Airlines are the squeaky wheel of the travel industry, and they get a lot of grease in the media, so by now we all know how to navigate ticket buying. But baggage fees are on the rise and airfares are an uncertain game of roulette, so many of us are choosing to go to Grandmother's house by land instead. Going over the river and through the woods isn't such a bad way to do it, either, because there are some sterling savings opportunities if you go by wheel instead of wing, as MainStreet.com points out in an article today.

Here's my take on some of Lyneka Little's suggestions:

ONLINE DISCOUNTS: Some suggestions are obvious to those of us who have been using a computer for more than a few months. Those include always checking the websites of your chosen carrier (Amtrak, Greyhound, and so on) to see if its online prices beat the ticket office. Don't stampede straight to the reservations search boxes, either, because most sites have a marked page of specials that shouldn't be ignored.

MEMBERSHIP PRIVILEGES: Make sure you milk every discount you can. I know plenty of people in their early 50s who squirm at their AARP eligibility, but when they realize that they can use that status to save some bucks, suddenly the card is waved with pride. Even young whippersnappers might have AAA membership, and that can bring some surprising deals (although it's a motoring organization, Amtrak will cut rates for it). Check your local AAA branch for a list of discount opportunities. Often, these price cuts will work even during the holiday rush, including at hotels.

With Bolt and other premium lines transforming the face of busing, it's easy to forget just how bad buses used to be. When I was in college, cross-country buses were to transportation what Detroit is to urban planning: overcrowded, malodorous, sticky, and unsanitary. In fact, I still carry dark memories of the first time I took a bus home from college: halfway through the ride, I found myself sitting next to a drunk guy with a seeping, yellowed bandage on his arm. After a few minutes, he fell asleep on my shoulder and started drooling on me. On the bright side, he distracted me from the guy across the aisle who seemed to be kidnapping his son and the woman behind me who was simultaneously hitting on three different men. When I got home, I gulped down a handful of vitamins and barely resisted the urge to skinny dip in a vat of Bactine.

While cross-country buses have massively improved recently, city buses, at least in New York, are still stuck in the last decade. Consistently overcrowded, bumpy, slow, and dirty, they are less efficient and enjoyable than almost any other form of transportation. The sad thing is that the ugliness and boredom are hardly necessary. With very little effort, buses could easily invigorate their image. One of the first things they could do is work on their look: in their heyday, simple touches like chrome, curved corners and pre-printed signage imparted a machine-age feel that, in retrospect, seems both futuristic and old-fashioned. As far as I know, there isn't any rule stating that buses must resemble utilitarian toasters covered in advertisements.

Don't miss the rest of our series on Makeovers Needed!

Another thing is that the cloth seats on NYC buses are pretty gross. They absorb smells and stains and have a texture reminiscent of a brillo pad crossed with Kermit's ass. Given the inexorable march of progress, it seems like someone could come up with an attractive, smooth, vinyl-style fabric that would be easy to clean and would resist stains.

Finally, bus companies seem to be forgetting their key advantage over subways: as they are above ground, they can easily provide internet access. Just as the Bolt bus (and its kin) have made free wireless available to their passengers, city buses could attract riders by installing wireless routers. This would make bus rides seem shorter and more productive. In fact, it's not hard to imagine a future in which bus riding would become the public transportation of choice for hip, creative types!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. Growing up, he always wanted to see the country from the back of a bus, just like Kerouac. Once he took an actual ride on a Grayhound, he moved on to other dreams...

In the United Kingdom, diesel fuel now costs $11.50 per gallon, while it costs $8.54 a gallon in France. Regular gasoline is just as bad: in France, it's going for $8.67 per gallon, which is just below the Union-wide average. Part of the reason for this high cost is the increasing price of gasoline; because gas is traded in dollars, it has inflated worldwide. In fact, were it not for the euro's considerable strength against the dollar, gas prices would be much, much higher.

Another part of the reason for the huge gas prices is the EU's heavy tax on gas. While taxes only account for about 11% of gas prices in the United States, they make up approximately 70% of gas prices in the European Union. France's Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed a reduction/removal of Europe's value added tax, or VAT, which would cut gas prices by approximately 20%. Unfortunately, because of the structure of the EU, doing so will require the unanimous approval of all member states. Moreover, there is every likelihood that this tax reduction would only encourage gas suppliers to raise their prices still further.