RDC, LeGrand America to launch Steel City Flyer passenger service

ProgressiveRailroading.com

 

Railroad Development Corp. (RDC) and Pittsburgh-based transportation company LeGrand America recently announced they're teaming up to provide a new bus service between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pa. Geared toward business travelers, the Steel City Flyer will launch operations on Nov. 24. The service will connect with Amtrak at the Harrisburg Transportation Center, enabling passengers to travel to such destinations as New York City, Trenton, N.J., and Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pa.

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=18582

That's a crazy idea. I like it! Now why can't we have something like that as a "rail appetizer" service between the 3-Cs? :)

There used to be Greyhound connector service to Cleveland's Amtrak station.  Don't know what's happened to it, but given how Greyhound has cut back service, it wouldn't surprise me to see it's gone.

 

Still, properly promoted and marketed, it would be interesting to see if something could connect the 3-C's on an interim basis.

The Greyhound service to the Cleveland Amtrak was one of the many victims of Greyhound's nationwide cutbacks that occurred a few years ago.

I have a couple of photos of the interior of Cleveland's Amtrak Station from 1979, when it was fairly new. It was spiffy & spotlessly clean, then.

 

 

 

After Greyhound began sharing it, it rapidly descended to the condition of a typical bus station, dirty and smelling of stale cigarette smoke and with the glass perpetually smudged by the greasy front pawprints of people who had never been taught to "Use the d@mn handle, fool!"

 

There was a Greyhound station at one of the Rapid stations on the West Side, too, maybe Brookpark?

The station (built in 1978) looks virtually the same as it does today! I first saw it in 1980.

 

Trailways added the sales counter there in the mid-1980s.

 

Greyhound had a stop at the West 150th Station, right off the I-71 exit. It was a great idea and should never have been ended.

The station (built in 1978) looks virtually the same as it does today! I

 

Agreed.  I was just in the place last summer purchasing a Washington, D.C. tic for a relative and if rob hadn't said his pics were from 1979, I'd have guessed they were yesterday.  Guess Amtrak's done a boffo job of keeping the joint up.

The station (built in 1978) looks virtually the same as it does today! I first saw it in 1980.

 

Trailways added the sales counter there in the mid-1980s.

 

Greyhound had a stop at the West 150th Station, right off the I-71 exit. It was a great idea and should never have been ended.

 

I guess you're right; it must have been Trailways, because the color scheme throughout was still red. I do seem to recall that there were some extra partitions in the space then that were not original and are no longer there. I remember that I didn't bother to try a photo because there was no interior vantage point that showed a view of anything.

 

It's a respectable facility, but not what a visitor from another country might expect to find in a city Cleveland's size that sits on major rail routes between so many other important cities. It seems more like what you'd expect in a city of 50K population on a major corridor if the US put appropriate emphasis on passenger rail.

 

For comparison, consider what the NYC built in the 1950s in Toledo, with much smaller population figures:

 

 

Scroll this one to see the full span of the platforms:

When the train comes in to Toledo's station, you can't see anything from most of the train car windows at all--a brick wall.  It was the most disappointing stop on my trip from Erie, PA to Chicago.

Oh, and the photos from the street make Toledo's station look like a county jail or a police station.

Oh, and the photos from the street make Toledo's station look like a county jail or a police station.

 

To me, it looks more mental hospital revival!  ;)

 

I like it!

>The Greyhound service to the Cleveland Amtrak was one of the many victims of Greyhound's nationwide cutbacks that occurred a few years ago.

 

I rode Greyhound from Cincinnati to New York City in 2003 or 2004 and it stopped at the Amtrak station either before or after the transfer at the Cleveland Greyhound station. 

When the train comes in to Toledo's station, you can't see anything from most of the train car windows at all--a brick wall.  It was the most disappointing stop on my trip from Erie, PA to Chicago.

Oh, and the photos from the street make Toledo's station look like a county jail or a police station.

 

Can't find a smiley that expresses what I'm thinking, so this will have to do:

 

:behind:

 

 

 

:wink:

 

Maybe these will help:

 

 

Developer brings Amtrak station to his door

November 10, 2008

Chicago Sun-Times

BY MARY WISNIEWSKI

 

You can wait until Amtrak gets the money to put a train station where you want it. Or you can do like local developer Jimmy Gierczyk is doing, and build your own.

