U.S. inter-city bus transportation - a business proposition

how would you like it if the u.s. had inter-city bus transportation like argentina's...?

from a post i put up back in september 2005...

argentina is the 8th largest country in the world, encompassing 2,766,890 km²... the u.s. is the world's 3d largest country after russia and canada with 9,161,930 km², or 7,415,765 km² if you subtract hawaii's 28,311 km² and alaska's 1,717,854 km²... no matter how you look at it, argentina's a BIG country and people have to travel great distances to get from one place to another, just like the u.s... but let's take a look at how THEY travel by bus as compared to the piss-poor commercial service in the u.s... (some of you know this already but i'm sure a lot of you don't...)

first of all, take a look at the the busses themselves...



new, modern, double-decker, well-maintained, clean...

many of the lines on the busy inter-city routes and the long distance routes offer four classes of service - Servicio Común (standard seat), Servicio Cama (the seat fully reclines into a bed), Servicio Semi Cama (the seat reclines but not fully), and Servicio Primera Clase (the seat not only reclines into a bed but you have full entertainment and meal service and your own private area, equivalent to international first class air travel)... take a look...



not bad, eh...?

and that ain't all... how about dvd with a high-res, flat-panel screen...? how about wine and well-prepared meals, SERVED to you by attendants...?



but, WAIT...! there's MORE...! you can actually go online and CHOOSE YOUR SEAT, just like the airlines...



and, no shit, they actually show you where you'll be sitting in relation to the tv monitors and the restroom...! amazing or what...?

so, why do we in the united states put up with THIS crap...?


Serious discomfort


Primitive equipment

so, here's the deal... i want to start up a bus line that offers an honest-to-god, decent travel EXPERIENCE... it would have to start small, like one double-decker bus (see above) and one route... two classes of service would be offered, equivalent to the argentina Servicio Común (standard seat) and the Servicio Semi Cama (the seat reclines but not fully) as described above, with audio and video entertainment, and attendants, one above and one below, who serve complimentary snacks and beverages... if the route was picked carefully to insure maximum traffic and the advance advertising and publicity was done right, i predict smashing success, at which time the service could be expanded... i think the time is right and i think people are ready, particularly with the increasing hassles and expense of airline travel and the price of gasoline which is only going to continue to climb...

what say you...? nothing ventured, etc... you can email me here...

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