Green Tortoise
green tortoise adventure travel american longdistance tour bus company founded gardner kent mid based san francisco california provides tour north america mostly within united state operates bus line hostel seattle san francisco company caters particularly backpacker u abroad green tortoise one several lowcost nofrills alternative bus company established based california pacific northwest providing longdistance bus service one two still operation also commonly referred hippie bus company counterculture vibe casual atmosphere first company grey rabbit started based san francisco gardner kent founded green tortoise based name grey rabbit although two company similar grey rabbit put emphasis making journey time short – eg san francisco new york less four day – whereas kent planned service would little slower relaxed stop swimming picnic etc experience trip important green tortoise bus first two decade secondhand transit bus built modified removal nearly seat – replaced long foam bed rear twothirds bus – installation overhead luggage rack could converted bunk bed article sunday oregonian reporter field news service wrote hippie bus company may known speed never comfort bus old overcrowded prone breakdown – frequently stranding generally hirsute passenger often highly unsympathetic hinterland although use old bus continued kent made change targeting problem green tortoise lengthened crosscountry journey time seven day began focusing tour bus service transportation also added trip mexico alaska green tortoise grey rabbit smaller alternative bus company operated informally without license interstate operation tortoise rabbit two still operating granted temporary operating permit interstate commerce commission subsequent passage federal bus regulatory reform act eased restriction operation however ridership alternative bus declining ever since implementation u airline deregulation late spawned much lower airfare grey rabbit went acquired green tortoise early tortoise fleet still consisted bus built company still operating regular weekly service san francisco portland san francisco los angeles along occasional crosscountry trip addition slowerpaced excursion company bus employee peak late company bus fitted bunk bed passenger lounge sleep bus moving done night destination reached morning company aim foster social environment among passenger work together cook meal often vegetarian usually opportunity camping trip itinerary typically try avoid heavily touristed location prioritize place natural cultural interest national park monument forest hot spring archaeological ruin green tortoise historically made trip destination united state including alaska regular summer coasttocoast route san francisco boston back special trip also arranged festival every year including mardi gras trip new orleans oregon country fair burning man also operate shuttle bus event nearby gerlach empire nevada trip outside u included mexico including yucatán peninsula baja california peninsula guatemala belize canada company discontinued regularly scheduled service san francisco seattle via eugene portland favor focusing adventure camping trip company annual revenue around million employee fleet bus time busrenovation garage lowell oregon fleet still mostly made exgreyhound bus extransit bus least one two new highway coach added since mids green tortoise also operated two hostel first one opened seattle second san francisco seattle hostel originally located queen anne neighborhood moved location second avenue downtown seattle taking former forest hotel year remodeling building demolished hostel moved different location downtown seattle pike street across pike place market according seattle time hostelworldcom named green tortoise seattle hostel one top ten hostel north america annual award backpacking travel wilkinson kelly june like real green tortoise tour deliver intimate view – fellow traveler washington post p e tortoise desert run relive day getting half fun green tortoise bus tour kelly rossiter vegetarian time sept n p la ganga maria l sept hip trip magic bus cheap freewheeling green tortoise survivor another era think rolling encounter group bring sleeping bag los angeles time p road trip worthy kerouac green tortoise bus tour lynda edward new york time november v pvl col col day camp road green tortoise offer travel living bus eric hubler new york time march v pxxn pxxl col col trip tortoise hairraising arent hip rolling remnant bus unlike greyhound still ply west coast green tortoise gypsy bus line bill richards wall street journal western edition january paw pae col col touring green tortoise californiabased company offer ultimate adventure travel motorcoach green tortoise tour focus group travel susan ogorman travel weekly march v p official website – bus line hostel san francisco seattle information