 

Gierczyk has been investing for years in developments in New Buffalo, Mich., a growing Harbor Country getaway for well-heeled Chicagoans. He wanted an Amtrak train station right in the middle of downtown. The current station is about a mile away.

 

Read more at:

 

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/1269974,CST-NWS-ride10.article

A friend had this on facebook.  Thought i would share it here

 

The little engine that could NOT

That was good for a hearty laugh this morning.

LMAO!

Amtrak Rider Joe Biden Pledges `First-Class' Railroad

By John Hughes and Angela Greiling Keane

 

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Refurbished high-speed trains and spruced-up stations may greet Amtrak commuters from Boston to Washington as the U.S. passenger railroad gains support from frequent-rider Joe Biden in President-Elect Barack Obama's administration.

 

Read full story at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=us&sid=assL3T6BC1pk

The little engine that could NOT

 

I was about to say, The little engine that didn't have a clue. :laugh:

It's kind of exciting for our national passenger train service to have the nation's #2 man who was a regular Amtrak user.

From RailwayAge.com:

 

November 14, 2008

Alex Kummant resigns from Amtrak

 

Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Alex Kummant resigned Nov. 14 after serving two years heading the National Railroad Passenger Corp., as Amtrak is formally known. Amtrak Chief Operating Officer William Crosbie will succeed Kummant on an interim basis, likely to last until President-elect Barack Obama assumes office on Jan. 20, 2009. Amtrak's board will select a new CEO.

 

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml

I was posting the same info simultaneously, from a NARP email, but you beat me to it by a couple of seconds.

 

How long before we find out what really happened? Within the past week, it seems, I read something about how well everything was going and how great Kummant was as a Amtrak's CEO.

 

It looks like the CEO's career is as vulnerable to political wind changes as Amtrak's funding. I'd think that would serve as a warning to any really qualified candidate who might consider the job.

 

"Confrontational" is a useless label. Any public figure who tries to reach a consensus in policy formation is branded as weak or wishy-washy. Anyone who adjusts his position based on changing circumstances or new information is tagged with "flip-flopper." Anyone who does neither of the above, taking a stand and refusing to yield, is labeled intransigent or confrontational.

Yeah, there'll be a lot of "who-said-what-about-whom", but the bottom line is there's a new administration coming and Kummant probably saw the handwriting on the wall.  For whatever his supposed faults, he at least leaves Amtrak well-positioned for a more pro-rail President Obama.

... he at least leaves Amtrak well-positioned for a more pro-rail President Obama.

 

That's true. He produced good results despite public expectations that he would be a Bush tool for dismantling the system. I think his aggressive stance toward preserving and improving Amtrak took a lot of us by surprise.

 

The firing of David Gunn was a disappointment but not a surprise. He was an experienced operations man who understood the financial end of the business too. He was aggressive and outspoken and in his case I think everyone saw what was coming even though we hoped it wouldn't happen. He's turned the page, and unfortunately it's very unlikely the board would be able to bring him back. People of his stature and pro-passenger attitude are rare in the railroad industry

I understand the pitfalls of Kummant, but I liked having an Ohio native as Amtrak's head-honcho. There was a potential link there that's gone now.

 

Hopefully a competent, innovative and politically savvy railroad executive is named Amtrak president. That, plus a presidential administration that lives up to its hype on railroad issues can cause long overdue positive change for our rail system.

When do the terms of the Bush appointees on the Amtrak board expire?  My first choice for a replacement would be someone like Gene Skoropowski or Frank Busalacchi as Amtrak's CEO.  Although, I wouldn't be opposed to bringing David Gunn back either. 

When do the terms of the Bush appointees on the Amtrak board expire?  My first choice for a replacement would be someone like Gene Skoropowski or Frank Busalacchi as Amtrak's CEO.  Although, I wouldn't be opposed to bringing David Gunn back either. 

