Bus Lines Make Strides in the Heartland Even As Station Challenges & Amtrak Competition Persist | |
Intercity Bus E-News & Webinar Update, February 2024 | |
|
The adage “news travels fast in places where nothing much ever happens” rang true in the Midwest last year as a region that seemed almost frozen in time regarding bus travel suddenly sprang to life, albeit due to unwanted occurrences. (The word “frozen” has a special meaning today since it is 12°F here on DePaul's Loop Campus). We had the bankruptcy of Coach USA, which has a significant Chicago presence, and major Greyhound station-related developments in the Windy City, Cleveland, and Columbus, OH. Suddenly, there were headlines aplenty.
| Fortunately, none of the worst-case scenarios materialized, although the Chicago station situation is still fluid and concerning. Due to the region's challenges--and since some readers may have missed it--we present below our Midwest coverage in our Outlook for the Intercity Bus Industry report. This is an abridged version, but we added recent St. Louis news and other hot-off-the-press items. | |
We’d also like to share other breaking news from around across the continent:
- The group travel and shuttle provider GOGO Charters plans to launch a service linking Houston to Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio, adding to the already impressive range of service in the Texas Triangle, which we cover on page 13 of our Outlook report.
-
Virginia Breeze announced record ridership in 2024. Traffic was 9.2% higher than the previous year. All four routes had significant gains. Also, FlixBus reported strong Canada traffic growth.
- The New Jersey-based suburban and commuter bus operator DeCamp Bus Lines is closing down after 155 years. For six generations, this family-run business has been a mainstay in New York City and elsewhere. Panorama Tours will assist in the transition.
| |
Please peruse the excerpt and our Outlook report, which is organized by region. We offer five predictions, including a forecasted 4% growth in ridership this year, outpacing the airline and personal vehicle growth projected by the U.S. Travel Association. That, too, is generating headlines.
Finally, don't miss our free midday February 27 webinar, which will include executives from Peter Pan and Wanderu.com. Scroll down for details.
| |
|
Joseph P. Schwieterman, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Chaddick Institute at DePaul University | Intercity Bus E-News Editor
| |
Midwest's Intercity Bus Services Back in the News | |
A Excerpt from 2025 Outlook for the Intercity Bus Industry, lightly edited | |
The Midwest may have had a slower bounce back of bus-travel demand than the Sunbelt and other regions, but several significant service rollouts and station-related developments recently made headlines. Plus, the good news about bus travel was on the upswing in 2024’s closing months. | |
First, the not-so-good news for bus lines. Heavy competition from Amtrak and, in some cases, budget airlines created strong headwinds for bus lines linking Chicago and Champaign, IL; St. Louis, MO; Detroit, MI; and Milwaukee, WI. Each route has three to seven daily trains, most operating with state financial support, allowing for inexpensive train travel even at peak times. Making matters worse for bus lines, Amtrak’s travel times on the St. Louis route improved due to the added 110 mph mileage. | |
Direct bus service from Chicago to Detroit—America’s third- and fourteenth-largest metro areas—remains limited to FlixBus and Greyhound, which together offer four trips on busy days, all but one Greyhound, the same as last year. The Chicago – St. Louis route continues to have just two, with Greyhound the only direct provider. Greyhound runs via Champaign, which is slightly longer than a previously operated route via Bloomington. Still, one of Greyhound’s schedules quickened last year by eliminating service to Markham and Kankakee, IL, which were stops along the way. The exit from Markham ends more than a century of intercity service in Chicago’s southland.
Editor's note: Greyhound reduced its Chicago – St. Louis service to a single daily trip after our report's publication. A decade ago, there were five Greyhound trips, and several Megabus runs on peak days. Greyhound may add back service for the peak season. (The schedule information presented here is primarily from our newly released schedule analysis of 69 routes across the country).
