Bolt Bus Coming to the Northwest

[Swadian Hardcore]

If Greyhound and Bolt really do cater to different markets with largely the same operation, Greyhound shouldn't worry about Bolt undercutting Greyhound's business.

Something very impotant to know is that most of the Greyhound coaches running Portland-Eugene are actually through buses to Sacramento, much farther away. This is Greyhound Route 600. Thus, Bolt could become a SD accessory to Greyhound's LD through ops to SAC. The only Greyhound bus running Portland-Eugene indepedantly is the Friday special which is hardly a presence. The through pax to points south usually pack the 600 anyway, so Greyhound dosen't care if it cuts stop in Oregon that are just taking up seats for through pax.

I've spotted the 600 a lot in SAC, usually not much college students on this one either. Greyhound dosen't need college students from Oregon to fill up the 600. If fact, this route often get extra sections because of the huge loads. So they really need BoltBus to help relieve intra-Oregon demand without interfering with through passengers if they created additioned SD sections of 600.

See this: http://extranet.greyhound.com/revsup/schedules/pdf/600.pdf

In summary, I see this as an attempt by Greyhound to draw SD passengers away from the 600 through buses, freeing up seats for LD pax.

Edit: corrected timetable

 

[Eric S]

That link is to a New York-Atlantic City timetable.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

That link is to a New York-Atlantic City timetable.

Hmm? I'll try to correct it ASAP.

 

[Jason McHuff]

I agree with this. The "cheap transit connection" doesn't even run as far as Portland. It only gets you as far as Wilsonville. Getting all the way to Portland is a three-seat ride.

True, but the connections are generally quick, and transfers should be expected since there's different modes and different agencies. It's not that bad if you want to save money, especially if you already have a TriMet fare.

BTW, regarding Amtrak, Bolt would be competing with Amtrak (both trains and thruway buses) in Albany, while if they went over to Corvallis, Greyhound could have the direct market to themselves.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I agree with this. The "cheap transit connection" doesn't even run as far as Portland. It only gets you as far as Wilsonville. Getting all the way to Portland is a three-seat ride.

True, but the connections are generally quick, and transfers should be expected since there's different modes and different agencies. It's not that bad if you want to save money, especially if you already have a TriMet fare.

BTW, regarding Amtrak, Bolt would be competing with Amtrak (both trains and thruway buses) in Albany, while if they went over to Corvallis, Greyhound could have the direct market to themselves.

Again, Greyhound dosen't need to have the direct market because: a. they don't carry much college students; b. they mostly have through buses that are already packed and they don't want SD pax from Albany because there would be more revuenue to just passengers on from SAC and other points south.

 

[railiner]

I agree with this. The "cheap transit connection" doesn't even run as far as Portland. It only gets you as far as Wilsonville. Getting all the way to Portland is a three-seat ride.

True, but the connections are generally quick, and transfers should be expected since there's different modes and different agencies. It's not that bad if you want to save money, especially if you already have a TriMet fare.

BTW, regarding Amtrak, Bolt would be competing with Amtrak (both trains and thruway buses) in Albany, while if they went over to Corvallis, Greyhound could have the direct market to themselves.

Again, Greyhound dosen't need to have the direct market because: a. they don't carry much college students; b. they mostly have through buses that are already packed and they don't want SD pax from Albany because there would be more revuenue to just passengers on from SAC and other points south.

I don't know how it is in the PNW, but here in the East, college students make up a huge proportion of Greyhound (and all intercity bus) ridership. The extra schedules on Friday and Sunday are designed to tap into this lucrative business, and many trips make stops at major campuses.

So I am surprised to read of your observations.... :huh:

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I agree with this. The "cheap transit connection" doesn't even run as far as Portland. It only gets you as far as Wilsonville. Getting all the way to Portland is a three-seat ride.

True, but the connections are generally quick, and transfers should be expected since there's different modes and different agencies. It's not that bad if you want to save money, especially if you already have a TriMet fare.

BTW, regarding Amtrak, Bolt would be competing with Amtrak (both trains and thruway buses) in Albany, while if they went over to Corvallis, Greyhound could have the direct market to themselves.

Again, Greyhound dosen't need to have the direct market because: a. they don't carry much college students; b. they mostly have through buses that are already packed and they don't want SD pax from Albany because there would be more revuenue to just passengers on from SAC and other points south.

I don't know how it is in the PNW, but here in the East, college students make up a huge proportion of Greyhound (and all intercity bus) ridership. The extra schedules on Friday and Sunday are designed to tap into this lucrative business, and many trips make stops at major campuses.

So I am surprised to read of your observations.... :huh:

Well, that's just what I saw, and I've ridden Greyhound 11 times this year in the West. AFAIK, Greyhound totally dosen't care about college students in the West, they've cancelled pretty much all the college towns they used to stop at with no chances are resurrection. They seem more interested in getting to the destination a bit (like 5 minutes) faster rather than picking up college students.

For example, Greyhound not only misses Albany, they also miss Davis, Berkeley, and the list goes on.

I mean, I once saw four buses boarding at the same time in Sacramento, including an overnight to Portland, and out of well over150 people, I saw very little college-age people. The most popular bus was actually the one to Portland, which require a last-minute extra section to be dispatched. There were still so little college-aged people and yound adults, I'd say they composed less than 10% and that's probably an overstatement.

Note that one bus was a Cruceros to Los Angeles, and that one was mostly taken by Hispanics.