You can get lower with a greyhound bus. Sure they stop at every prison along the way, but the views are actually quite nice. The social is also there, but can be a bit scary depending on your appetite for adventure.
I took a Greyhound from Pittsburgh to Seattle once. It was a 4 day experience and I think it took a week for my brain to reboot afterwards. Plus, we had a 24-hour layover due to weather - I think I slept on the floor of the bus station.
Does Greyhound still operate services across the US? I know in Canada they've shuttered most of their operations except for the more heavily used eastern-central routes in Ontario and Quebec because everything else is not profitable.
Greyhound still has all of its cross country routes. Like I said, many people depend on them, especially prisons, but they are also cheap and service many many places that trains and planes don’t go near.
