My friend Leon

I've just met up with my friend whose Mother had great taste when she named him.

He's Leon Batchelor - a 30 year serving (and collision-free) Greyhound driver here in New York City where I am at present. Leon was the uniformed Greyhound driver who launched Greyhound in the UK for us a year ago and we caught up today down at the Greyhound facility facing the Hudson River.

Greyhound and sister company Boltbus are doing great business here on the East Coast of the US especially during this busy holiday season.

Our Greyhound service in the UK is very similar to Boltbus here in the US with its Internet booking paper free system with on-board power and wifi. Of course we use the Greyhound name in the UK because of its prestigious name and high brand recognition. We've just added Poole to the list of destinations and a new Greyhound service will be starting in September.

We have a long way to go yet before we are doing as much business as the folk here in New York but as we approach the first anniversary of the UK operation we are looking forward to an exciting second year of developments.

My friend Leon and I alongside a traditional Greyhound coach and one of the sleek new Boltbus vehicles in Manhattan.
If you want to see Leon in his full Greyhound uniform launch our UK enterprise take a look at my clip on YouTube (search for "Greyhound launch")

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