I took a trip cross-country on Greyhound. That’s right, from Athens, Georgia to Portland, Oregon. Many of you will say I’m crazy, and you would be right. It was the worst trip of my life, and something I would never do again. However, we were moving here on a very tight budget so we didn’t have much choice at the time. Nonetheless, I was surprised that my weight didn’t cause more problems.
1. Seating: I was lucky enough to be sitting with my husband the entire time, and I do pity the person traveling alone, especially if it’s a full bus. I am nearly 400 pounds and while the seats did fit me, there was definitely some spillage over into the other seat. I encountered three different seat types actually. Ones which were contoured with arm rests on both sides. These sits allowed the isle to be larger, though I still had to walk down the aisle sideways as not to bang up my legs. Sideways did offer less harm to myself, but if people were leaning into the aisle just a bit I had to kind of weave my way back and forth to avoid hitting them with belly or butt. Also, the armrests on the outside of the aisle seat, and the one in between the seats, did rise up to make more room. The armrest next to the window did not, which I found perplexing. There were seats nearly identical to the ones I just outlined, only they did not have an armrest on the inside, which severely cut down on the room, and makes a fat person having to sit next to another person nearly impossible. Neither party would be comfortable. The third seat type was larger, though making the aisle smaller which is a con, and the outermost armrest raised. The middle armrest did…mostly, but it seemed to cause me more problems that way and it felt better just to leave it down. Again, the armrest against the window did not move. My aunt had suggested to me to get the back seat, because it has three seats instead of two and may be more comfortable, but there is a major lack of leg room back there and I found it to be more uncomfortable then a normal seat. Plus, it’s right next to the bathroom. Ick.
Priority Seating: I thought this was a nifty thing. For $5 more, a person can choose priority seating which means they get to enter the bus ahead of everyone else and pick out which seat they want without judging eyes. It’s not just putting a person in the front of the line. Priority seating allowed a person to board about 15 minutes before everyone else, so they were able to find a seat and compose themselves before the rest of the passengers even begin to arrive. Unfortunately this service is not offered sometimes, like when buses are running behind schedule, so be sure to plan ahead.
Bus Station Seating: The bus stations had plenty of seating, and it was plenty large enough for us fat folks. I never had to stand when I didn’t want to, and I was in the terminal with close to 400 people once.
Bathrooms: It’s probably obvious, but it’s very unlikely a fat person is going to be able to use the onboard restroom. Not only is it positioned to be an utter inconvenience for a fat person to open the door to get into, it just simply can’t accommodate most sizes. My husband is 5′8 and about 220, wears anywhere from a 34 to 38 pants (depending on what he’s been up to lately) and had a hell of time. He was even lucky to be able to stand up to take a leak. I would recommend staying away from foods that cause bowel movements and drinking too much liquid. The bus station bathrooms weren’t bad. Some of the stations I were at had problems, because the handicapped stall was out of order and it made it difficult to use the smaller ones, but for the most part everything was a-okay. Thank goodness Greyhound seems to try to be ADA compliant.
On a separate note, why do all the handicapped stalls have toilets that are 6 feet off the ground? I am short, dammit, and I can’t properly handle my business and clean myself up from that business when I can’t even squat over the damn toilet.
People: I found most folks to be on the rude side. They push, they cut, they snicker and make jokes. I actually had one guy made a rude comment about my size while I was trying to find a bus. Granted we were all exhausted at this point, and he was a young, punk kid asserting his dominance over the fat kid so everyone would think he was cool, but it nonetheless was unacceptable. I just walked away, cried a minute in an empty seat I found, and moved on. If I would have had to share my seat with someone other than my husband during this trip, I think I would have experienced much more ridicule. The whole feel of the people on the bus was…hostile almost. I had another guy who sat behind me, tell me I couldn’t sit in front of him because his legs were so long they jammed up against the back of the seat and thus I couldn’t put my seat back. As though I needed to do that in order to fit. I didn’t, and I don’t normally put my seat back when I travel because I think it’s rude. No one has any space on buses and planes, why do we put our seat back and make the other person that much more uncomfortable?
Food: The website says that the buses stop during meal times, which might be true, but there is a serious lack of food. Some of the stations have restaurants inside, but their hours may not agree with the travel schedule a person is on and therefore they are left with only vending machine food. Very few actual restaurants were stopped at, instead one had to help themselves to gas station/trucker stop food. That was even if the place had more than chips and beef jerky to offer. And since I had three 8 hour layovers at different stations, sometimes I went 10 or 12 hours without eating. Not because I was unprepared, I did bring food with me, but because I ran out due to all the delays we were subjected to. It was nuts.
My opinion is that if it’s a short trip, like a day, then the bus may be the way to go instead of planes. There is a much higher chance of having one’s own seat, and there is no charging for People of Size bullshit. Plus there is no need for a seatbelt extender. It may take longer, but it also may save some anxiety. I know it did for me. Plus it’s harder to lose one’s luggage on the bus, since the traveler is in charge of moving it from bus to bus. However, anything longer than a day is likely better served with plane fare. I hate it as much as the next guy, yet an alternative has yet to be found.
