After being kicked off an American Airlines flight for refusing to stop his game of Zynga’s popular Words With Friends mobile application 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin went on a diatribe against the airline and somehow in his crosshairs he also managed to pull the trigger on bus company Greyhound.

Now Greyhound is firing back, albeit while more than a little bit confused as to why they were even targeted in the first place. During his online diatribe Baldwin wrote that the whole ordeal with American Airlines was like a “Greyhound bus experience.”

Firing back almost immediately was a representative for Greyhound who wrote:

“I don’t know if he’s ever been on one of our buses (it doesn’t sound like it), but there are about 17.6 million people who travel with us every year who I’m sure wouldn’t share [his] feelings.”

The rep further added:

“I don’t know why he’s mentioning Greyhound, but we take pride in our safe and enjoyable service.”

In defense of the national bus service I will personally say that I think Alec Baldwin has been acting like a whiny entitled brat since he was asked to follow the same guidelines as every other single passenger aboard commercial airlines.

In his full statement regarding the bus service Baldwin wrote:

“There are many now who walk the aisles of an airplane with a whistle around their neck and a clipboard in their hands and they have made flying a Greyhound bus experience.”  He then continued that he won’t keep his phone on “when the 1950s gym teacher is on duty.”

According to the flight crew Mr. Baldwin was using offensive language and calling them inappropriate names as they approached.

Baldwin has since apologized to other customers who were flying on the plane at the time he was kicked off the jet.

Greyhound Bus Lines Doesn’t Understand Why Alec Baldwin Hates Them is a post from: The Inquisitr

I also never understood why no seatbelt is super awareness-level scary in cars but perfectly fine in buses.

Safety and Buses is a post from: The Inquisitr

Scary molester bus is scary.

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Helpful bus signage is a post from: The Inquisitr

As populations grow and pollution increases, ideas like this are gold dust. One Chinese company has proposed new buses that are SO FREAKING BIG they straddle the road, while cars drive beneath them. The sheer amount of awesome in that idea is making me breathless.

Designers at Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co., Ltd argue that these behemoth buses solve a number of issues in one fell swoop, and would result in fewer traffic jams, less emissions, and faster travel.

And this isn’t just a fanciful, imaginary vision of our future; these things are actually being put into pilot use shortly. They should make their debut in Beijing’s Mentougou district, where work is to commence on the first 186km of track at year’s end.

Each of the jumbo buses will measure 4 to 4.5 meters high, with passengers aboard the upper level and other vehicles lower than 2 meters going under. Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can carry 1,200 to 1,400 passengers at a time.

[China Hush, via Engadget]

Holycrapawesome: China planning giant buses that cars can drive under is a post from: The Inquisitr

In both the environmental circles and city planning circles the idea of doing everything possible to increase the livability of city, and primarily the city core, has become a major discussion point.

A new study out from the Chicago-based nonprofit Center for Neighborhood Technology suggests that city dwellers emit up to 70% less carbon than people living in the suburbs. They concluded this by examining the emissions of carbon dioxide that resulted from household vehicle travel in 55 metropolitan areas in the United States.

"Cities are more location efficient – meaning key destinations are closer to where people live and work," said Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology.

"They require less time, money, fuel and greenhouse gas emissions for residents to meet their everyday travel needs. People can walk, bike, car-share, take public transit," he said. "So residents of cities and compact communities generate less CO2 per household than people who live in more dispersed communities, like many suburbs and outlying areas."

Source: Environment News Service :: Study: City Living Helps Limit CO2 Emissions

Additionally they found that the transportation cost go from a low 14% of area household median income in the city centers to 28% in the outlying suburban areas. As Brian Merchant on Treehugger pointed out

So if you’re looking into a move, consider moving to an urban area–you’ll save $5,000 on gas annually, emit less carbon, and spend less time in transit. Cheaper, less environmentally taxing transportation is one of the primary reasons that urban areas are the more sustainable communities

I’ve never been a suburb type of guy myself. It has always been either live right out in the country or live as close as is comfortable to the downtown core.

photo courtesy of Seathttp://www.seattlechannel.org/issues/downtownGrowth.asptle Channel

The case for city living gets better is a post from: The Inquisitr

There is a new bus service starting up that will connect Marin County, San Francisco and San Jose but this isn’t your city transit type of service. In an effort to get people out of their high end cars for that commute back and forth to work Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation will be using the same tricked out rides normally used for corporate clients.

These are buses with padded leather seats, television screens, free Wi-Fi and power plugs for laptops, not to mention the having coffee and breakfast available for purchase and served by a ride host. As well you can get that war and fuzzy feeling about helping out the environment as the buses use biofuels and drivers are trained in green driving skills. Of course all this green goodness doesn’t come cheap but at $8.20 one way it probably works out cheaper that hauling yourself around in that Lexus or Mercedes.

Bauer is banking on the buses’ amenities and atmosphere. The kind of customer his company is targeting, he says, isn’t interested in the utilitarian buses and trains of existing mass-transit systems. In addition, Wi-Drive goes places that Caltrain and BART don’t, such as Larkspur.

Right now, those people are driving to work, Bauer said, with their cars adding a little bit every day to global warming. If he can fill each 52-seat bus with former car commuters, each bus will prevent 1,310 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere every year, he said.

Source: SFGate.com

I wonder if they ever find gum under the seats?

Ditch the Lexus for a bus with first class goodness is a post from: The Inquisitr