 

Those sound like good suggestions; both Skoropowski and Busalacchi understand transportation and the railroad industry, and they'd be able to work for a balance between the industry's and the customers' needs.

 

As I commented earlier, I can't see David Gunn agreeing to come back, at least with the present board in place. While I can't quite see him flipping them a bird in the literal sense, maybe figuratively ...

 

Regarding the board, it occurred to me last night that if there were confrontations between two consecutive capable Amtrak CEOs and board members, maybe the CEOs weren't the cause of the confrontations. If the same thing happens a third time, it could poison the waterhole, at least until the board members change.

Gunn is yesterday's news.

 

Blumenauer for Sec USDOT

 

Busalacci for FRA Administrator

 

Skoropowski for Amtrak CEO

 

New Amtrak Board of Directors

 

Massive funding for rail thanks to enlightened Obama Administration..... :clap:

You've got my vote on all of 'em.

Gunn is yesterday's news.

 

Maybe, but he knows how to run a railroad.  I'd prefer Skoropowski, but Rob1412 is right, the makeup of the board is going to have to change.  I think that's the case even if Skoropowski is going to agree.  No one knows when the terms expire?

Interesting story about Kummant's resignation, if only for the fact that Columbus, Ohio gets a mention in this story from The Washington Times:

 

Amtrak CEO steps down; had differences with board

BRETT ZONGKER

WASHINGTON (AP) - Amtrak's CEO, Alex Kummant, resigned Friday after two years on the job and following unspecified differences with the board of the national passenger railroad.

 

Read more at:

 

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/14/amtrak-ceo-steps-down-had-differences-with-boar-1/

Way to go David!

Posted on Mon, Nov. 17, 2008

 

 

Winging It: Amtrak will be key part of Obama's plans

By Tom Belden

 

Last week's column focused on how policies of the Obama administration are likely to affect airlines and the travel business. I didn't have room to say all I wanted to about what may be the most striking change in store in the transport arena: how Amtrak and other passenger-rail service will be treated by the White House.

Barack Obama's campaign outlined an ambitious effort to support not just the service Amtrak already provides but development of new high-speed intercity rail corridors and public transportation in urban areas.

 

Full column at:

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/20081117_Winging_It__Amtrak_will_be_key_part_of_Obama_s_plans.html

 

Passenger Rail News from www.narprail,org

 

Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced S. 3700, the High-Speed Rail for America Act of 2008, on November 19.

 

The bill would create an Office of High-Speed Rail within the FRA, headed by an Associate Administrator for High-Speed Rail, to guide federal high-speed rail policy and determine eligibility of potential HSR projects to receive revenues from new bonding sources.  Specifically, S. 3700 would authorize $8 billion in tax-exempt bonds and $15.4 billion in tax-credit bonds that would go towards worthy HSR investments. 

 

The bill also calls for a Department of Treasury study on potential “excise taxes” to “offset expenses” related to HSR.  Sen. Kerry intends to reintroduce the bill next year given the short remaining time for consideration of bills in the current Congress.  For more information, see Sen. Kerry’s news release.

 

***************

 

House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Minority Leader John Mica (R-FL) held a roundtable meeting on high-speed rail this week. The series of briefings were intended to clarify issues surrounding Section 502 of H.R. 2095, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (Amtrak reauthorization and rail safety bill).

 

Section 502 is the provision that mandates the U.S. DOT to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) from private companies or consortia to establish high-speed rail (HSR) service on any of the 11 federally-designated HSR corridors within 60 days of bill enactment.  The proposals must call for improvement in trip-time by at least 25 percent relative to current service, or, in the case of the Northeast Corridor, make the trip between New York and Washington in no more than two hours.  The proposals must be limited to 75 pages (plus appendices), and identify any necessary financial or regulatory assistance from the government.  DOT is expected to release the RFP next month, with submissions due in September, 2009.  Stakeholder commissions would be convened for each corridor to evaluate any proposals received, and the DOT would submit the commissions’ recommendations to Congress in April, 2010.

 

Thursday’s section of the roundtable meeting focused on the Northeast Corridor.  Rep. Mica called Amtrak “essential” to any public-private partnership (PPP) developed on the Corridor.  The resulting new system must be “interoperable with the full [current] system.” Mica emphasized today that there should be no adverse impacts on commuter operations which, if anything, should be enhanced by new HSR operations.

