Intercity Bus Systems Keep a Foothold in Modern Times

"Over the last year, Dallas-based Greyhound has spent $15 million to revamp its website, develop apps and build a computer-driven system for routing buses and pricing tickets — much like the airlines do," according to an article by Terry Box. The company's investments have very much to do with the quickly evolving nature of transportation:

The 101-year-old company stands at a nexus these days. Uber, car-sharing services and autonomous vehicles will likely thoroughly rearrange ground transportation over the next decade. And young millennials continue their migration to downtown areas — sometimes without cars.

The article goes into more detail about the lengths Greyhound is going to appeal to a new generation of bus riders, with features like mobile ticketing, destination packages, and refurbished buses and terminals. The article also notes the still-integral role intercity buses play in U.S. transportation. "Passengers in the U.S. took an estimated 61.6 million trips on intercity bus lines like Greyhound last year, up 23.4 percent since 2010," writes Box.

For more on the growing popularity of intercity buses not named Greyhound, see recent coverage by Whet Moser on the growth of Megabus.