When we planned our trip, T and I tried to arrange for all the long-hour (more than three hours) bus rides to be overnight rides, so that we could save on accommodation by resting in the bus and at the union station. Sometimes the plan worked out well, our bus ride from DC to Philly for example. We slept on the bus from midnight to 3:45 am. Then, we continued our sleep on a bench at Philly 30th Street Station until 7:00 am.
However, sometimes our plan can go out of control due to bus delay, especially when we travel with Greyhound. Greyhound is infamous for its unfriendly service: buses delay or break down frequently, and the receptionists at the bus stations often show very little interest to help the customers.
Last summer, the bus broke down in the middle of the road when we traveled from Buffalo to NYC at night. We woke up with thick smoke surrounding us, and we were forced to evacuate the bus. We waited outdoor shivering for two hours before another bus came to pick us up.
This summer, our worst fear repeated when we traveled from Philly to New Haven. Our bus was scheduled to arrive at 2:20 am, but the bus broke down while it was coming from Pittsburgh.
Other customers who were with us were further frustrated because the receptionist didn't make the situation clear. When the receptionist said there should be a bus coming for us in two hours, what she really meant was our wait could be anytime from two hours to infinity. When she said there was another bus scheduled to go to the same destination at 4:35 am, and that bus would take us if there were seats available, what she really meant was the 4:35 am customers would be prioritized rather than us. And we, the unlucky ones, would have to wait until there was a driver willing to make a detour, or use his free time to give us a ride.
After our group, with long faces of course, sent off the 4:35 am group, a bus finally came for us at around 5:30 am. When T and I reached NYC for transit, we had to reschedule our connecting bus to go to New Haven. Because of that, we had to spend two hours at NYC Port Authority. If you want to get a sense of what I felt about Port Authority, you can check out John Oliver's short video clip talking about the place.
Honestly speaking, I wasn't even angry at anyone or frustrated at the situation. I was simply numb. I was grateful that we were on a vacation and not on a tight schedule to attend some important meetings or catch an international flight. I was grateful that the receptionist at NYC was kind enough to issue us two food coupons to spend at Greyhound food court in Port Authority. I was grateful that everyone smelled bad anyway at Greyhound stations, so my body odor was not obvious, and I could dig my nose freely at the stations without people looking weird at me. =00=
