USA Bus Lines

Could anyone give me any advice on taking a Greyhound Bus?

Basically, I need to make a round trip from Atlanta, GA to Macon, GA sometime next month in October. I do not have a car, and I do not currently have my license right now (I have a learner's for ID purposes - too much going on in life right now to get a regular license within a month's time). A family member in Macon wants me to take a bus and is going to pick me up at the Greyhound station in Macon. I'd probably get a bus around 9am-ish and arrive around 10:30am at the most in Macon, GA. I'd need to get my return-trip bus going back to Atlanta at no later than 4 or 5pm. I'd get the bus at Garnett MARTA station when I leave from Atlanta - will it take me back to that same station if it's a round trip? Or drop me off at the airport station on the way back, instead? I'll be scheduling my trip online well ahead of time. I'll be printing a couple of copies of my tickets, just in case. I have my own credit/debit cards and cash, and also my own cell phone. I just don't have a way to drive myself or anyone else to drive me there. A taxi would be insanely expensive, and a Greyhound round trip looks like it would cost $25 if I did the non-refundable tickets ($50 if refundable). Neither of the stations I'd be going to and coming back from have ticketing counters. I'll be printing my own tickets at home from an online purchase. I've just never ridden a Greyhound before and need a little advice. It seems to be first-come, first-serve and there are no seat numbers or seat assignments. They also say on the website that they do not limit the number of seats available on a bus - so if it's full and even if you have a ticket for that bus/time...apparently you're screwed and have to wait for the next bus. I absolutely must be back in the afternoon on that same day, no if's and's or but's about it. Would I have any trouble doing this? Is there anything else I need to know? Also, I did a quick mock-up of a ticket purchase, but didn't put my info in at the end. It says: "You must print ticket(s) at home or work. Please print only one ticket per page, do not print on the back of the paper. Proceed directly to the gate. Board your bus at the following station no later than one hour prior to the scheduled departure time." The bus sits at the station for an entire hour before leaving?? Nope, there's no way I could stay overnight there without it causing problems with the family that I live with. I'm used to long ride lengths on buses and trains like MARTA on my commute to work (an hour and a half commute one-way), I've just never ridden such a distance or at all on Greyhound. I don't mind the bouncing back and forth. It doesn't say there are any mid-way points, though.

Public Comments

1. There's no way you can stay over night? If you did that you would have more time to visit. Doing a flip flop trip on a Greyhound can be grueling at best. You would also have to figure in the midway stops in both directions. All bus stations have ticket sale agents. I've been through both Macon and Atlanta in the past month they are manned when ever a bus comes in. It's always wise to get to the station ahead of time because it is truly first come first served.
2. I once took a Greyhound roundtrip Baltimore to Ocean City, Maryland. I returned to the same bus station that I left out of to head down. I imagine that Greyhound does this for a lot of people, it would make sense that you get to stop back at the same bus station you leave out of, it's bad business for Greyhound to constantly misplace customers. Though if I where you I would find a customer service line and call them, someone should be able to tell you for sure about your situation. You can also ask them about the likelyhood of you getting a seat on your bus, though I don't imagine that should be a problem. It doesn't sound to me like Macon is very far away from Atlanta if you are estimating an 1 1/2 trip, I imagine then Greyhound probably runs a lot of service back and forth between the two cities. In regards to midway points, during my trip to Ocean City, we hit a few stops in small towns along the way, and may have picked up a few travellers here and there. But really, between Baltimore and Ocean City, about the closet thing to a big city is Annapolis, MD which despite being the state capitol really isn't that big. There was one stop where the bus driver allowed us to get out, hit up the little shop for a quick bite to eat, then board back on. Anyway, you may have some stops on the way, and you'll be able to guess better than I will as to where they will be and how many people you expect to board the bus from those points. But if your ticket says arrive in Macon by 1030am for example, I'd expect to be there at about that time. Finally, when I was at the bus station in Baltimore to head down to Ocean City, I arrived in plenty of time, it probably was the suggest hour before it departed. I remember waiting and waiting, and not seeing a bus destined for Ocean City until it was fairly close to departure time, maybe 15 minutes or so maybe longer, the other people had to get off and get their bags, the bus driver probably needed a bit of a break, etc. I'm sure they tell you to arrive there an hour before you leave as a precautionary measure so that they don't have a bunch of patrons showing up all at once like 5 minutes before departure time. And I would take their word for it, it's better to sit at a bus station bored then it is to be rushing then watching the bus leave before you can get on.