It has only been only a few decades ago when Southeastern Greyhound Lines served nearly all of Kentucky. Before its consolidation in to Southern Greyhound Lines  in 1954. Southeastern Greyhound Lines was headquartered in Lexington, KY above the old Greyhound Station located on Short Street ( which is still standing)

Started in 1929 its routes radiated all over the South and connected with other Greyhound Carriers like Atlantic Greyhound which was based in Charleston, West Virginia, Dixie Greyhound Lines based in Memphis, Teche Greyhound Lines based in New Orleans

During the early years Greyhound was managed on a regional basis with the local management making the decisions on where the buses operated and how often. And during the 1930's, 1940,s a system of routes were established which lasted un till the mid 1980's.

More after the jump...

A look at a 1976 Russell's Official Bus Guide lists over 175 communities served by inter city bus across Kentucky. While the majority of that service was offered by Greyhound Lines, Southeastern Trailways, Tennessee Trailblazers, Gulf Transportation Company, Brooks Bus Line, Bristol and Jenkins Bus, Black and White Trailways, C.C. Bus Line and Audubon Trails Coaches offered services in Kentucky.

In 1976 from Louisville it was possible to travel via three Greyhounds a day to Brandenburg, Hardinsburg, Owensboro, and Evansville, six buses a day from Louisville to Shelbyville, Frankfort , Versailles and  Lexington, with three continuing on to Winchester, Mt Sterling, Morehead, Olive Hill, Grayson, Ashland, KY, Huntington, WV and Charleston, WV, two other buses operated via US 460 to Frenchburg, West Liberty, Salyersville, Oil Springs and Paintsville, while yet another continued to Campton, Jackson and Hazard.

There was a direct bus from Louisville to Pineville which operated to Shelbyville, Frankfort, Lawernceburg, Harrodsburg, Danville, Stanford, Brodhead, Crab Orchard, My Vernon, London, Corbin, Barboursville, Pineville, where conncetions were made to the Bristol Jenkins Bus service to Harlan, KY.

Greyhound operated 20 buses a day between Louisville and Fort Knox of which 8 continued to other points to the south.

Greyhound also operated bus service from Louisville to Scottsville via Elizabethtown, Hogensville, Magnolia, Glasgow  and Greyhound operated service to Mt Washington, Bardstown, Lebanon, Campbellsville, Greensburg and Columbia.

Ten buses operated per day to Covington and Cincinnati two of which operated via US 42 to Prospect, Bedford, Carrolton, Ghent, Warsaw, and Florence in addition to Covington and Cincinnati. another operated via the Indiana side of the river to Jeffersonville, New Washington and Madison then on to Carrolton continuing on US 42 to Cincinnati.

To our south via I 65 - US 31 W , 17 buses operated to Nashville of which  five maintained local stops south of Louisville, today one can not consider the possibility of boarding a bus in Valley Station and going to Elizabethtown, Cave City, Bowling Green and Nashville it was possible in 1976 without ever changing a bus.

In addition to those routes Greyhound operated to Indianapolis via both I 65 and US 31 and also offered bus service to St Louis via New Albany, Palmyra, Paoli, French Lick, Washington, Vincennes in Indiana Centralia Trenton in Illinois. In addition to connecting service in Evansville to to St Louis via I- 64.

Louisville also hosted Southeastern Trailways, Continental Trailways and Kentucky Bus Lines services  at the Union Bus Terminal located at 2nd and Jefferson Streets, Service was operated to Paducah via Highway 62 by Kentucky Bus Lines until 1971 when the route was acquired by Continental Trailways it served  Shepardsville, Bardstown Jct, Lebanon Jct, Boston, Elizabethtown,Big Clifty, Clarkston, Leitchfield, Caneyville, Beaver Dam, Central City, Greenville, Madisonville, Earlington, Dawson Springs, Princeton , Eddyville and Paducah there were two buses per day.

Continental Trailways offered competing service to Nashville via Elizabethtown, Leitchfield, Brownsville, Smiths Grove, Scottsville in Kentucky  and Westmorland, Gallatin, Hendersonville in Tennessee.

Southeastern Trailways operated buses to Indianapolis via Jeffersonville, Charlestown, North Vernon, Greensburg, Shelbyville and Indianapolis and between Louisville and Cincinnati.

The Airline deregulation of 1979 begin to unravel americas two National bus systems, as travelers chose budget air shuttles over buses in the bigger markets in the Northeast. Peoples Express and Southwest Airlines under cut bus fares in their respective markets to points below or equal to bus fares. Suddenly strong markets like New York to Washington DC lost passengers to the airlines and a smaller part to Amtrak.

Greyhound Incorporated who operated Greyhound Lines, Gray Line Tours, Post House Restaurants  and owned MCI Bus manufacturing in addition to Dial Soap and Armour Foods begin to see their profits diminish, Greyhound asked for concessions from its drivers union and a strike followed in 1983 which turned violent. Greyhound also asked congress to deregulate the bus industry and allow competition on the strongest routes and allow service to end on many of its rural less traveled routes. In 1983 Greyhound petitioned to discontinue service to many areas in Kentucky.

Greyhound was sold to Fred Currey whom had been president of rival Continental Trailways and a group of Texas Investors, this was in 1987, later that year Trailways Inc. which was a part of Holiday Inn was sold to Greyhound Lines pending anti trust hearings. The next few years saw a merging of former Continental Routes into the Greyhound System where the Trailways routes were the dominant and the elimination of less profitable or duplicated services.