“灰狗”图谋东山再起

    2008年，加拿大曾发生一起骇人听闻的惨案，一名精神有疾病的华裔灰狗乘客在巴士上用刀刺死邻座，甚至把对方的头和其他身体器官砍了下来。这是这个逐渐衰退的品牌的又一耻辱——自1990年以来，这家北美最大的城际巴士运营商已两易他手并且经历了两次破产。灰狗是人们不得已时廉价而肮脏的旅行选择。不过现在，虽然还未复兴，但它又活了过来。这要归功于灰狗的新主人，坐拥100亿美元的苏格兰运输公司第一集团（FirstGroup）。

    截至4月，第一集团已经替换或翻新（每辆130,000美元）了美国境内营运的客车车辆中的一半，并在车上增加了Wi-Fi、交流电源插座和座位伸腿空间。2008年，灰狗还与彼得•潘长途客运公司（Peter Pan Bus Lines）合资成立了闪电长途客运公司（Bolt Bus），以迎合更为年轻的新潮人群的需求。此外，灰狗也开始重新审视以前破旧得出了名的客运车站，对许多车站进行了改造和迁址，还设置了一批新的售票亭（闪电巴士目前还没有自己的客运站）。灰狗也在对其庞大的营运路线进行调整，以专注于最受欢迎的城际快运线路。现在，灰狗60%的业务围绕着主要城市中心展开。最后，由于灰狗品牌也英国的认知度也较高，第一集团也计划利用这一点，进入英国市场。

    该公司首席执行官戴夫•利奇表示，整个复兴计划的最后一部分是改变企业文化。在未来两年时间里，他计划游历全美，每次找10到15名员工开会获取反馈，并向员工描绘自己的愿景——一个更年轻、更干净、更新的灰狗。利奇26岁时创办了灰狗，当时他是一位行李装卸工，他表示目前为止的反应都非常积极。

    “现在灰狗是一个完全不同的公司，是一个令人兴奋的公司，”利奇谈到灰狗最新的变化时说道.

    它现在需要的只是一个头等车厢和咸花生米。

    译者：qian

    In 2008, a mentally ill passenger repeatedly stabbed and decapitated his seatmate on a Greyhound bus in Canada. It was yet another indignity for the faded brand -- the largest intercity bus operator in North America had, since 1990, changed hands twice and gone through two bankruptcies. It was the cheap and dirty travel option of last resort. And yet today Greyhound is alive and, if not yet resurgent, revitalized thanks to its new owner, the $10 billion Scottish-based transport operator FirstGroup.

    As of April, FirstGroup has either replaced or renovated (at $130,000-a-pop) half its U.S. fleet -- about 670 vehicles -- and added Wi-Fi, AC outlets, and legroom. Greyhound also launched Bolt Bus, a joint venture with Peter Pan lines, in 2008. The intercity bus network caters to a younger, hipper crowd. It has also started reevaluating its once-famously seedy terminals, revamping many, moving some, and building more ticketing kiosks. (Bolt, it should be noted, does not have terminals.) It's also overhauling its meandering network to focus on its most popular city-to-city express routes. Today, 60% of Greyhound's business is centered around major urban centers. And FirstGroup is capitalizing on the brand's name recognition back in the U.K. by launching a Greyhound-branded bus service there.

    The last piece of the overhaul, says CEO Dave Leach, is changing the culture. Over the course of two years, he plans to travel across the country and meet with groups of 10 to 15 employees at a time to get feedback and present his vision of a younger, cleaner, newer Greyhound. Leach, who started at the company 26 years ago as a baggage handler, says the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

    "It's a completely different business," Leach says of Greyhound's latest iteration. "This is an exciting company, it really is."

    All it needs now is a first-class cabin and salted peanuts.