Passengers board city buses in the United States only through the front door, where there are special devices that, by reading magnetic cards, record the entrance of passengers, while making their counting. If necessary, the fare can also be paid in cash to the driver. In this situation you usually have some change in advance, as it is not accepted to ask for change. Also there are widespread cash dispensers, each of which is near the driver. You can put in a chip, change or a prepaid card and the machine will automatically take the money and show you how much is left. These tokens and cards are suitable for the subway. You can transfer to another bus with the same card or a special transfer voucher once at the point where the oncoming or perpendicular bus connects. On the card there is a time when the passenger got on the first bus, and he/she is entitled to change buses within two hours. You get off one bus, go shopping or mind your own business and get on the other bus with the same card for free. If something happens in the subway and the trains stop, you get a transfer ticket to the bus for free, too. There are no conductors, controllers and turnstiles.
The cost of a single ticket in different locations in the U.S. ranges from 1.25 to 2 dollars. The time of day also affects the price. Fares in each case approved by the local municipality. If it is necessary to make a change, you buy a ticket – the driver gives a coupon valid for the entire trip. The daily ticket costs $3, is purchased from the driver and is valid on all routes of all companies in the area (except the most remote suburbs). When changing from the Metro to the bus, passengers pay a fee (35-50 cents) and give the driver a transfer ticket. An express bus fare is $3 and $1 if you have a bus pass. 75 cents. You can find ticket vending machines on the streets. They accept coins and bills of all kinds, up to $20, but you can get change only in coins. You can also pay with bank or credit cards.
The amount and distribution of fare money for people with disabilities is set at the federal level. In the United States you can count on two types of benefits: people with disabilities and military and civilian veterans. In some cities, schoolchildren are eligible. All benefits are subsidized by the federal budget, from where the money goes to municipalities, which distribute it directly to all those in need. As a result, the passengers who are at a disadvantage get on the bus with a ticket. Thus, compensation goes directly to its purchase. Beneficiaries do pay for the fare; usually the discount is 50%, and in some cities, such as San Francisco, even more. Cities where seniors are given free fare can be counted on the fingers. The exception is the state of Pennsylvania, where the beneficiaries ride free, but only during off-peak hours and weekends, during “rush hours” they have to pay the full price along with everyone else. In Pennsylvania, this program is funded by a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of state cash lottery tickets. The Fairfax Connector buses serving the western suburbs of Washington recently introduced a free ride for one person accompanying a disabled person, with the disabled person paying the allowance for themselves.
Passengers can use various types of weekly or monthly passes. These are documents for two or three types of travel, or for individual modes of transport. Tickets are well protected against counterfeiting. On bus lines, controls are in place. In turn, the control service of the municipalities travels to transport companies and conducts inspections – looks at how passengers are provided with tickets, how regularly buses work, whether all of them have constant communication with the dispatcher, checks the quality of service, and so on.
The bus stops are quite close to each other, about two or three blocks away, almost like ours. All stops are “on demand. To get off, you must press a special ribbon running between the windows of the bus, or pull the cord stretched across the interior of the bus over the windows. In large cities, buses move very slowly, which is due to the layout of the streets, many intersections with traffic lights.
Intervals on the routes are completely different, it all depends on local conditions. It can be an hour, or two minutes. Shortened trips due to traffic jams or emergencies are possible, in which case a reserve bus is provided to restore normal intervals, starting in the middle of the route or other section and continuing to the end of the route.
There are also municipal buses to airports, for example, in Washington, D.C., it’s a $3 express route right from downtown to Dulles Airport. Small class buses at airports are engaged in distribution to hotels or just taking passengers to the destination, they are not shuttles in our sense, but almost cabs, only with fellow passengers and for this reason they are cheaper than regular cabs. But they charge for each passenger, so it makes no sense to take three people to one place, for the same or maybe even a little less money a normal cab will take you without any hitchhikers.
Buses run strictly according to the schedule. The driver’s labor and rest schedule is almost the same as in our country. The only difference is that in the U.S. there are no conductors at all. The driver himself collects the proceeds and gives them away. Tickets are well protected against counterfeiting, which is served by a magnetic strip. This is due to the fact that some time ago counterfeit tickets were widely used in America, but when appropriate measures were taken, the problem disappeared.
The driver is dressed in uniform, has a personal number, has communication with the police and ambulance, and announces stops. The air conditioner works in summer and the heater in winter. This is mandatory, otherwise the bus won’t get on the line. It won’t get on the line even because of the slightest, most insignificant breakdown. If something happens on the road, all passengers are transferred to another bus, and the broken one is released immediately.
In the buses Americans do not give up their seats to each other, at least such examples are rare. Everyone who sits down considers it his private area. By the way, and children are not accustomed to give way to adults. Driver labor is paid decently, usually more than $20 per hour, the amount depends on seniority and other factors. This is a government job, so there are all kinds of health insurance for all family members and a pension. Also can not fire him – the driver’s rear is securely covered by the union. The buses are very clean, no one makes noise, eats, listens to music loudly or hooligans. Otherwise, the bus stops and the driver immediately tidies up. Of course, there are all sorts of cases in certain areas, then the police are called immediately and you don’t have to wait long for them. Both women and men work as drivers with equal success.
There are many bus companies in the United States that carry passengers. The Greyhound Lines company is a well-known and large passenger carrier. It owns 400 large buses and transports people all over the country. Even so, Greyhound is no longer as monopolistic in intercity travel as it used to be, especially in the corridor from Washington to Boston, where numerous Chinese competitors operate. Tickets can be ordered in advance or purchased before departure at the ticket office. A one-way ticket is valid for 60 days. It is possible to make stops along the way. Amtrak is a monopolist in long-haul passenger transportation and receives state subsidies, otherwise it would not be able to survive at all. Greyhound Lines is the biggest carrier; it serves more than 3,100 cities in the USA, Canada and Mexico and carries 22 million passengers a year. There are more than 16,000 flights a day.
The company formed a partnership with Amtrak, which allows the latter to sell tickets to places with no passenger rail service – one ticket is valid for a train to a transfer point and then for a bus. Greyhound also works with numerous small bus companies, so if a passenger buys a Greyhound ticket, he or she will not necessarily travel on that particular company’s bus and with its emblem. Nor is it necessarily that having started a trip on one bus, he will finish it on the same bus, especially on long trips – buses will change, like locomotives on Russian railroads.
For long distances over 500 km in the USA, only those who are good with time and bad with money go by bus (excursions, school groups and the like by order, don’t count). Obviously, Greyhound Lines, which receives state subsidies, has almost no competitors here, except for some other companies’ sporadic trips of similar length.
For example, it takes 18 hours to get from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, and a one-way ticket costs $87. In comparison, a round-trip air ticket usually costs about $300, but there’s not much of a problem to find and for 150-200, all depends on the flight and departure date. International routes are also well developed, the same Greyhound operates not only in the U.S., but also in Canada and Mexico.