219:
33:
195:, Canada. Within a few years, the company's fleet of buses had grown to 10. A handful of similar but smaller "alternative bus" companies were launched in the 1970s, based on Grey Rabbit's example, and they were sometimes collectively referred to as "Grey Rabbits". Typically operating without a commercial license and often with just a single bus, their names included The Lame Duck, Blue Goose, The Red Bus and the Iron Pony. All but Grey Rabbit and
215:. As of 1977, the company had four ticket outlets in the Bay Area. In addition to its low fares, about half those of Greyhound, another feature that attracted some riders was the casual atmosphere found on the Grey Rabbit and other "hippie bus" lines of the 1970s, in which conversation and interaction between riders who were strangers before boarding was welcomed in a way not commonly seen on conventional long-distance bus services.
267:
In June 1981, the ICC granted Grey Rabbit a temporary permit, and Lester Rall attempted to obtain a permanent one. Meanwhile, in 1981, the company was operating only between San
Francisco and Seattle, no longer cross-country, and its fleet of buses numbered five, all about 25 years old. Grey Rabbit
299:
in the late 1970s led to major reductions in prices for air travel. Grey Rabbit and similar companies were unable to compete, even for low-budget travelers. Keeping the elderly buses running was also an ongoing challenge. Grey Rabbit ceased operation in 1983, and was acquired by Green
Tortoise, who
210:
that were modified inside, with almost all passenger seats removed and replaced by beds. They lacked bathrooms. In 1977, the schedule included two San
Francisco–New York–Boston trips per week in each direction, and the journey took three or four days. There were weekly departures from the Bay Area
259:
wrote that Rall employed various tactics to avoid trouble with authorities, such as "schooling passengers to say they were friends on an outing rather than riders on a for-hire bus" or "creating the Church of World
Community Consciousness, selling the buses to the church, ordaining the drivers as
254:
wrote that Grey Rabbit "and five or six other alternative bus operators ... have kept a safe jump or two ahead of the
Interstate Commerce Commission, local authorities and the bus companies – Greyhound and Trailways – who represent everything the Grey Rabbits and their passengers don't". The
156:, the service was originally known as the Traveling Magical Universe and operated only along the Pacific Coast. Rall eventually named the service Grey Rabbit, which one writer described as "a reference to the animal used as 'bait' in dog races, a wry allusion to relationship with the
109:
from 1971 to 1983. It was one of a few small, long-distance bus companies established in the U.S. in the 1970s that specialized in inexpensive, no-frills, cross-country bus service using old secondhand buses and attracting
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264:. Chief competitor Green Tortoise was also operating without a license from the ICC at that time, doing so for its first seven years, until obtaining a license in 1981.
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144:, which was established in 1973 and named after Grey Rabbit, became Grey Rabbit's main competition in the small field, and eventually bought it out.
120:
columnist in 1978 referred to Grey Rabbit as "the granddaddy" of the five such "alternative" bus companies existing at that time, also known as
811:
167:
and, in 1973, three secondhand
Greyhound buses. By that time, Grey Rabbit had established regular weekly cross-country service between
594:
788:
353:
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of long-distance bus service in 1982 reduced or removed the remaining restrictions on the company's ability to operate legally.
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passengers. It was the first, and was also the biggest, best-known, and "most successful" of them in its first several years. A
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235:
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227:
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17:
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Bus
Company". Another writer said the name was chosen so that it would appear "next to Greyhound in the phone book".
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260:'ministers' and calling the fares 'donations'." The Church of World Community Consciousness was recognized only in
495:
391:
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488:"Bound to cover a little more ground – Hippie bus company offers adventures while traveling from place to place"
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783:
677:
Read, Richard (February 21, 1982). "Traveling companions shed inhibitions on alternative bus trip".
729:
454:
384:
Davis, William A. (January 3, 1982). "Green
Tortoise races to respectability on tour bus circuit".
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Gould, Charles (June 22, 1980). "Grey Rabbit: A hop from
Portland to San Francisco".
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137:
133:
66:
723:
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207:
203:
530:
Brody, Patricia; Kinney, Sheila (January 11, 1976). "Riding The Grey
Rabbits".
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For its first 10 years, Grey Rabbit operated without having a license from the
239:
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bus" companies. It operated mainly in two areas: between California and the
70:
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238:(ICC) permitting interstate operation—"in violation of the law, a sort of '
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354:"The Bunny Trail – Move over, Greyhound bus; here comes a cwazy wabbit"
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was $ 35, which was only half the price that mainstream carriers
272:, at that time. Its fare for a trip between San Francisco and
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also acquired the rights to the name (but did not use them).
