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News Update on the
U.S. Intercity Bus Industry
Spring 2023 E-News
May 28, 2023
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Editor's Viewpoint
The adage “nature abhors a vacuum” aptly describes the latest news in intercity bus service. Over the past few months, major gaps in the systems have been filled and the intense competition so pervasive before the pandemic has returned. Both small and large bus lines are getting in on the act. A few examples:
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Indian Trails Bus Lines has returned to Chicago with service up to three times daily from Detroit being sold on megabus.com. This corridor was previously served exclusively by Greyhound and FlixBus, which have the same corporate owner. FlixBus, for its part, now links the cities over several routes.
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FlixBus has added a Chicago - East Lansing, MI, route, restoring direct trips in the college-focused corridor for the first time since Megabus’s withdrawal years ago. FlixBus schedules are largely the opposite of Amtrak’s Blue Water service, giving Michigan State University students an attractive evening option to the Windy City.
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- The Los Angeles – San Francisco route, long dominated by Greyhound -FlixBus, now once again has Megabus, which offers three trips each way on most days. Its single-decker coaches are also running from L.A. to both Las Vegas and Sacramento, making its return to the West Coast a headline-grabber.
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Burlington Trailways and Salt Lake Express are now available on the megabus.com platform in addition to being on the Greyhound and Flixbus platforms. The Megabus route map, as a result, now stretches almost from coast to coast, save for a gap between Denver and Salt Lake City. Megabus.com doesn't offer a large number of schedule options involving transfers between different bus lines, so trips between different regions often entail buying separate tickets for each leg. As described below, however, this may be changing.
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FlixBus has launched on the busy I-75 route from Cincinnati to Dayton, OH, and Detroit, part of a new multi-stop service linking Louisville, KY to East Lansing. This closes a gap in the FlixBus network in the Ohio River Valley.
- Luxury provider Vonlane has launched a Memphis – Nashville service, filling a void that left travelers with no common carrier ground options except Greyhound and ethnic-oriented Tornado Bus. This complements Vonlane’s Atlanta-Nashville service launched late last year.
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A remarkable aspect of most of these changes is that they occurred in regions that saw comparatively little activity in 2022. No longer should California and the Midwest be regarded as “sleepy” when it comes to new bus-service rollouts. It will be fascinating to see what surprises this summer brings. The intercity bus travel is regaining its “mojo”, partially due to sky-high airfares and the partial success of bus lines in alleviating driver shortages.
Joe Schwieterman, Ph.D.
Intercity Bus E-News editor
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Captions for the above photos: 1) Virginia Breeze in West Falls Church, VA, January 2023, 2) A FlixBus departure in Tampa, January 2023, 3) A Vonlane Coach in downtown Nashville, February 2023 | |
Greyhound and FlixBus Integration is Rapidly Progressing | |
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Perhaps the biggest story in intercity bus travel this spring has been the integration of FlixBus and Greyhound schedules on booking sites. Connections between Flix and Greyhound are now pervasive on flixbus.com and greyhound.com, with the name of the brand associated with each leg of a trip clearly shown to ticket buyers (see image). The process has been abetted by the relocation of FlixBus service to the same stations as Greyhound in many major cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington. The integration comes on the heels of the February rollout of new features on Greyhound, including the introduction of reserved seats and new baggage rules.
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This integration, together with new interline agreements with many long-established Greyhound partners, gives a major boost to the Interline Bus Network, a system of interconnected services that allow passengers to make trips involving several different bus lines on a single ticket. We are exploring how the integration is reducing travel times on routes involving connections. Early results show that there are now quicker journeys between many cities--something road-weary passengers appreciate. After seeing schedule options diminish over the past few years, it is reassuring to see new offerings emerge.
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Captions for the above photos: 1) Schedule display for Milwaukee - Indianapolis route from greyhound.com, 2) Passengers board a Greyhound couch in Atlanta, GA, January 2023 | |
The Intercity Bus Station Conundrum Continues | |
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First, it was Cincinnati, OH, Erie, PA, Knoxville, TN, Los Angeles, CA, and North Little Rock. Then it was Louisville, KY, and Tampa, FL. Now, there are concerns that Chicago, IL, Cleveland, OH, Houston, TX, Kansas City, MO, Orlando, FL, and Richmond, VA, could be next.
In short, the closing of the privately run Greyhound stations is buffeting the industry as it struggles to recover from the pandemic. The relocation of station facilities in some locations, such as Knoxville and Tampa, has been accompanied by negative press coverage and stories of passenger inconvenience, typically due to the loss of traditional waiting rooms and other amenities. Most privately owned stations are now owned by Twenty Lakes Holdings, a real estate holding company that acquired them from FirstGroup, the former owner of Greyhound. TLH has hired another firm to position the properties for sale.
