Monday, July 04, 2005
Michigan - Toronto
I don't know how many of you know, but this weekend (July 1) was also the Canada Day holiday weekend, like July 4 is our Independence Day. They have an extra day off and shoot off fireworks and all that, similar to us. I went up to visit Toronto from Saginaw Michigan this weekend and took the bus up there. It's amazing how different the bus is in the US and in Canada.
First the riders. If you haven't been on a Greyhound bus lately, or not so lately come to thing of it, the riders (usually pretty few) on US buses here in Michigan tend to be mostly hardluck folks. They're mostly black and Hispanic with a few whites. Mostly single with occasional couples and rarely families. I have yet to see any Asians or Middle Easterners on it. The luggage is mostly well-used gymbags and cardboard boxes. Actually, it's been that way for a long time. However, as soon as you switch to the Canadian bus - even at the transfer of Detroit, but especially when you stop in Windsor, the population changes dramatically.
First there's almost a complete mix of every race in the world. There doesn't seem to be a preponderance of any one race either. Asians from all over, Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Japanese, eastern Europeans and even a few whites from the Midwest. Most have a lot of baggage and often they travel in families or other groups. I've been on this bus route three times now over the past couple of years and it's always been the same.
Even the bus is dramatically different. The bathroom on the US bus looks like an inner city slum wall covered with graffiti and other vandalism. It's dirty and the whole bus just has that run down look. The Canadian bus is clean and neat and looks like something you wouldn't mind riding for a few hours.
For those who trumpet the advantages of the US over Canada, you should take this kind of bus trip someday. Yes, there are drawbacks, as they have higher taxes and more government involvement in a lot of areas, but I often think the advantages are worth it.
2fers: Greyhound 1 and Greyhound 2