603:(in German). Hamburg, Germany. April 2, 1982. Archived from
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Founded in 1971 by Lester Rall (born c.1940) with a single
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The buses that provided the service were old, secondhand
175:, with the New York trips subsequently being extended to
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Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
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Defunct transportation companies of the United States
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764:. Sacramento, California. p. E4 – via
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877:History of transportation in Washington (state)
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284:were charging for the same trip at that time.
597:[On the Rabbit bus through America].
533:San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle
179:. Regular service also operating between the
8:
837:Transportation companies based in California
822:Intercity bus companies of the United States
554:"The pleasures of riding the Green Tortoise"
536:. California Living Magazine section, p. 14.
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867:Transport companies disestablished in 1983
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683:. Portland, Oregon. SunDAY section, p. 9.
817:Bus transportation in Washington (state)
755:"Man behind Tortoise inspired by Rabbit"
862:Transport companies established in 1971
842:Companies based in Berkeley, California
416:Davis, William A. (September 8, 1991).
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211:north to Vancouver, B.C., and south to
101:, was an American company based in the
847:American companies established in 1971
566:from the original on December 27, 2016
502:from the original on December 27, 2016
462:from the original on December 28, 2016
37:Grey Rabbit bus in San Francisco, 1982
24:
752:Magagnini, Stephen (April 23, 1989).
430:from the original on December 8, 2015
132:and on a cross-country route between
7:
857:1983 disestablishments in California
733:. Santa Cruz, California. p. 23
872:History of transportation in Oregon
641:Zbikowski, Gene (July 8–14, 1977).
782:Ledwith, Timothy (March 6, 2008).
724:"New visions for 'Rabbit' transit"
449:Hogan, Mary Ann (March 28, 1978).
14:
852:1971 establishments in California
651:. Berkeley, California. p. 6
552:Brown, Karen D. (June 18, 1995).
807:Bus transportation in California
721:Kaplan, Tracey (July 19, 1985).
643:"Hopping A Ride? Go Grey Rabbit"
595:"Im Kaninchen-Bus durch Amerika"
352:Bellamy, Ron (October 4, 1981).
242:Greyhound'", a reporter for the
31:
418:"Green Tortoise Is The Victor"
236:Interstate Commerce Commission
199:were out of business by 1982.
163:In 1972, Rall acquired an old
1:
784:"The Year of the Grey Rabbit"
486:Bower, Leah (April 6, 1999).
18:Grey Rabbit (disambiguation)
812:Bus transportation in Oregon
362:. Eugene, Oregon. p. 1C
315:Counterculture of the 1960s
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559:The San Francisco Examiner
451:"Leave the Driving to ..."
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496:San Jose State University
107:long-distance bus service
30:
394:. SunDAY section, p. 12.
293:deregulation of airlines
99:Grey Rabbit Camper Tours
80:Passenger transportation
707:section, pp. NW8–NW19.
251:San Francisco Examiner
231:
103:San Francisco Bay Area
248:wrote. In 1976, the
245:Eugene Register-Guard
221:
88:Lester Rall (founder)
703:. Portland, Oregon.
700:The Sunday Oregonian
680:The Sunday Oregonian
390:. Portland, Oregon.
387:The Sunday Oregonian
310:Backpacking (travel)
286:Federal deregulation
270:Berkeley, California
16:For other uses, see
730:Santa Cruz Sentinel
455:The Washington Post
228:University District
124:bus companies and "
27:
705:Northwest Magazine
392:Field News Service
359:The Register-Guard
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230:in Seattle in 1984
54:1983 (acquired by
130:Pacific Northwest
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85:Chief executive
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224:Green Tortoise
197:Green Tortoise
154:Volkswagen bus
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112:counterculture
105:that operated
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735:. Retrieved
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609:. Retrieved
605:the original
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77:Service type
63:Headquarters
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611:October 28,
570:October 28,
506:October 28,
466:October 28,
434:October 28,
366:October 28,
213:Los Angeles
95:Grey Rabbit
26:Grey Rabbit
801:Categories
321:References
165:school bus
71:California
295:that was
291:The U.S.
282:Trailways
278:Greyhound
158:Greyhound
766:NewsBank
600:Die Zeit
564:Archived
500:Archived
460:Archived
428:Archived
304:See also
240:guerilla
185:Portland
181:Bay Area
173:New York
138:New York
189:Seattle
148:History
43:Founded
274:Eugene
262:Oregon
177:Boston
126:hippie
739:2016
657:2016
613:2023
572:2023
508:2023
468:2023
436:2023
368:2023
280:and
191:and
183:and
171:and
136:and
46:1971
206:or
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222:A
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58:)
20:.
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