Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
Wow, a multi day trip on different buses just to avoid TSA?
Myself, I prefer to rent a car rather than take a long bus ride. But yes, when I
really need to be in the US for family reasons, it now requires a complicated sequence of trains, buses, multi-day drives (not fun in the Midwest in winter) and Canadian airports. I no longer travel to the US professionally.
Originally Posted by
coachrowsey
There has been so much on the news about the safety of these buses & accidents.
Some, yes. But the chance of being in an accident is still so small that you might as well ignore it or just be a little picky about which bus line.
Really, the risk of being injured or killed in an accident (or terrorist attack) on any non-stupid mode of transportation in a developed country is so low that you can just ignore it. ("Stupid" being things like drink driving, not wearing a seatbelt/helmet, hitchiking...)
Originally Posted by
yyzvoyageur
That one would actually do this to avoid dealing with airport security screening baffles me when flying or taking a train would have been quicker and safer than going by bus.
I'm not OK with being sexually abused. That's not safe. It leads to sleeplessness, stress, nightmares, stomach problems, poor concentration, low productivity in my work, and makes it hard for me to contribute well in my relationships. In my experience, the risk of a sexually abusive experience flying in the US is very high.
So flying in the US is not an option. Train is generally better than bus, but trains don't go everywhere and they can have larger delays than a bus (if there are track/signal problems, the train just doesn't go anywhere till they're fixed). I choose a car over a bus for anything over a few hours, though.
But in terms of accidents, I don't think the statistical difference between them matters much - the risks are so low that you can treat them as pretty much equal and choose based on cost or convenience.