h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Bus Travel in the United States - A2595846
Author: MotDoc, Finally Back from a Long Hiatus - U208372

I am aware I need to add metric equivalents, but other than that how is it?

Quite a good entry, but a few faults.

In several places you use the word 'comparative' where 'comparable' is what you mean (I think).

In your footnote, you are rather too coy. The bathroom without running water is no such thing - it is a toilet.

The worst problem, however, is that you make no mention of local buses, only inter-city types. (Maybe you be not have local buses, but many other countries do, and London is famous for red ones.)

In the UK, we would usually use the word "coach" for the inter-city buses you are discussing and reserve the word "bus" for local buses. IIRC we're supposed to use British English in the Edited Guide.
Ekaterin.

In Australia, the terms 'coach' and 'bus' are used interchangeably for long-distance travel, but I think 'bus' is becoming more common.

How about amending the title - 'Long Distance Bus Travel in the United States'? That avoids purely urban bus travel. It stil leaves us with the Bus vs Coach thing though.

Ivan.

I agree about the bus/ coach argument, the article wasn't quite what I was expecting. I was going to suggest some sort of description of the vehicle itself, but it's difficult to describe the differences really.

Maybe if you just add a line near the beginning about it being similar to coach travel (run by companies such as National Express) in Britain.

I'll both change the title and add a disclaimer. There is, as far as I know, no physical difference between the two types of buses. On the other hand, trying to describe the bus system in every major city in the bus would be a trying task in one entry. And of course there are several other forms of bus travel, including charter buses and school buses.

Are the vehicles single deck affairs, or are some like the London double-deckers? That much description of the vehicles ought to be in there, I think.

I think this gives a pretty good overview of long-distance bus travel. You might want to add students to your list of likely bus travellers...

Also, it might bear pointing out that a 4-hour car ride can take 8 hours in a bus since it must make so many stops (unless it is an express). Another point, and a reason I took the bus to college rather than the train, is that almost every medium to large town has a bus station where far fewer have train stations.

But like I said, this is a great start. Keep after it!


- Jimi X

I posted some minor points about Peter Pan Bus Lines, but, being new to h2g2, I posted them under the entry itself, not here -- sorry! Here's what I wrote:

Peter Pan is headquartered in Massachusetts and operates primarily in the six New England states. Although it provides service from New England points to New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., "the Northeast" would be a more accurate description of its service area than "the New York area."

I'm not sure about the description of Greyhound's setup. In the Northeast, Peter Pan and Greyhound have a joint operating agreement (use the same terminals, publish a consolidated schedule, accept each other's tickets, etc.). The current text gives the impression that Peter Pan is NOT one of the companies that cooperate with Greyhound.

I reckon Jim and Jimi have made some good points, but otherwise I think this is looking pretty good now. Anyone else got any further comments?

(Oh, by the way, the old British English thing... traveling > travelling )

I found it to be a very direct and complete article. As an American, I've frequently had occasion to ride the busses, trains, and planes here and I think you've given an accurate depiction.

One minor point I would make is that the difference between bus fare and Amtrak (train system) fare is usually considerable. The trains will get you to your destination much faster with the ability to walk around and get a snack -- but you will pay more. If you try to travel by bus around any of the holiday weekends you will face considerably more traffic and thus greater time delays as compared with the train.

Otherwise, it's a great article. I think your use of footnotes should suffice for defining US English vs. British English terminology.

It's fine for the terminology, but EG entries should have British English spelling

Thank you for your comments, everyone. I have made changes accordingly.

It may only be because I tend to travel relatively short distances (up and down the east coast) but I have always found bus and train fares to be no more than 10% different.

I picked this one out to read purely because the title caught my attention. I've never been to America but I have travelled by bus a great deal in the UK. I found the article interesting and informative and it was an easily digestable length.



Liz
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