A study in the UK shows a large % of rail passengers do not like bus substitutions. Granted this is the UK but it may even be worse in the USA ?
Well sure, buses are smelly. Ever get stuck behind one?
Travel or motion sickness is more prevalent on buses than any other form of transportation from what travel agency experts have told me. Looking at busitutions on the LIRR and NJT/MNRR Port Jervis service informs passengers that travel times will be 30 to 60 minutes longer than by train, to show up 30 minutes earlier on some schedules and add 30 more minutes for arrival times. SO, yeah, if one can avoid bustitutions, I believe they will.
Not sure what happened just now - my text disappeared when I hit the POST button.
In general, those who travel by train often pay a premium when they select that mode over a bus, to enjoy a more comfortable environment. If they wanted to ride a bus that would have been their choice ahead of time. VIA Rail was notorious for frequent bustitutions on some of their RDC routes. Passenger loyalty vanished, followed shortly by the train service itself.
In Britain my experience was that buses were often just used to bridge the work area, and mostly on weekends. That required two modal transfers, which is why many riders will tolerate a longer travel time to remain on the train without interruption. Unfortunately, just as in North America, extensive line abandonments mean that practicable detour routes often no longer exist.
John