Greyhound buses (or busses?)

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Fri May 13, 2005 11:37 am

ps Cran...sorry to add to the downer anecdotes. I'm really sure it'll get you where you need to go safely.

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Fri May 13, 2005 11:49 am

Nanohedron wrote:
Darwin wrote:It was a sad day for the consistency of English spelling when American newspapers decided to use "busing" for "bussing".
Consistency? The hay, as they say, was already in the barn long ago. But yes, strictly speaking, "busses" and "bussing" are perfectly acceptable in reference to vehicular transport.

The problem is that "buses" and "busing" ignore one of the few fairly consistently applied "rules" of English spelling, namely that when adding a suffix that starts with a vowel (-ing-, -es, -ed, -en, etc.) to a word ending in a consonant, if the accent is on the last syllable, and the vowel of the last syllable is "short", the final consonant is doubled.

Thus, we can distinguish:

taping : tapping
rating : ratting
wining : winning
gaped : gapped
doted : dotted
kited : kitted
razed : razzed

We follow this rule even when there is no contrasing word with a long vowel in the same position, so we write:

betting, not beting
shipped, not shiped
happen, not hapen

So, it should be:

bussed, not bused
bussing, not busing

I was in my late 20s when I learned this "rule" from a Chinese lady who had been an English teacher in Taiwan. It's a shame that one of the few logical points of English spelling should have been weakened--all, apparently, to save a few characters in newspaper articles.

(There are a few exceptions, where a word with an accented long vowel ends in a double consonant, like "toll" or "troll".)

aderyn_du · Post by **aderyn_du** » Fri May 13, 2005 7:35 pm

Hey Cran! I've ridden both Greyhound and Amtrak... Amtrak only once, Greyhound many,many times. It's not so bad!

I've gone Greyhound from Atlanta to Tucson, from Augusta, GA to Tucson, from Waterbury, CT to Atlanta and surprisingly enough my parents used to let me ride Greyhound by myself from Tucson to Mesa, AZ starting at the age of 10 or 11. I don't think I would do that now with my kids

, but really it isn't all that nasty or horrible...and hey, it works when you have no car nor loads of cash.

Have a fun adventure!!

rebl_rn · Post by **rebl_rn** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:23 pm

I would agree that Greyhound isn't as nice as Amtrak (I love taking the train!) but like others have said, for 6 hours it shouldn't be too bad. It is most likely bumpier (of course some of that has to do with the conditions of the roads you're on). I haven't taken either the train or the bus in a long time, so I don't know if it's changed at all.

Good luck!

Beth

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:28 pm

rebl_rn wrote:I would agree that Greyhound isn't as nice as Amtrak (I love taking the train!)

Me, too.

I like to watch all the scenery go by: horses, cows, barns, corn fields, then cities, highways, and churches, valleys, mountains, lakes, meadows...then all over again.

By virtue of the fact that busses drive on roads instead of tracks, it can't be as pretty a view.

Post by **Dale** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:53 pm

I did a 10-hour Greyhound ride in 2002. For most of the ride, I had empty seats around me and it was fine. During the last leg, which was in the middle of the night with the lights out, the bus was packed. That was unpleasant.

Bus stations were kinda tough because, these days, cigarette smoke really bugs me and there were smokers all around the station.

Cheap transportation, though. And flying has become such a hassle.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sat May 14, 2005 11:02 am

OT to Darwin (sorry, all):

Yes, you've laid that rule out pretty well, and as you indicated it also implies pronunciation. If the rule is followed, "busing" should be pronounced "boo-sing" or "byoo-sing". I was unaware that this exception was the result of newsprinters trying to streamline. I always assumed that it was to differentiate between "bus" and "buss" (as if context were insufficient to indicate either transportation or a kiss).

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Sat May 14, 2005 11:16 am

Nanohedron wrote:OT to Darwin (sorry, all):

It's not really OT. After all, Cran did ask about the spelling.

Yes, you've laid that rule out pretty well, and as you indicated it also implies pronunciation. If the rule is followed, "busing" should be pronounced "boo-sing" or "byoo-sing". I was unaware that this exception was the result of newsprinters trying to streamline. I always assumed that it was to differentiate between "bus" and "buss" (as if context were insufficient to indicate either transportation or a kiss).

That was just an assumption on my part. I don't think "buss" is common enough that anyone would change a spelling just to avoid confusion--especially in the context of bussing children to distant schools. "Kissing children to distant schools" doesn't make much sense.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sat May 14, 2005 11:23 am

Yeah, I think I encounter variants of the word "buss" about every seven to ten years or so.

AaronMalcomb · Post by **AaronMalcomb** » Mon May 16, 2005 4:39 pm

Regina, SK to Vernon, BC then back again 5 days later. It was about 24 hours one way. The leg from Calgary to Vernon was very scenic. One of the most beautiful bus trips I've been on (Strasbourg to Geneva was beautiful too).

For just a 6 hour trip I wouldn't think it a problem. It does get cramped so if it's an overnighter it might be a bit rough. I think if you keep your nose in a book or face towards the window you won't get hassled much. But I'm over 6'4" and over 200# so I generally don't get hassled much.

Cheers,
Aaron

OutOfBreath · Post by **OutOfBreath** » Mon May 16, 2005 4:53 pm

Cranberry wrote:By virtue of the fact that busses drive on roads instead of tracks, it can't be as pretty a view.

That's exactly the opposite of what I've observed. I only took Amtrak once but it was a long trip (Chicago to New Orleans) and I discovered something interesting along the way - by and large train tracks go through the "back side" of every city and town they pass through!

I'd still rather take the train, though. My one and only long ride on Greyhound was okay, except for the stop in New Mexico to throw a drunk off the bus, but it was a long, long trip. I could've driven it in about twelve hours each way, the bus took twenty-four hours each way.

HDSarah · Post by **HDSarah** » Tue May 17, 2005 9:02 pm

I rode the Greyhound bus all the way across the Lower 48 (Washington state to Massachusetts), twice, in my younger, poorer, and more adventurous days. I think it took 3 full days and nights. At that point in time, for me, it WAS an adventure and I enjoyed it. My main problem was that I don't sleep well sitting up, and that's a long time to go without sleeping well. By contrast, 6 hours doesn't seem that bad.

I find buses better than cars for traveling, but not as fun as trains or ferry boats.

I'll second what people have said about seedy characters, though. They routinely turned everyone out of the bus at about 1 or 2 a.m. to "clean the bus" (not that it seemed very clean when we got back on). (You might not run into that problem if it's only a 6-hour ride where you're going.) This was generally at a bus station in the seediest part of whatever town/city we were in, with -- how shall I say it? -- unsafe-looking people wandering about. My strategy was to hang onto all my stuff, (taking it all to the bathroom with me if necessary) and sit near the ticket counter if there was an employee there. If there are people on the bus who make you nervous, sitting right behind the driver is a good idea.

I, too, had an episode with someone with very strong body odor sitting next to me for what seemed like a very long time. I tried to politely ignore it but the smell was really awful. I moved seats at the next stop, because it seemed too rude to move right then, after he had sat down beside me.

Good luck, Cran! Have fun! Just stay safe, and don't let your natural tendency to be nice let people part you from your money or your stuff.