????2008年,，加拿大曾發(fā)生一起駭人聽聞的慘案，一名精神有疾病的華裔灰狗乘客在巴士上用刀刺死鄰座,，甚至把對(duì)方的頭和其他身體器官砍了下來,。這是這個(gè)逐漸衰退的品牌的又一恥辱——自1990年以來，這家北美最大的城際巴士運(yùn)營商已兩易他手并且經(jīng)歷了兩次破產(chǎn),?；夜肥侨藗儾坏靡褧r(shí)廉價(jià)而骯臟的旅行選擇。不過現(xiàn)在,，雖然還未復(fù)興,，但它又活了過來。這要?dú)w功于灰狗的新主人,，坐擁100億美元的蘇格蘭運(yùn)輸公司第一集團(tuán)（FirstGroup）,。
????截至4月，第一集團(tuán)已經(jīng)替換或翻新（每輛130,000美元）了美國境內(nèi)營運(yùn)的客車車輛中的一半,，并在車上增加了Wi-Fi,、交流電源插座和座位伸腿空間。2008年,，灰狗還與彼得?潘長途客運(yùn)公司（Peter Pan Bus Lines）合資成立了閃電長途客運(yùn)公司（Bolt Bus）,，以迎合更為年輕的新潮人群的需求。此外,，灰狗也開始重新審視以前破舊得出了名的客運(yùn)車站,，對(duì)許多車站進(jìn)行了改造和遷址，還設(shè)置了一批新的售票亭（閃電巴士目前還沒有自己的客運(yùn)站）,。灰狗也在對(duì)其龐大的營運(yùn)路線進(jìn)行調(diào)整,，以專注于最受歡迎的城際快運(yùn)線路?，F(xiàn)在，灰狗60%的業(yè)務(wù)圍繞著主要城市中心展開,。最后,，由于灰狗品牌也英國的認(rèn)知度也較高，第一集團(tuán)也計(jì)劃利用這一點(diǎn),，進(jìn)入英國市場(chǎng),。
????該公司首席執(zhí)行官戴夫?利奇表示,，整個(gè)復(fù)興計(jì)劃的最后一部分是改變企業(yè)文化。在未來兩年時(shí)間里,，他計(jì)劃游歷全美,，每次找10到15名員工開會(huì)獲取反饋，并向員工描繪自己的愿景——一個(gè)更年輕,、更干凈,、更新的灰狗。利奇26歲時(shí)創(chuàng)辦了灰狗,，當(dāng)時(shí)他是一位行李裝卸工,，他表示目前為止的反應(yīng)都非常積極。
????“現(xiàn)在灰狗是一個(gè)完全不同的公司,，是一個(gè)令人興奮的公司,，”利奇談到灰狗最新的變化時(shí)說道.
??? 它現(xiàn)在需要的只是一個(gè)頭等車廂和咸花生米。
????譯者：qian |
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????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. |
