Driver Curtis

09/21/2026

How many LA based old timers remember this building? It was the dorms where you could lay down and get a good night's sleep. They were surprisingly quiet, comfortable, and very clean as well. They also provided a quiet and private place to have a few drinks and unwind which a number of drivers did. Being a Greyhound driver was a lot more stressful than many realize and drinking was the solution for some.

08/28/2026

When looking at a number of the other Greyhound posts, I notice there seems to be a lot of interest in the "Buffaloes." I didn't drive very many of them, but the first one I did drive I was still a new hire. This was the 70s and in those days they would put a senior driver with a group of three new hires and familiarize us with the equipment and the routes. The two others I was with had trouble making good smooth shifts. When it was my turn to drive, I'd paid close attention to what the other guys were doing wrong, and it seemed to me like the trick would be to double clutch as quickly as possible. I did just that and didn't miss a shift. I was very proud of myself but had I gone first, I probably would've had just as much trouble as they did.

08/03/2026

Which was the better bus? That was always grounds for an argument. I was loyal to Greyhound ever since I went with my family to send my sister on a Senicruiser off to college. I was all of nine years old and the Cruiser was nothing like the school bus I rode every day. I thought it was the most impressive bus I'd ever seen. The driver even let me sit in the driver's seat. I knew right then that someday I would be a Greyhound driver too.
Whereas the Scenicruiser radiated strength and it's drivers wore uniforms worthy of a true professional bus driver, Trailways opted for a more refined image. It's drivers wore a dark uniform looking more like a chauffeur and their busses -- especially the Golden Eagles-- had a more classy look to them. The Eagle had a reputation for having an excellent ride although I thought the Cruisers had a very smooth ride as well. One advantage the eagle had was a big one: for a number of years, Trailways buses had stewardesses and meals; to my knowledge, Greyhound never had anything like that.
This is a page from the past, the glory days of intercity bus travel. Thanks to the photographers who documented this bygone period of history.

06/09/2026

What a sad ending to a legendary company, a company that provided valuable service for generations; that was there for returning military; that was affordable for families to visit together; to see the USA on a budget or anxious to reconnect with a love one. Certainly deregulation made it more difficult to compete but the real problem was poor management. The bean counters swarmed in and started selling off the low hanging fruit. Before long, Greyhound was a shadow of its former self. Greyhound desperately needed a visionary, someone who could see the potential of what it had to offer. Someone like a Lee Iacocca, who saved Ford Motor Company or a Steve Jobs who saved Apple. Instead, Greyhound was at the mercy of pencil pushers who couldn't see past the next quarter and couldn't comprehend the difference between a bus or a bar of soap.
I bid a fond farewell to a company who offered me my most favorite job and one that I felt was the most helpful to my fellow Americans

05/30/2026

Even though I knew Greyhound had bought out Trailways, I did a double take the first time I saw a bright red Eagle with the Greyhound dog on the side. Just didn't seem right. I always wanted to drive one though and finally had the chance when I pulled a Las Vegas charter for an independent bus company that had two of them. They had a reputation for having a good ride, which it did, but at the expense of the good crisp handling that the 4106 and later MCIs had.
One of my most embarrassing incidents as a driver I had with an Eagle. One of the Vegas casinos had a bus loading area with a corrugated steel overhang. It was a tight fit but the 4106s I usually pulled could squeeze under it. The Eagle would not. Not thinking, I raced in at my usual clip and suddenly the sound of scraping metal echoed through out the patio and entire dining area. It made more noise than a plane crash and people came in all directions certain that there was a serious accident. The damage was negligible but for the entire evening, people would come up to me wondering if I was OK.

05/23/2026

When I first went to drive for greyhound, the buses I drove were of the old color scheme. When the new ones started showing up, most everyone liked them but some of the drivers called them PepsiCola buses because the color scheme was similar to a Pepsi Cola can.
Greyhound started a trend. Within months, other bus companies and trucking company as well started sprucing up their equipment with more colorful paint jobs and company logos.
That wasn't the only trend Greyhound started. Everywhere you see these days, so many vehicles run with their headlights on during daylight hours. Nobody was doing that until around the early 1960s when a Greyhound driver started running with his lights on while driving the desert schedules when sandstorms limited visibility. Management was impressed and it soon became company policy to run with headlights on during daylight hours.
I'm sure there are many more firsts, but those are two that come to mind.

05/02/2026

How many of you old timers remember this? I have it framed on the wall with my Navy achievement metal that I received for meritorious service in Vietnam. This one brings back more good memories; can't say the same for my achievement metal.

02/17/2026

The Scenicruiser was my favorite bus to drive. It was slow on the hills and a bit of a challenge in heavy wind, but under normal conditions and open highway, it was like riding on a magic carpet. After second gear, you couldn't hear the engine anymore and the excellent air ride suspension was like sitting on a cloud. They were governed at 68MPH so all you needed to do was rest your foot on the accelerator and take in the sights and mystery of all the open road had to offer. The people loved them and the kids all wanted to sit in front of the upper level windshield.

When I first started with Greyhound in 1971, they were phasing them out — one of the many short-sighted things Greyhound management did. The bean counters decided that after 20 years and with at least one, perhaps two million miles, they had outlived their usefulness. They had been refurbished after 10 years and were better than new, it’s a shame they didn't decide to do it one more time.

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02/05/2026

A Christmas surprise.
(Spoiler alert: This was not the actual bus but it's similar and the weather was very similar.)

I had most unusual Christmas experience when driving for Greyhound. It was Christmas Eve and I had been sent to cover the El Paso/Phoenix schedules in anticipation of a heavy Christmas crowd. I was on the extra board and when my name was called, I expected a bus load of people anxiously awaiting to get to their final destination. Much to my surprise, there was not a single passenger on board, instead, it was packed to the ceiling with package express shipments. I was a little disappointed. It was Christmas Eve after all and a little human company would be more in keeping with the holiday spirit. I guess the truckers were a little lonely too because, when they saw me coming, they would go out of the way to flash their lights as a merry Christmas gesture.

About halfway to El Paso, I pulled into the town of Lordsburg for a cup of coffee. It was windy and stormy with scattered intermittent snowflakes and I was more than happy to be able to return to my warm and comfortable bus. As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed a guy at the edge of the highway hitchhiking. This was back in the early 70s hippie days and hitchhiking was much more acceptable. I felt bad for the guy being stuck in such miserable weather on Christmas Eve so I pulled over and offered him a ride. He kept insisting that he couldn't afford a ticket and I kept insisting that it was free of charge. As best I recall, he was from Hungary and wanted to escape the civil war his country was experiencing. His English was limited but he was most appreciative when he finally realized it was a no charge Christmas gesture. He was an interesting guy and we chatted most of the rest of the way to El Paso.

12/19/2025

I drove for Greyhound during the last of its glory days: 1970 -1973. De-regulation was about to drive a spike through the heart of the company. Prior to de-regulation, almost any town of any size had a Greyhound Depot; almost any town had regularly scheduled service 365 days a year; drivers were well paid and true professionals, many with 20 and more years of accident free driving.

In the summer, I pulled the coast local schedule from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo, the halfway mark between LA and San Francisco. In the winter, I drove mostly from Tucson to El Paso. A few times, the heavy snow on that schedule was clear up to the headlights.

By 1973, I could see the writing on the wall. Thanks to de-regulation, the bean counters had moved in and were selling off everything and decimating the company. Reluctantly, I left Greyhound but, to this day, It remains my most favorite job.