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Greyhound converting major Company terminals to agencies?

 
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
Posts: 2438
Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:02 pm    Post subject: Greyhound converting major Company terminals to agencies? Reply with quote

Heard from a driver today that Greyhound is converting many major Company owned and operated terminals into commission agencies. He mentioned Norfolk, Va. and Raleigh, NC....but said there were a lot more. Current company employees at those stations would have their jobs abolished, and would have to apply to the agency to be rehired to their former positions. Some manager's would be offered relocation to other remaining Company locations....


This is the first I have heard of this, so will have to see if I can obtain some more info on it....quite a surprise....
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
Posts: 2438
Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 1:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was confirmed by my reliable source at GL...they are so far, converting 22 of their Company terminals...Newark, NJ is another one. I didn't have time to go over the entire list, nor go into much detail over this.
One question that comes to mind...will GLI still own the property and lease (or sublease) them to the agencies, or will the agencies acquire the property?
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kfcoombs



Age: 83
Joined: 14 Jan 2018
Posts: 3
Location: Denver / Gr Jct CO & Seattle WA

PostPosted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 1:07 am    Post subject: Conversion of Company Terminals to Commission Agencies Reply with quote

To everyone - This is no surprise, as it at least the second time doing this. Denver, (and a number of other Cities were converted in the 1990' s for a few years, and then Greyhound took them back as Company Terminals.

Each time they do this, it shakes the tree ! (and they reduce expenses)
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kfcoombs



Age: 83
Joined: 14 Jan 2018
Posts: 3
Location: Denver / Gr Jct CO & Seattle WA

PostPosted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 3:18 am    Post subject: Company Terminals to Commission Agencies Reply with quote

Some more detail from the past:

Greyhound will probably retain ownership of the Property (or the Lease) so they can control WHO is the agent, and to the degree the "Independent Contractor" status will allow governing how and what the Agent can do on the property.

They carefully estimate the costs of operation and the sales revenue projected to come up with a "Commission rate". This can vary tremendously depending on the services Greyhound wants the agent to perfom for it. Now with sales being through 7-11 and on-line, and the current agents having to perform work without any sale by them, it will make this estimation harder. It is calculated so that the Agent will not "get rich". Each year, it is re-evaluated up or down to maintain this balance. Building the business up for more income works only in the current year and will possibly hurt the future !

I was an agent during 1960-1980 and again between 1988 and 1995, a heart attack ending serious work after that. I'm now retired and following the industry from my Computer !
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
Posts: 2438
Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting info....
I retired this past Thanksgiving, after 49 years in the business (51 if you want to count a non-industry GL subsidiary company)...

I was there in the "new" Denver Terminal, the day that then governor, Rich Lamm cut the ribbon in 1976....I was back to visit a couple of years ago, and it's sad to see what is still operating from that now "white elephant"... Crying or Very sad
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kfcoombs



Age: 83
Joined: 14 Jan 2018
Posts: 3
Location: Denver / Gr Jct CO & Seattle WA

PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 12:35 am    Post subject: Company to Commission Agency Reply with quote

More on Denver Terminal. Greyhound in past years purchased real estate and built their own Terminals - and some of these still exist today. Denver is very valuable downtown property, a whole square block next to a major Hotel. I am sure if the offer was high enough, they would sell and move to a smaller location near the I-25 / I-70 Corridor. There are only 10 arrivals and 10 GL departures daily, with a scattering of Bustang, Black Hills, Burlington Tws, and RTD Airport tenants stopping. The building is now 42 years old, and with a parking garage on top has had it's fair share of water leaks down through the building.

It was a Commission agency back in the '90's for a few years.
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
Posts: 2438
Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Down to just 10 departures a day? How sad...
When I worked there (actually at the office at 2450.... Curtis), between GL and CTS, there were about 60 daily departures. And RTD ran some regional trips from there as well as their new underground Market Street Station. Also, Gray Line ran some of their trips out of there. There were separate ticket counters, separate package express facilities, a travel bureau, a bar, a Post House cafeteria, snack bar, and gift shop.

Interestingly enough, Greyhound's former terminal at 1730 Glenarm still stands. I used to drive in and out of that one, before moving to dispatching...
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