanics. The company hasn’t launched a major national advertising campaign in years.
Regardless, beginning this week the company is launching a multi-million-dollar broadcast, print and billboard advertising campaign. According to company officials, one of the new TV commercials features an old bus pulling into a terminal and the driver disembarking to take a break. A NASCAR-like pit crew then installs new seats, paints the bus, and changes the driver into his new uniform.
Clever.
Though, will it make you consider taking a Greyhound?
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