Greyhound Ridership Up 30% on Former Spirit Routes as Airfares Rise 27%

Greyhound routes that overlapped with former Spirit Airlines flights recorded a 30 percent increase in passengers after the low-cost carrier shut down. Search activity for Greyhound rose 20 percent from the previous year, The Guardian reported, citing Wall Street Journal data. Researchers predict bus ridership could grow 4 percent this year.

Flight prices have risen 27 percent year to date while bus and train tickets increased about 4 percent, with the average bus ticket priced at $53 compared with a $500 plane ticket, according to travel platform Wanderu vice president Kate Thompson. The number of licensed 16-year-olds has fallen 27 percent since 2000, the Department of Transportation reported.

Greyhound was acquired by FlixBus in 2021.

In the past two years the company retired older vehicles and added newer ones, halving the average age of its fleet. Kai Boysan, CEO of Flix North America, stated that the company has invested in modernizing the bus travel experience and added hundreds of new buses.

Passengers now have access to free wifi, power outlets, real-time trip tracking, free luggage allowance, and spacious seating, he said.

Miles Taylor, a 26-year-old scheduler for Boston’s MBTA who documents bus trips on YouTube, traveled from Boston to Seattle on Greyhound in 104 hours. He described the experience as grueling, with frequent delays and poor communication from staff. Taylor noted that smaller operators such as Peter Pan, owned by the same family for nearly a century, sometimes provide better service on northeast routes.

Greyhound currently holds a 1.3 out of five-star rating on both TripAdvisor and Yelp. Philadelphia’s Parking Authority spent $4 million renovating its Greyhound terminal, which reopened in May. Chicago’s city council is considering a vote to purchase and restore its station.