Bus stop. Permanently.

Greyhound's recent decision to cut service to small towns across the rural Western U.S. has garnered press throughout the eastern media, either as a symbol of the decline of rural America or the heartless nature of big business.

As a liberal, I'm tempted to believe both, but I think the most heartless businesses of all are those who go broke and leave customers and employees in a lurch. Greyhound, as a non-government entity, owes it to customers to do everything it can to fight low-fare airlines and private auto transportation in a bid to stay in business. Frankly, going miles out of the way and slowing down intercity service to stop in towns that have been in decline for decades is not a good way to survive as a transportation company.

But this creates a gnawing problem crying out for a solution. Greyhound is the absolute bottom rung on the U.S. transportation network, the final safety net for people who need to get around but can't afford a car. There could be thousands of people who travel from small towns to regional centers for medical treatment, school or irregular work who will have to move. Of course, those people probably number fewer than the average number of daily riders on one of those new stumpy light rail lines you see popping up all over, but it's still important politically, if not economically.

Perhaps the problem lies in the buses themselves. Correct me in the comments if I'm wrong, but Greyhound uses only one size of bus. Having (grudgingly) used their service a few times, I can report that I haven't seen anything smaller than the standard size. I'm also fairly sure that Greyhound does not cancel buses if no tickets have been sold, since the company counts on certain buses to be in certain places for the next day's runs.

Long story short, this is what I'm getting at: Take the "ride board" common at college campuses and make it professional. Have people with vans and spare time (college students, the underemployed, those in seasonally-busy jobs) register with an online service that performs a criminal background and driving record check and collects a deposit. In exchange, the drivers are allowed to enter the times they are available to drive into a network that matches vans with riders. Place kiosks in small-town gas stations where otherwise-stranded riders can sign up and pay either by credit card or by paying cash to the attendant. The rider would either be notified immidiately or later by phone when the van is full enough to make the run, and the driver would be notified by a dispatcher of who to pick up, where and when.

The organizing firm would pay the drivers and could withhold payment for missed runs, late arrival or dirty vans. Riders would get peace of mind and many would end up with reliable, regular routes, perhaps more convenient than the ones they lost to Greyhound. The underemployed or unemployed van-owners would not have to leave their hometowns. Everybody wins.

Are there problems? Sure. Insurance for one. But I think it's worth exploring and could make somebody a fair amount of money.