With many in London leery of public transportation, one U.K. tour bus company plans to use open-topped sightseeing buses to help workers get to the office.

By Feargus O'Sullivan - July 24, 2020, 8:58 AM PDT

A London-based company is offering an alternative mass transportation mode that addresses some fears about coronavirus infection risks on public transit: a commuter service using open-topped buses. On-demand bus company Snap is currently testing a new offering that would ferry Londoners to and from work in some of the city’s 233 roof-less tourist buses. These are those double-decker vehicles with an open-air upper deck, used in cities worldwide to ferry sightseers about on “hop on, hop off” routes. Most of the London fleet is parked due to an absence of visitors; Snap is hoping to redeploy the open-topped tourist buses as Covid-safe pop-up transportation for locals, extending the pandemic-era trend of outdoor living to public transport.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-24/will-london-commuters-opt-for-open-air-bus-rides

When Jo Kibble, a 39-year-old council employee from Greenwich, set out to travel as far as he could from London in one day only using public bus routes it was supposed to be a personal project. But he ended up sparking a Twitter storm, causing a debate about how to build a fairer country along the way.

Sam Francis, BBC News, London - 22 August 2021

“I like travelling by public transport and by bus; I think it's a great way to see the country,” Mr Kibble explains.

“I also really like timetables and I like the logistics of putting things together.”

After “the last 18 months of having exciting travel plans cancelled”, he decided to work out how far he could get from the centre of London in 24 hours on public bus networks.

“It was just a paper exercise to keep me occupied,” says Mr Kibble, who is head of the Leader's Office at Ealing Council. “I had some fun doing that on commutes to and from work.”

Mr Kibble figured the furthest he could get in one day would be Morecambe in Lancashire - some 260 miles from Charing Cross, the geographical centre of London.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-58297172

Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would give them the ability to record and store private conversations. The systems are raising a number of privacy and security concerns.

Kim Zetter - Dec 10, 2012 4:46 PM

Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would give them the ability to record and store private conversations, according to documents obtained by a news outlet.

The systems are being installed in San Francisco, Baltimore, and other cities with funding from the Department of Homeland Security in some cases, according to the Daily, which obtained copies of contracts, procurement requests, specs and other documents.

The use of the equipment raises serious questions about eavesdropping without a warrant, particularly since recordings of passengers could be obtained and used by law enforcement agencies.

It also raises questions about security, since the IP audio-video systems can be accessed remotely via a built-in web server (.pdf), and can be combined with GPS data to track the movement of buses and passengers throughout the city.

https://www.wired.com/2012/12/public-bus-audio-surveillance/

Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN - Updated 8:52 PM EST, Mon December 18, 2023

You can’t get here from there. That’s the increasing problem facing around 60 million people who depend on intercity buses.

Intercity bus lines like Greyhound, Trailways and Megabus, an overlooked but essential part of America’s transportation system, carry twice the number of people who take Amtrak every year. But the whole network faces a growing crisis: Greyhound and other private companies’ bus terminals are rapidly closing around the country.

Houston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Tampa, Louisville, Charlottesville, Portland, Oregon, and other downtown bus depots have shuttered in recent years. Bus terminals in major hubs like Chicago and Dallas are also set to close. Greyhound and other companies have relocated their stops far away from city centers, which are often inaccessible by public transit, switched to curbside service or eliminated routes altogether.

These stations built decades ago are shuttering because of high operating costs, government underfunding and, surprisingly, the entrance of an investment firm buying up Greyhound’s real estate for lucrative resale.

Greyhound terminal closures in one state can unravel service in others, and the closures threaten to break the comprehensive web of national bus routes. Greyhound suspended service for a year in Jackson, Mississippi, after the terminal closed and also left Little Rock, Arkansas, after a closure.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/17/business/greyhound-buses-transportation-cities/index.html

Nathaniel Meyersohn Chris Isidore - 2:00 PM EDT, Sat September 28, 2024

Chicago, America’s third-biggest city, is on the verge of losing its only intercity bus terminal, jeopardizing access for many low-income, elderly and minority travelers with few other transportation options. It’s part of a nationwide trend.

Greyhound’s lease for its terminal in Chicago expires next month. Not only would that mean Greyhound could leave the city, but FlixBus, Barons, Burlington Trailways and other lines that also operate from the terminal could be forced to leave as well. A representative for Greyhound told CNN that there are no proposals for a lease extension. The city, which regulates curbside pickup and drop-off locations, told CNN that it is looking for alternative options for facilities. Both Greyhound and city leaders say they are committed to finding a solution.

“Intercity bus service is critically important for so many people,” said Chicago Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, who has worked to save the station.

If the terminal closes, Chicago will be the single largest city in the Northern Hemisphere without an intercity bus terminal, according to DePaul University professor Joseph Schwieterman and researchers at the school’s Chaddick Institute of Metropolitan Development.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/28/business/greyhound-bus-chicago-transportation/index.html

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