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GL Airport Services

 
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
Posts: 2452
Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 2:31 pm    Post subject: GL Airport Services Reply with quote

A few years ago GLI started stopping many schedules all across the country at airports going in and out at many cities. Today, there are just a few left. They did not carry solely between the airport and the nearby city, only to points further out and the airport.
But does anyone remember when GL operated the airport service between Detroit and its airport in the late '60's? I believe they used 4107's or MC5A's that were dedicated and lettered for that service. They were equipped with 2-way radio's for dispatching. I am not including Greyhound owned subsidiaries such as their ownership of Carey Transportation in NYC briefly.
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timecruncher



Age: 73
Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 456
Location: Louisville, Kentucky

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

They did indeed operate comprehensive 'Airporter' service to DET for many years. When costs began to overtake operating revenues, they dumped the service and sold it to Shortway Lines, a once proud outfit that had become a hotbed of criminal activity. There were lots of rumors about Shortway being somehow associated with organized crime back in the 80's. I have no reason to believe it was untrue.

Shortway also purchased Suburban Lines in Washington, PA and the Airporter operation from ATE in Cincinnati. They summarily destroyed each of these operations, and ran some of the shoddiest equipment I have ever seen in both scheduled and charter work!

I believe the Washington, PA operation ran a number of ex-Louisville GM new looks for a while. Shortway bid on and got a big contract for shuttles at the Knoxville World's Fair, and the ex-TARC buses were purchased for that operation.

When they purchased Airporter in Cincy, the airport board bought a couple of 35-foot Orion 01s with a suburban setup. Beautiful coaches, within a year or two both of them were shabby -- no a/c, filthy inside and out, often as not seen on the side of the road with engine door open.

During this time I was driving for Metro in Cincinnati, I was once boarding riders on 5th at Vine Street and one of the Orions pulled up beside me. His right-side mirror was about to fall off, and looking down, I noticed that two lugnuts were sheared off on his front right wheel. I hailed the driver, who opened the door, and told him that one of the potholes on the I-75 bridge could take his front wheel off. He shrugged and pulled away from me, stopping across from Fountain Square at the Westin Hotel.

Next trip the bus was still sitting in front of the Westin Hotel, but being picked up by a wrecker.

timecruncher
"Let me make you an offer you can't refuse..."
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roymanning2000



Age: 75
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 198

PostPosted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 7:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

For a brief time, Shortway ran the airport limo service in Dayton. Not long after they took over the service, the local newspaper carried a story detailing Shortway's shortcomings.

One incident mentioned in the article involved a van, just like the ones used in Dayton, loaded with passengers, that lost a wheel enroute to one of the New York-area airports. Not long afterwards, I believe Shortway gave up the Dayton limo service.

In the fall of 1979, the Motor Bus Society held a convention in the Cleveland area. One of the stops was at a Shortway property in the Akron-Canton area. All of the buses were absolute junk.

Roy
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