Okay, let’s just be bold and try taking the greyhound to vegas. we live on the bus route that goes by the LA Station in skid row so we were there pretty quick – but the lot there says FREE PARKING and the booth is unattended and it IS the shittiest part of L.A. just about…
The station inside is clean as you have to pass heavy security to be anywhere save the ticket counter. sat around, saw the line forming, got some juice for the trip and got on the bus. Not crowded at all, had our pick of seats , all good. The bus was COLD and there was no way to control the fans blowing in. Realized that it was cold because people who take greyhound have B.O. and it is not as noticeable in chilly temperatures. I had a jacket on and a ski cap pulled over my eyes, and I slept most of the way there in a comfortable seat. We stopped in Baker for a break, it was almost a hundred outside. Ate at an Arby’s (yuk) and were in Downtown Vegas about an hour later. Bus left at 4 PM, we got there at 11 PM.
We are Vegas veterans so we knew exactly where to go and we only had carry-on luggage so we walked three blocks to our hotel and checked in. It was a breeze – the ride was uneventful and comfortable. I had enough experience with the elements around the Greyhound station that I was not shocked or upset with people whose luggage was a plastic garbage bag or people who talked to themselves.
So then on the way back we walk into the Vegas station for our Noon busride at 11:20 AM and the station is almost empty. A bus driver says to us, "Los Angeles?" and takes our ticket and holds a door open for us. Will we have the bus to ourselves? We walk up and find out, nope, we are in a sardine can. the only available seats together are literally in the back by the bathroom and in that row of three the window seat is taken. My knee blocks the bathroom door so any possible sleep is thwarted by folks needing to get in the bathroom door. We have a forty minute layover in a tourist trap mall with a McDonald’s in Barstow and drop off people in Victorville, San Bernadino, Riversode, Claremont, El Monte and then finally make it to Union Station.
I had thought it wise to not drink my morning coffee in order to be able to better sleep on the bus. With that impossible, I instead got a caffeine migraine that was as terrible a headache as I have had in my life. OH and when all those people are crammed onto the buss, you get the cold air blowing in the uncontrollable seat ventilation system, but so many bodies produce offsetting heat, so you are getting an annoying cool breeze aimed at some part of your cranium while the rest of you is baking and any part of your arms or legs that are touching any other part of you are forming a pool of sweat immediately on contact.
Suffice to say, it was fucking brutal coming home. If we do it again it will definitely be researched to plan for optimum low-passenger numbers and for express service. Still, it was $58 apiece round trip, hard to beat…