Thankfully, prior to the above transactions taking place, 15 of the 25 largest metro areas had already taken action (see our summary on page 8 here) to support the relocation of privately run intercity bus services to publicly owned facilities, transit hubs, railroad stations, and other suitable locations. This follows a pattern common in Europe and other parts of the world, where public facilities are widely available for bus lines (see our feature on London' below). In Los Angeles, Greyhound has moved to a facility at Los Angeles Union Station that is in many ways more attractive than the location of the Greyhound station that closed.
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Even so, concerns persist that Greyhound and partner lines could be suddenly evicted from critical stations in the next year. Three weeks ago, Greyhound was forced to move from its longstanding Louisville station to make way for a residential building. Our April Bulletin describes the potentially dire effects of the loss of the Chicago Greyhound Terminal. The prospect of hundreds of passengers waiting outside for connections at a curb would be a major burden for disadvantaged groups that rely on bus travel. To see our map below of the many routes that would be affected if the Chicago terminal is lost.
What is to be done? Most importantly, government agencies must demonstrate leadership by putting adequate station facilities for intercity bus lines in their policy agenda. Public agencies can learn from the state transportation departments in Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina, which are facilitating the construction of stations in Atlanta, Detroit, and Charlotte, respectively. In the latter two cities, coaches will operate from well-designed consolidated bus and train stations. Yet not all government agencies are on board. Concerns are mounting, for example, that the bus terminal at Washington Union Station (WUS), housed in an area that was once a parking deck, could be relocated to a less convenient location as part of a WUS overhaul. We will continue to monitor such troubling situations.
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Routes Served from the Chicago Greyhound Terminal, May 2023
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Captions for the above photos: 1) Tampa Greyhound Station shortly before its closing in early 2023, 2) Cincinnati's modular intercity bus station, which has both a ticket counter and waiting room, in March 2023. FlixBus uses a different stop in the city. | |
New Megabus Service links Chicago and Toronto, with a Twist | |
In a surprise move, trips between Chicago and Toronto that involve transfers between Indian Trails and Adirondack Trailways are now available on megabus.com. The move allows passengers to travel between these cities and intermediate points on a single ticket. This new twice-daily offering involves transfers in Detroit, MI, with Adirondack handling the leg east of the Motor City.
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This could signal Megabus's intention to offer more schedule options involving coach-to-coach transfers at connecting hubs across its national networkthan in the recent past. When connections are sold as a single ticket, bus lines must provide coordination to deal with late-arriving buses, cancellations, and other issues at transfer points, much like airlines do. Due to such complexities, it is uncommon in many other parts of the world, including Europe, for trips involving transfers to be available on a single ticket. Instead, passengers buy separate tickets for each leg, and, when they miss their connection, they need to change their ticket (or buy a new ticket) to get a seat on the next departure. Whether bus lines in the United States gradually move to this model or the number of multi-leg ticket options grows remains to be seen.
| Captions for the above photos: 1) A headline from a megabus.com press release. 2) Inside the Detroit Greyhound Station, which is now also served by Adirondack Trailways, in early 2023. | |
London's Victoria Coach Terminal, A Model for US Cities? | |
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The Intercity Bus E-News editor had the opportunity to tour the Victoria Coach Terminal in London on March 23, 2023. The Terminal is operated by Transport for London, the governing body for the metropolitan region's transport system. The facilities adhere to numerous “best practices” relevant to bus terminals in our country, including:
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Proximity to intercity train stations. The Victoria Coach Terminal is adjacent to London Victoria, one of the city’s busiest railway depots.
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A large-format digital arrival and departure board, much like those at international airports, that list all available services (see photo below).
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Attractive food and beverage offerings that includes fresh options.
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Digital signs at gates list the schedule number, destinations served, and status.
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A spacious area between departure gates and bus bays, so passenger queues don’t back up in waiting areas, which fosters a more orderly station environment.
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The Victoria Bus Station shows the potential benefits to customers when a local-transit governing body takes an interest in intercity bus service, which is sadly lacking in many U.S. locales. The London arrangement isn't perfect; some bus lines, for example, still use curbside locations nearby. Crowding can be a problem. Still, if you travel to London, this Terminal is worth a visit.
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Captions for the above photos: 1) The spacious concourse of London's Victoria Coach Terminal on March 21, 2023, 2) The consolidated departure board at the entrance of the terminal | |
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Rural & Intercity Bus Conference in Myrtle Beach, SC
Make plans to attend the National Rural Transit Assistance Program's 5th National RTAP Conference, entitled "Navigating the Tides of Change with Rural & Tribal Transit", which is being held December 3-6, 2023 in Myrtle Beach, SC. The call for presentations is open through May 31 at the above link. Students are invited to submit posters through October 6. The Intercity Bus E-News team plans to attend. Stop by to converse with us!
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This independently produced e-newsletter brief has been shared with our Intercity Bus (IB) and Transportation listservs. If you want to ensure you are on the IB and do not miss our industry coverage, please email us. The Chaddick Institute does not receive funds from transportation companies or related industries.
Captions notes: Masthead: Virginia Breeze in West Falls Church, VA in early 2023. All photos in this newsletter were taken by the Chaddick Institute team.
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