Greyhound partners with 7-Eleven on ticket buying program

Greyhound partnered with 7-Eleven Inc. on a program to allow customers nationwide to purchase bus tickets online or over the phone with cash, giving them access to special fares and offerings currently available only via the Internet with a credit or debit card.

Through an innovative program in conjunction with 7-Eleven stores and PayNearMe, Greyhound's cash customers can now purchase online and pay for their bus tickets at 7-Eleven neighborhood stores, turning them into local "Greyhound ticketing offices."

"About 50 percent of Greyhound's customers use cash to pay for their bus tickets, but until now there has not been a way to deliver exclusive online discounts to this constituency or even to allow these customers to pay for tickets in advance by phone or over the web," said Dave Leach, president/CEO of Greyhound. "Through our relationships with 7-Eleven and PayNearMe, we can now increase savings for all of our cash customers while eliminating the hassle of making an extra trip to the terminal. This is our way of making life easier for our loyal cash customers."

Consumers interested in purchasing a Greyhound ticket with cash can go to www.greyhound.com to select a schedule and put a ticket on hold for up to 48 hours. Customers then print a payment barcode and take it to 7-Eleven stores where they can purchase the ticket at the register.

To make a reservation by phone, customers first go to any one of the 6,400 participating 7-Eleven stores nationwide to pick up a re-usable Greyhound card. After booking with an agent over the phone and giving the agent the unique card number, the customer's card is swiped at a 7-Eleven outlet's cash register and the transaction is complete.

Greyhound tested this first-of-its-kind program in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex over a three-month period earlier this year. All 270 7-Eleven stores in the Metroplex completed a Greyhound cash transaction while ticket sales climbed. Based on the success of the pilot program, the companies decided to roll it out nationally.

PayNearMe's Greyhound cards are available today at participating 7-Eleven stores.