Feels on the Bus

Many years ago, while guest hosting a CBC Radio show, the comedian Lara Rae made a joke about long-distance travel that stuck in my mind. Maybe she called it a poem or a very short story; my recollection has been dulled by the decades. In any case, it went something like this: “I took a Greyhound from Calgary to Toronto once. Don’t.” Although the iconic, nearly century-old brand ceased operations within Canada in 2021, its routes picked up by a patchwork of regional carriers, Greyhound is still active in the United States and remains synonymous with intercity journeys by bus. And not in a good way.

Anybody who can afford it will usually fly, drive, or take the train when they travel significant distances in this part of the world. Who wants to wait in a dingy station and sit beside a stranger, only to endure interminable hours of bumpy highway and a tiny bathroom with odours of uncertain origin? Rarely half the fun, getting there by bus entails a cheek-by-jowl...