Greyhound Lines Inc

Greyhound Lines wants more than ever for you to leave the driving to them. The only nationwide bus service this week launched an effort to lure more people out of their cars and away from airports and train stations by lowering ticket prices and adding departures on short-haul routes in Southern California and other markets. The strategy aims particularly to gain passengers from rival carriers such as Southwest Airlines and Reno Air.

A Greyhound bus driver fell asleep at the wheel Sunday and rear-ended a camper trailer in a highway crash that injured 43 people, authorities said. Most injuries were minor, but three people were hospitalized and eight others were held for observation after the crash on Interstate 70, Colorado State Patrol Capt. Jess Gibson said.

Greyhound Lines--the nation's largest inter-city bus company--on Tuesday discounted fares 20% to 50% in an effort to boost travel during the slow winter months and counter cut-rate airline prices. Since emerging from bankruptcy protection last year, Greyhound has aggressively lowered fares to match competitors on the ground and in the air. During the summer, the Dallas-based bus company cut the price of a one-way ticket between Washington, D.C., and New York to $5 during a fare war.

Three people were injured and the eastbound Foothill Freeway was closed for seven hours Tuesday when a Greyhound bus struck a tanker that had moments earlier rear-ended a truck just south of the Simi Valley Freeway in Lake View Terrace. "It's pretty miraculous and really lucky that more people weren't injured," said California Highway Patrol Officer Fred Oakes, who was at the scene.

Greyhound Lines Inc. President Frank Schmieder spent his July 4 weekend riding incognito on the company's buses, his way of personally assessing changes implemented since Greyhound emerged from bankruptcy. While he did not always like what he saw, Schmieder said in an interview Monday that the rides on Greyhound have given him a firsthand look at the company's better service, cheaper fares, newer bus fleets and cleaner terminals.

Two pregnant women were among six passengers on a Greyhound bus who suffered minor injuries early Thursday when the driver lost control and slammed into a parked truck about a block from his destination at the bus terminal here. One of the passengers, a Guatemala native who is eight months pregnant, suffered labor pains immediately after the accident and was admitted to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center.