Greyhound gives up on 269 towns

DALLAS, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Greyhound of Dallas has eliminated 269 bus stops in 17 states in the West and Midwest this summer, the New York Times reported Monday.

Most of the abandoned stops are in rural areas that have little or no other public transportation routes -- in or out.

Greyhound's passenger boardings peaked in 2000 at 25.4 million and have declined by more than 3 million since. In 2002 and 2003 combined, the company said, it lost nearly $140 million.

To cope with the declining business, the 90-year-old company last summer laid off members of its administrative and supervisory staff, cut ticket prices and eliminated an order for 200 new buses.

Of the stops it cut this summer, about half had no outbound ticket sales in 2003, a Greyhound spokeswoman said.