A proposal to have Greyhound merged in with Amtrak, for land transportation integration

Thruway is contracted with for-profit companies via RFP and bidding. Each company has its own identity, and can even have different levels of service.

Under government control, Greyhound probably won't be cheaper, but they won't have to worry about bids or branding.

Wouldn't this basically be applying the Amtrak California approach to the National Network?

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That would be a good approach to follow.
All current Thruway services require some part of the journey to be on a train .
This proposal seems to be for Amtrak to run standalone bus services as well.

218+51+1

Will? Congress? Buy? In?

I realized the equation may need a temporary update:
218+50+2

An integrated system, if well equipped and well run, could provide better service than exists today with the same amount of equipment.

Coordinated, guaranteed-connection buses to offline towns could really increase the reach and appeal of some train routes. The chance to make the longest part of many trips by train could increase the appeal of some bus routes. This would be especially true if the trains and buses could be made to keep on time enough that the buses could leave 15 mins after the trains arrived, and vice versa, and still be guaranteed connections. Some of the Thruway routes seem to be just random bus routes with a ticketing agreement and really long layovers.

David Benton wrote:That would be a good approach to follow.
All current Thruway services require some part of the journey to be on a train .
This proposal seems to be for Amtrak to run standalone bus services as well.

That's not true, at least outside of CA. Here in PA I can travel from Scranton to Philadelphia on a Thruway Motorcoach without having to book train travel from. Philly.

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Alphaboi wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:35 pm

David Benton wrote:That would be a good approach to follow.
All current Thruway services require some part of the journey to be on a train .
This proposal seems to be for Amtrak to run standalone bus services as well.

That's not true, at least outside of CA. Here in PA I can travel from Scranton to Philadelphia on a Thruway Motorcoach without having to book train travel from. Philly.

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It may be select routes. I tried to do BWI to Ocean City, MD (a Thruway stop)... and the Amtrak website couldn't book it.

Alphaboi wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:35 pm

David Benton wrote:That would be a good approach to follow.
All current Thruway services require some part of the journey to be on a train .
This proposal seems to be for Amtrak to run standalone bus services as well.

That's not true, at least outside of CA. Here in PA I can travel from Scranton to Philadelphia on a Thruway Motorcoach without having to book train travel from. Philly.

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Did you book through Amtrak , or the bus operator?

Amtrak, right from the app.

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Alphaboi wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:35 pmHere in PA I can travel from Scranton to Philadelphia on a Thruway Motorcoach without having to book train travel from. Philly.

Wish we had that in Virginia.

Alphaboi wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:35 pmHere in PA I can travel from Scranton to Philadelphia on a Thruway Motorcoach without having to book train travel from. Philly.

From https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/proj ... Y21-26.pdf

Amtrak combines two types of Thruway service with our rail network. “Dedicated” bus routes are contracted through private bus service providers by Amtrak to carry only Amtrak passengers. “Interline” tickets are sold for travel on the independently operated services of partner carriers.

Thruway connections do not need to be buses. Interline ticketing with commuter rail and mass transit is an opportunity for Thruway expansion.

Under federal and some state rules Amtrak cannot sell "bus-only" trips on dedicated bus routes contracted by Amtrak... A statutory change eliminating this restriction... would be particularly beneficial to potential passengers on routes, most of which serve rural areas, over which direct intercity bus service is not otherwise offered.

Back when I was a kid in in the 80s reading the national timetable I saw "Dedicated Amtrak Motorcoach Service" and thought it was a kind of brand, like Amtrak and its employees were dedicated. Then they started to call it Thruway and I hadn't seen the term since. Now I know what it means.

And now I understand that when Thruway buses seem to be on schedules that don't match the trains, that's probably because they are independently existing private routes that Amtrak has ticketing arrangements for.

It looks like there are rules to keep subsidized, non-tax-paying Amtrak from competing with private bus companies, and that Amtrak is pointing out to reps and senators that some Thruway routes are not in competition with any private lines and so should be allowed to sell bus-only tickets. Makes sense to me.

In California bus service is provided only with a valid train ticket with connection, with one exception
being local travel between Sacramento, Placerville and Lake Tahoe.