 

House Railroads Subcommittee Ranking Member Bill Shuster (R-PA) posited that private passenger rail didn’t fail through mismanagement by freight companies, but because the environment at the time made it an inherently unprofitable business.  He said, “Let’s use this as an opportunity to see if the climate has changed, and whether privately run rail is feasible.”

 

Associate Federal Railroad Administrator Mark Yachmetz said that Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman is “committed to meeting the [statutory] December 15” deadline for RFP issuance and that President-Elect Obama’s transition team is “fully aware” of the process.  FRA Office of Passenger and Freight Programs Director Paul Nissenbaum today praised the construction of Section 502, calling it “very well thought out.”

 

Nissenbaum addressed concerns that environmental and other permits will be tough to acquire, especially for projects in densely-populated areas.  He said that the FRA is aware of the difficulty.  They don’t expect the permits to be acquired at time of proposal consideration, but rather for the expression of a strategy to acquire those permits.

 

Amtrak COO and Acting President William Crosbie asserted, “We know how to do high speed rail.” He said Amtrak is the country’s first HSR operator, with crews and teams with first-hand experience and institutional knowledge of the hurdles and the bottlenecks to HSR.

 

Today’s section of the roundtable meeting focused on national issues.  Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) noted that, for each of the 11 federally-designated corridors, “Population densities are different and circumstances are different.  Therefore, one size won’t fit all.” Rep. Mica concurred as said that Congress left room for “creativity” in the proposals.  Nissenbaum praised the construction of Section 502, calling it “very well thought out.”

 

Rep. Costa expressed optimism that “we’ll see a host of efforts that will come together” for funding in the 111th Congress.  Possible sources include economic stimulus, climate change legislation, and the S. 3700 (see previous story).  Bipartisan support for HSR in Congress is fairly new, and PPPs have played a major role in that.  While he expressed hope that Congress will move forward in “assisting all 11 corridors,” he noted that California HSR in particular will be ready to go “quite rapidly.” Rep. Mica later noted that “the Speaker has asked us to identify ready-to-go projects” for the next economic stimulus package, “and I’d certainly call California [HSR] ready to go.”

 

Edward R. Hamberger, President of the Association of American Railroads, view HSR Freight railroads “as an opportunity” and want to work as “stakeholders.” He also expressed a desire for the industry to work with passenger rail advocates to “speak with one voice” on Capitol Hill going forward.

 

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/hotline/more/hotline_580/

have any of the local media outlets in Ohio picked up on all this to keep it fresh in the minds of its viewers?  My guess is no...

It's been getting more attention from the national media.  Local media are still slow to pick up on this...especially the TV news folks.

House Railroads Subcommittee Ranking Member Bill Shuster (R-PA) posited that private passenger rail didn’t fail through mismanagement by freight companies, but because the environment at the time made it an inherently unprofitable business.  He said, “Let’s use this as an opportunity to see if the climate has changed, and whether privately run rail is feasible.”

 

This dude needs an education.

 

Note that this is an interim appointment

 

News Release

National Railroad Passenger Corporation

60 Massachusetts Avenue NE

Washington, DC 20002

www.amtrak.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATK-08-105

 

Contact: Amtrak Media Relations (202) 906-3860

 

November 25, 2008 

Amtrak Selects Transportation Industry Veteran as President & CEO  

 

WASHINGTON – The National Railroad Passenger Corporation Board of Directors announced today that it has chosen Joseph Boardman, a nationally recognized transportation industry professional, to become president and chief executive officer of the company, effective November 26.

 

Boardman offers nearly 34 years of experience in the surface transportation industry at city, county, state, and federal government levels; most recently as the administrator at the Federal Railroad Administration.

 

“In an attempt to maintain the momentum at Amtrak, while finding a permanent CEO candidate, the board has appointed Mr. Boardman for one year, but will conduct a search in the coming months for a permanent CEO,” said Board Chairman Donna McLean.   She added that “Amtrak is at a critical juncture and needs a vigorous management vision and ability to take advantage of this unique time. The board has unanimously chosen Mr. Boardman in this capacity because we have complete confidence that his depth of experience and leadership skills will allow Amtrak to maintain growth and implement the requirements of the recently enacted authorization legislation.”

