I'm one of the people who sincerely wants to avoid TSA. So when I planned this year's vacation, I went pretty far in investigating alternatives. Originally, it was to be the Empire Builder to Seattle. Amtrak took that off the table. I then considered other destinations and driving the whole trip. Finally, I made reservations with Greyhound. What I was never explicitly told is that though you can buy a ticket for the route on Greyhound.com, Greyhound has abandoned all Montana routes. So I didn't actually get on a Greyhound-owned bus until Missoula Montana. Mostly I was riding Rimrock Trailways. And, wow, what a mess I rode 6 different buses finally. And 3 of the 6 were substitute equipment because the original bus was broken down. The state of their equipment seems to be very bad these days. A couple of the links were very late. One couple abandoned the ride in Spokane because they couldnt stand the uncertainty.

I can't say offhand that we TSA-evaders can't use bus lines. I'm told Greyhound is running newer equipment elsewhere. But it has really become case by case. I once drove my own car on this trip, so I know I'm up to it. And that could become my only real alternative

And apart from the Empire Builder, Amtrak is still a good option. But this trip has been an education about the bus option. It is cheap and worth every penny.