The remote possibility of another terrorist attack stranded thousands of Greyhound travelers nationwide Wednesday, including more than 40 in downtown Cincinnati.

        They slept on chairs, paced the floors and called their friends and relatives to alert them that their travel plans had been halted by a bus crash in Tennessee.

        A man with a Croatian passport slit a Greyhound driver's throat as the bus traveled from Louisville to Atlanta. The bus originated in Chicago and ultimately was destined for Orlando, Fla. Six people died, prompting Dallas-based Greyhound officials to halt service nationwide.

        Those stuck in Cincinnati encompassed travelers who had assumed traveling by bus would be safer than by plane. They sat in the Greyhound depot, 1005 Gilbert Ave., for more than five hours but said they deemed the halt necessary in light of the recent attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

        Chuck and Sylvia Shoaff of Newcastle, Pa., first thought “terrorism” when they were told about the bus crash in Tennessee. They were making their way home after leaving from San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday morning. They were eager to get home.

        “It just keeps escalating,” said Mrs. Shoaff, 74. “I was wondering why I had it on my mind to pray.”

        The Shoaffs are proponents of more security guards and luggage checks at Greyhound stations.

        “They should, to keep us safe,” Mr. Shoaff said.

        Susan Hawken, 55, of Dallas, also made the recent decision to travel by bus when planning a trip to Toronto, her hometown. Her husband decided to fly. He had arrived safely and was frantic when she talked to him Wednesday morning.

        “Who could believe this could happen? (But) I understand. I would stop all bus travel as well. Now, who knows? I'm going to be staying home a lot,” she said.

        She later shared a cab with three other travelers heading north. They planned to rent a car and drive to Detroit together.

        June Bern, 48, of Lima, Ohio, called her relatives and was waiting for them to pick her up. She sat with Ann Moore, 65, of Huntsville, Ala., who was waiting for relatives from Dayton.

        Mrs. Moore's daughter already had agreed to drive her home at the end of her stay.

        “Right now, there's going to be a lot of people that feel nothing is safe,” she said.

        About 40 Greyhound buses leave the downtown Cincinnati station each day. Wednesday's halt began about 7:30 a.m. Bus travel resumed across the nation by 1 p.m. EDT.

        The devastation of Sept. 11 is causing local public transportation companies to take a closer look at their day-to-day operations.

        Metro, which operates 426 buses in Hamilton County and adjacent counties, has expedited plans to install cameras. TANK, which operates 144 buses throughout Northern Kentucky, is reviewing its emergency policies.

        And, “obviously, everyone since Sept. 11 has been more highly observant of what goes on in the buses. We encourage vigilance,” said Gina Douthat, TANK's communications director.

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