 

“Joe Boardman knows the industry extremely well, but what makes him exceptionally qualified for the position is that he has the unique perspective of having known Amtrak as a customer and state partner, administrator, and has been involved with Amtrak, in one role or another, over the course of many years,” said board Vice Chair Hunter Biden. “Joe is the right person to help Amtrak during this important period,” he added.

 

Having served as administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration since April 2005, Boardman was the Department of Transportation designee on the Amtrak board of directors. Prior to his tenure at FRA, he served as commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation beginning in July of 1997. There, Boardman led a transformation effort that better enabled the agency to respond to the challenges associated with an expanding global marketplace. In this capacity, Boardman was deeply involved in the operation of the large complement of Amtrak service in the state. In addition, he was chief operating officer of Progressive Transportation Service, Inc., a transportation management company. He was chairman of the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board in 2005 and chair of the American Association of the State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Standing Committee on Rail Transportation from 2000-2005.

 

“I am humbled that the board selected me to lead the company, on an interim basis, at this very exciting time. Over the past decade — in one capacity or another — I have been an active participant in the affairs of Amtrak. I have come to know the company, the culture, a number of employees, and I am keenly aware of the challenges facing us right now,” said Boardman. “In my view, a national intercity, interconnected passenger rail service is critically important for the mobility and energy independence of the United States.”

 

Joe Boardman fills the position following the departure of Alex Kummant earlier this month. Chief Operating Officer William Crosbie served as acting CEO in the interim. “The board is grateful to Bill Crosbie for his dedication to Amtrak and for managing the company during the transition,” McLean added.

 

 

Boardman is a lifelong resident of New York, and is the second of eight children born and raised on a dairy farm in Oneida County, which two of his siblings currently operate. In 1966, he volunteered for service in the United States Air Force, serving in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. Upon receiving an honorable discharge from the Air Force, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and a Master of Science in Management Science from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He presently resides with his wife Joanne in Washington, D.C., and has three grown children.

 

About Amtrak

 

Amtrak has posted six consecutive years of growth in ridership and revenue, carrying more than 28.7 million passengers in the last fiscal year.  Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail service to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 21,000-mile route system.  For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com.

 

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1178294246438&ssid=180

So does this mean Carl Linder doesn't like public transit? :wtf:

 

Judge sends AFG’s Amtrak claims to arbitrator

Business Courier of Cincinnati

Friday, December 5, 2008 - 1:24 PM EST

 

A federal lawsuit filed by American Financial Group against Amtrak has been put on hold, pending a ruling by an arbitration panel.

 

Read more at:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/12/01/daily72.html

 

I think it means wants more money.

Some observers have speculated that the government and Amtrak could rid themselves of the common stock issue by simply having Amtrak file for bankruptcy reorganization.

 

:| Historically, how has AFG carried that stock on its books? If Amtrak were to file for bankruptcy, and if AFG were to show a $900 million write-down on their annual report as a result and try to take the loss when they file their taxes, I wonder how far that would fly with the SEC and the IRS.

 

If Penn-Central had operated its trains rather than joining Amtrak, what would that have cost, in today's dollars? This amount would probably exceed the $900 million "gimme" Lindner wants. There should be a quid pro quo here. If they want the $900 million, fine. Just pony up the losses PC would have incurred operating its passenger trains since 1971 and we'll call it even!

 

That contribution relieved Penn Central of the responsibility of operating passenger trains. They can't have it both ways.

 

I like that idea. I say Congress should make that a law now, before the courts decide this phony case.

 

I'd be interested to know what the cost would have been to keep all those trains running! We'll have to have a chat.

That's probably hard to determine now even from any old financial records that might still exist, because of creative bookkeeping. I've read a couple of articles stating that when the railroads were trying to shed passenger service, they often allocated costs entirely to passenger operations that were incurred by facilities and activites that supported both passenger and freight operations.

