Ahhh hello fellow Illini. I didn't mind the long bus rides too much, but I was ~20 and probably hungover most if not every time. Not something I'd rely on as a functioning adult, that's for sure :).

This. This made my morning. Thank you.

Yes, fine, the particular bus service I utilized in school was remarkably evil…

Suburban Express allegedly denied credit cards from ZIP codes with high Jewish populations, instructed employees to avoid handing out coupons to certain students who appeared not to speak English well and recorded a YouTube video in a UI dorm while complaining about the lack of English speakers and mocking Asian accents by saying "No Engrish."

…which may color my opinion just a bit.

European and some South American buses are quite nice, and I did the laptop thing on a bus in Chile no problem. Even had free wi-fi!

From western Europe : No. The wifi did not work. You had commute times at in shitholes at the middle of the night. Overall the traject lasted two more hours than was announced. It's very uncomfortable. Don't do it without taking some kind of pillow. Even if the buses were faster by two hours trains, I would still take the train. Actually, now that I have some money, I actually feel like I am treating myself when booking a train.

I took a 5eu special from Amsterdam to London and it was perfectly pleasant, and we even got to walk around in the eurotunnel. Don't recall any Wi-Fi though.

My last long bus ride between Chenzhou Hunan and Guangzhou was a bit meh. Chinese buses are a bit nicer than American ones, but the ride is bumpier and traffic can screw up the schedule. But there isn’t much of a choice when HSR tickets are hard to score on that leg.