Question about Greyhound.

Old Apr 6, 2009, 12:05 am
  #1  
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Question Question about Greyhound.

I am 16, I am buying a greyhound ticket June 3, from Miami, FL To Columbus,OH.

My Questions are :

1) What Do I need in order to buy a greyhound ticket? Can I use my school ID to buy the ticket ?

2) I need to be there quick, I know the bust stops every 5 hours, but is there any other delays ?

3) Will Immigration OR ICE stop the bus in my route? Do I need to take my SSN with me?

Thank you for answering this questions.
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 1:38 am
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Your Mom or Dad can purchase the ticket on your behalf. ICE may check the bus or even the police if they believe there is someone on the bus that does not belong or has done something suspicious.
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 7:28 am
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Greyhound's web site suggests they only want ID if you are purchasing a ticket using a personal check or picking up a ticket paid for by someone else.

ICE does not typically get involved with transportation that does not involve border crossings. One exception I can think of is that the immigration checkpoint on I-5 from Mexico is north of San Diego and I would expect there are similar situations in Arizona and Texas.
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 9:37 am
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If you book it online - no ID. Otherwise just bring a form of picture ID to buy it. They don't check when you go on the bus.

Don't carry your SSN around.
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 10:09 am
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Originally Posted by xxp4st4xx
I am 16, I am buying a greyhound ticket June 3, from Miami, FL To Columbus,OH.

My Questions are :

1) What Do I need in order to buy a greyhound ticket? Can I use my school ID to buy the ticket ?

2) I need to be there quick, I know the bust stops every 5 hours, but is there any other delays ?

3) Will Immigration OR ICE stop the bus in my route? Do I need to take my SSN with me?

Thank you for answering this questions.
It's troubling that this young person is concerned about having to prove citizenship upon demand at any time. I'm not blaming this individual -- just noting how much we have been socially engineered into a "Papers Please" society.
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 10:21 am
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You may want to consider that Greyhound considers age 15 or below as an "unaccompanied minor" subjuect to additional restrictions. If you look "young" then you may want to bring an ID that includes your date of birth when you purchase the ticket. Obviously if you are buying the ticket two months in advance you will look less like a runaway. However, you may encounter a skeptical agent. You could always try coming back to the station later if this happens.
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 12:52 pm
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Thank you.

So you guys think it will be ok to travel without my SSN ? , I am not gonna get pulled out in the way from florida to ohio?

Thank you for all the information, its just that I am hispanic, and I just though i had to take some information to show that I am legal.

Last edited by xxp4st4xx; Apr 6, 2009 at 1:36 pm
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 5:40 pm
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No, you don't need your SSN. Always best to have a photo ID on you though.
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 7:27 pm
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Since you'll be going in the summer, there won't be delays due to snow. Greyhound cancels service for days during a snowstorm, and there will be delays all over the country because the buses are stuck in cities with snow and if a bus route is the same route as the snowstorm (such as Chicago to NYC with a snowstorm going the same direction), the bus will be canceled in Chicago till the snow ends in NYC which could be days.

The downtown Miami greyhound station is not in a good part of town.
Do you have your driver's license or permit yet? That could be your ID. If you get your ticket mailed to you or pick it up at a kiosk, then you don't need any ID. They never check ID before boarding the bus. And if you buy with cash in the terminal, they don't check ID.

If you need to "be there quick" why not fly, and get there in 2 hours? Do you really want to spend 2 days of your life on a Greyhound bus crammed into a seat worse than economy on any airline? Since you're booking so far in advance,you can fly for about $220 from MIA-CMH, which is less than $100 more than a Greyhound ticket. Factor in about $20 worth of food along the way. You won't be an unaccompanied minor. Greyhound always overbooks buses, and unlike the airlines, they don't have to provide IDB compensation. So if you have to transfer buses, and your connecting bus is full, you get stuck.
Even at minimum wage, if you work during the extra hours you save by flying, you'll end up with more money.
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Old Apr 6, 2009, 7:28 pm
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Great post nd2010!
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Old Apr 7, 2009, 3:52 pm
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Originally Posted by xxp4st4xx
So you guys think it will be ok to travel without my SSN ? , I am not gonna get pulled out in the way from florida to ohio?

Thank you for all the information, its just that I am hispanic, and I just though i had to take some information to show that I am legal.
Leave your SSN card at home. It is proof of nothing.

Carry your birth certificate or passport, if you have one. Or green card if you are a legal resident.
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Old Apr 7, 2009, 4:15 pm
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Originally Posted by nd2010
If you need to "be there quick" why not fly, and get there in 2 hours? Do you really want to spend 2 days of your life on a Greyhound bus crammed into a seat worse than economy on any airline? Since you're booking so far in advance,you can fly for about $220 from MIA-CMH, which is less than $100 more than a Greyhound ticket. Factor in about $20 worth of food along the way. You won't be an unaccompanied minor. Greyhound always overbooks buses, and unlike the airlines, they don't have to provide IDB compensation. So if you have to transfer buses, and your connecting bus is full, you get stuck.
Even at minimum wage, if you work during the extra hours you save by flying, you'll end up with more money.
There were many times in college where my friends would think about taking greyhound to save money after looking at airfares and the greyhound fare was more and would take 2 days to get from the midwest to anywhere.

The only time i've taken greyhound in my life was when I needed to get from Kansas City to Columbia, MO. Greyhound provides the best options for this.
I always thought Greyhound is mainly for the credit cardless people or people without IDs. Also people who are afraid of airplanes.
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Old Apr 7, 2009, 4:30 pm
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Originally Posted by Centurion210
Leave your SSN card at home. It is proof of nothing.

Carry your birth certificate or passport, if you have one. Or green card if you are a legal resident.
If my memory serves me right, green card holders must have it in their possession at all times. So it is definitely a good advice to carry it.

US Citizens are not required to carry proof of citizenship when travelling internally. However, I have been told by a BP agent that since I have a foreign accent, I must always have my passport in my possession or risk indefinite detention while my status is verified.

Thank, BP, for trashing our right to travel.
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Old Apr 7, 2009, 5:57 pm
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Originally Posted by PoliceStateSurvivor
If my memory serves me right, green card holders must have it in their possession at all times. So it is definitely a good advice to carry it.

US Citizens are not required to carry proof of citizenship when travelling internally. However, I have been told by a BP agent that since I have a foreign accent, I must always have my passport in my possession or risk indefinite detention while my status is verified.

Thank, BP, for trashing our right to travel.
You have to back up your claim to US citizenship, not BP. You made the claim, back it up.

Why didn't you file a complaint when you were stereotyped?

And you are right that green card holders must have, by law, their card in their possesion at all times.
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Old Apr 7, 2009, 8:23 pm
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Originally Posted by gj83
I always thought Greyhound is mainly for the credit cardless people or people without IDs. Also people who are afraid of airplanes.
According to countless TSA idiots at PV, Greyhound is for people who "don't like" TSA's invasive and pointless policies.
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