Staring Down The Path Tour. Day 10 | blackswanlane.com

Cushioning non-Greyhound Routes

Submitted By: William Donley

There's most likely far less cushioning now-a-days on non-Greyhound routes, but I have to relate a story. At Bonanza, it was common to carry hound drivers on the 50 mile trip to Boston, their work reporting location. Or to anyplace. They would park at Providence and jump on the Boston Express. Most were absolute gentlemen, but in the 90s, Greyhound was not drawing the same caliber of driver as they did in the 60s-50s-40s etc. 

 

One Friday Evening, I was the 9:30PM NYC-PABT Gate 17 to Providence. I was about the leave when a man dressed in what I knew was Greyhound Training Uniform ran up to the bus and said loudly and rudely "Providence Please" and proceeded to his seat. I asked him if he had a ticket, and he said, Greyhound Pass. I said I needed to see it so I could mark my envelope, just the union card would be fine.

 

 "Union Card?????" Yeah the Union Card. He said "I have a voucher from my training school in Richmond." Oh, I told him that his bus was just down the driveway in the next building. 

 

He said that bus would not stop in Providence, that it went NYC-Hfd-Bos. And it would take him more than 8 hours to get to Providence. No Problem, but step outside a moment. I explained to him... Pal, there's a way to go about this, and 1st you ought to introduce yourself and ask if you might get a lift. I'm glad to take you, even though I'm just about solid, but you've got to learn how to get a free lift the right way or you're gonna learn how to get your butt kicked off the bus. He sat behind me and gave me a 4 hour lesson on what Greyhound was doing wrong. 

 

He asked me to run the 52 passengers down a road closer to his home so he could walk home, but I told him that we had one stop, at the station. 

 

A couple of weeks later, he again appeared at the PABT at 9:30 PM for the ride to Providence. I gladly put him aboard, he was in the Greys this time, and I was not going to hassle him. This time he sat behind me and proceeded to tell me that he had broken the all-time speed record on a Boston to Buffalo run, and had run 80 MPH nearly all the way. He was hoping for the run again and was going to make the 500 or so mile trip in even less time. Of course after the run, he had to cushion to the PABT. 

 

 I thought, Oh this is a great driver. But it'll take him longer than average to get to the Million Mile award. What I did not tell him was that 2 days later, I was taking over as Safety Director at Bonanza.

As I said, Greyhound drivers are carried every day on Bonanza, mostly to Boston, but actually anywhere, and while I was in management, it continued. 

 

Now Bonanza had several ex-Greyhound drivers who left during the various labor troubles and some were VERY bitter about it. One we'll call Wally, a fine driver, but VERY VERY bitter, considered every Greyhound driver who worked for the company after Wally left to be a scab, but he did not make waves normally. His driving was exemplary. But all one had to do was hiccup and Wally was ready to erupt big time. 

 

He winds up with Mr. New Greyhound Rocketass cushioning with him. The GH driver sits halfway back. 5 minutes into the trip, Mr GH rocketass shouts from his seat "Hey driver, don't you know how to set the heat? I'm cold. Bitter Wally ignored him. Soon, Rocketass shouts "you know at Greyhound, we know how to set our heater switches." No answer from Wally. 

 

But at Boston, bitter Wally takes him aside and in no uncertain terms tells him he will not be cushioning with Wally in the future. No problem. Mr. GH Rocketass writes a letter of complaint to CoachUSA HQ in TX. The letter winds up on my desk. Oh boy. Who better to give Mr. GH R/Ass some common sense lessons than his fellow Greyhound Boston drivers. I instruct our dispatcher in Boston to hang the letter of complaint in the Greyhound drivers room. Attached was a company-wide bulletin from me forbidding any Greyhound driver to cushion on Bonanza Bus lines without a ticket. 

 

Well, it wasn't very long before he received his well deserved instructions from Greyhounds union reps and normal minded drivers at Boston about how to conduct himself was receiving a free ride, and of course I quickly rescinded the bulletin. 

 

Months later he applied at Bonanza, informing me that he would be a real driver, and could make up time on any run, whereas most Bonanza Drivers (many with 40 years) did not know what the hell they were doing. No, Bonanza did not hire him while I was there. He went on to driver for a small charter outfit in Rhode Island, and left the day he had 3 accidents in the same day in NYC with a Vanhool. He had chased a car through Times Sq which somehow had offended him with 57 people aboard, sideswiping cars and truck to catch his prey. 

 

I last saw him in a state park on a school bus charter making kissyface to a woman on the nose of the school bus he was driving. Jon, I know you must have had your share of dillys in your day, but they are still out there! Sorry for the cushioning story going on so long.

Bill.

 

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