December 10, 2008

Boardman backs coast-to-coast Amtrak

 

Amtrak's new president and CEO, former Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman, has news for "those who may make incorrect assumptions about my past affiliations."

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml

Not Amtrak news on a national scale, but news for me: I'm taking Amtrak tomorrow from Waterloo, Indiana to Chicago. Except for three years ago between Chicago and Milwaukee, this will be the first time I've taken Amtrak to Chicago since Fort Wayne lost service circa 1990.

 

The online reservation process was pretty straightforward and easy, and I got my ticket by mail. In looking at the ticketing options I was reminded that from Fort Wayne, a city of 200K population, the nearest staffed Amtrak station with checked baggage is 100 miles away (South Bend).

 

It looks like there's no such thing as an impulse trip under the current reservation and ticketing system. I can't just wake up on Saturday morning and think, "I'll go to Chicago today," even though my senior fare is only $44.20 round trip and Waterloo is maybe a half-hour drive up Interstate 69. For a last-minute trip, I have to drive 100 miles to South Bend where I can board any of the South Shore trains that run every two hours, without a reservation, for under $20 round trip.

 

Greyhound is out of the question. Just for grins, I checked the schedule. There are two trips daily, and both arrive in Chicago too late in the day to be useful. One goes by way of - get this - Toledo (with a layover), and takes almost nine hours. The old schedule had multiple trips right up US 30 and took under four hours.

 

Anyway, my first Amtrak ride in years. It's a fairly short trip, but on a long-distance train. I'll report back with an evaluation in a few days. The last time, I got told off for taking photos on the train (passengers' privacy); we'll see if the tradition continues.

It looks like there's no such thing as an impulse trip under the current reservation and ticketing system.

 

I thought the Patriot Act outlawed that sort of thing! :-D

"Greyhound is out of the question. Just for grins, I checked the schedule. There are two trips daily, and both arrive in Chicago too late in the day to be useful. One goes by way of - get this - Toledo (with a layover), and takes almost nine hours. The old schedule had multiple trips right up US 30 and took under four hours."

 

This is typical of the bus "service" we have these days and is a symptom of the dysfunctional, disconnected transportation "network" we have.

 

There should be dozens of trains and buses to Chicago from every city within 400 miles. No wonder we drive so much. :-(

.

I thought the Patriot Act outlawed that sort of thing! :-D

That's odd. :? Those guys said that if I just let them implant that chip, I could travel wherever/whenever I pleased.

 

"Greyhound is out of the question. Just for grins, I checked the schedule. There are two trips daily, and both arrive in Chicago too late in the day to be useful. One goes by way of - get this - Toledo (with a layover), and takes almost nine hours. The old schedule had multiple trips right up US 30 and took under four hours."

 

This is typical of the bus "service" we have these days and is a symptom of the dysfunctional, disconnected transportation "network" we have.

 

There should be dozens of trains and buses to Chicago from every city within 400 miles. No wonder we drive so much. :-(

 

It's largely a consquence of laissez-faire economics. Businesses do what produces the best short-term return for investors, without concern for what best serves the public, the environment, or the long-term best interests of the nation and the world at large.

 

This digresses from the Amtrak topic, so I'll try to keep it short. Thirty years ago and more, common-carrier bus lines already were struggling in the less-densely populated areas away from the coasts and were underwriting their passenger losses with respectable package freight revenues and profits from areas with dense ridership. Bus package express was how you got fast ground transportation for general merchandise, and almost every town of more than a couple hundred population had some kind of service, sometimes three or four times daily. In bigger cities, bus lines contracted with local couriers or cab companies for to-your-door delivery.

 

As interstate highways and commercial aviation expanded with taxpayer money, the parcel express services like UPS, Fed Ex and DHL were able to cherry-pick that profitable freight business without having to pay the higher insurance, capital, and operating costs for vehicles and terminals associated with passenger transportation. The bus lines chose not to subsidize their Middle-America service with profits from the dense coastal regions, and stated dropping routes like crazy. Trailways and most of the regionals are dead, and Greyhound is a skeleton.

 

I said try; I guess that is short, for me.