Canada Greyhound is Slow

[kittytech]

Several weeks ago, masterofmusings purchased his Greyhound
ticket to come down here next week to visit me. We thought nothing of it,
and the purchase went through flawlessly. Last week, basically just because
I could, and because I had nothing better to do, I went up to the US
greyhound site and punched in the information for a round-trip ticket from
Fargo to Winnipeg. I was surprised when, after months of consistency, I
discovered that they'd changed the bus times. Originally, the times had been
7:45 AM from Winnipeg, arriving here in Fargo at 2:15 PM. For the return,
the bus left here at 3:00 PM, and got to Winnipeg at 8:05, or whenever the
criminals made it past customs. So, I was really surprised to see the
Winnipeg departure time moved up to 9:15 AM. Bruce would have been okay
getting to the station at the regular time, but that'd be a really long time
to sit and wait. I went up to the Canadian Greyhound site and entered in the
same trip. The original times were shown. Okay, so which site is accurate?
Obviously they're not going to be running two routes that close together, so
which one is the right one?

The next day we called the local Winnipeg Greyhound station. It is
completely impossible to speak to a human at this station. They've got a
truly wonderful automated system, but it seems as though humans just don't
exist there. So, somehow, Bruce got transferred to the national Canadian
Greyhound service. They also gave the original times. I still found it
really hard to believe though since the US site was still showing the new
times. I called my local station, and they confirmed that the new times were
correct.

So, we were still getting conflicting information. Understandably, Bruce
wanted to know for absolute sure before leaving next Tuesday. It would
really have sucked if he'd gotten to the station at the new time only to
discover that the bus had left an hour and a half before. So, just a few
minutes ago, I once again went to the Canadian Greyhound site and punched in
his trip. This time, the times had been updated to match the US site. So
it's all good now. What I don't get is, when one site is updated, why are
the others not? I could see some people really being confused by this when
their itinerary says one thing and they don't even realize that it's not
accurate. I for one though am truly glad that these times did get
straightened out. This leaves me with other things to think about, like what
I'm going to make him for food on the day he gets here. I've got way too
many ideas!!!

Comments

[dahlia-and-balu.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm making scallop and spinach fettucine with Caesar salad and steamed artichokes today, and I'm guessing you won't be asking me for the recipes. LOL

[kittytech.livejournal.com]

Yep. Very safe bet. GRIN!!!! The noodles sound great though.

[arinoch.livejournal.com]

Congratulations. You are now getting a first hand look at what I have to deal with on a semi-regular basis. I've scheduled entire trips on the Canadian side of the site that the US site just plain doesn't exist. Which sucks when one has to buy the ticket for said trip from the US site.

[jenandbronze.livejournal.com]

I am so glad I don't deal with Greyhound since I can't sit comfortably for long periods of time (I have to move around a fair amount for my back)... certainly doesn't sound reliable at all! No wonder, I love flying!

[kittytech.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but if you had to pick between a $70 bus ticket or a $900 airline ticket where the flight takes longer than the bus ride, the bus ride ends up looking pretty good in the end.

[samari76.livejournal.com]

Yes! now you know what James and I have to deal with every time one of us plans a trip across the border. The inconsistency between the two sites is mind-boggling.