FlixBus’s Chicago – Memphis, TN, route via Effingham, IL, launched in 2023, has ended, although Greyhound still serves it and has a daily service over a longer route via St. Louis. Tornado Bus, a significant competitor, boosted its Chicago – Texas service with stops in West Memphis from two to three daily on busy days during the Christmas rush. This briefly made the Memphis route a Midwestern rarity for having most of its service run by a Hispanic-focused line. Tornado clusters southbound departures in the early afternoon, resulting in much midday activity at its Chicago station.
| |
Attractive Options for Indianapolis and Twin Cities Travelers | |
|
But there is also good news. Amtrak’s June launch of the Borealis, a second Chicago – Milwaukee – Twin Cities train, has surprising upsides for bus travel. The train, while attracting some former bus riders, gives those riding the Amtrak Thruway bus from Nashville, TN; Louisville, KY; and Indianapolis, IN, (operated by Greyhound) transfers in Chicago with several hours less wait time than the older Empire Builder connection. Similarly, eastbound travelers now have a St. Paul – Green Bay, WI, trip via a Milwaukee bus transfer that is several hours faster. (Coach USA has a direct and publicly funded St. Paul – Green Bay service via Wausau, WI). Bus services fill a lengthy schedule gap created by the lack of eastbound trains from St. Paul to Chicago after 11:50 a.m.
Plus, the Twin Cities – Milwaukee route still has abundant bus-travel options despite the new train, with FlixBus, Greyhound, Jefferson Lines, and Tornado (a newcomer to the route) all offering direct service. Twin Cities – Madison, WI, service, unavailable on Amtrak, is another Midwestern rarity for having four lines: Badger Bus, Flixbus, Greyhound, and Jefferson, with Badger linking state-university campuses in Madison and Minneapolis. Less favorably, direct bus service between Chicago and Green Bay has ended due to a dropped Greyhound route, which was likely spurred by stiff competition from Amtrak Thruway’s train-bus connections at Milwaukee.
| |
Amtrak’s tri-weekly Cardinal, FlixBus, and Greyhound are the lone scheduled ground providers on the Chicago – Indianapolis route. The bus lines, however, now offer a dozen daily trips on busy days, a slight increase since last year. Chicago – Cleveland passengers have twice-daily train service, but at inconvenient hours, and three daily bus trips. | |
|
Last year brought several surprising expansions, including FlixBus’s new Detroit – Saginaw – Mt. Pleasant, MI, service, filling a gap in the Greyhound/Flix network in the central part of the Wolverine State. Greyhound returned to Des Moines, IA, by extending a Chicago – Quad Cities (Moline, IL) service provided with state support. Competition from trains between Chicago and Iowa is mostly limited to the California Zephyr, which does not serve Des Moines. There is no projected start date for Chicago – Quad Cities train service. On the other hand, Chicago – Rockford, IL service, a route that is still a Van Galder Bus Lines stronghold despite the bankruptcy of its Coach USA parent, could begin in two years.
St. Louis continues to be mid-America’s primary hub for transcontinental trips, having two and three daily Greyhound runs to and from Los Angeles and New York, respectively, several offering well-timed transfers in Missouri City. However, the transcontinental market is not what it once was. Chicago's direct service to both coastal cities ended years ago.
Editors note: We received encouraging news this week that the Illinois General Assembly is considering a bill to better coordinate bus-train service and expand Amtrak Thruway offerings. This could help create synergy like the attractive multi-modal offerings of California, Oregon, Vermont and other states.
| |
Roundup of Rural and Airport Service Developments | |
|
Chicago O’Hare’s Multimodal Terminal is seeing strong intercity bus ridership. The relatively new terminal on the airport’s periphery, which is spacious but lacks seating, is linked by a people mover to O’Hare’s terminals and rail rapid transit. Van Galder Bus Lines and Wisconsin Coach Lines offer extensive service to Madison, WI, and metro Milwaukee, respectively, while Peoria Charter offers extensive Champaign, IL, service. Other lines link the terminal to Indiana college campuses, and expanded commuter rail service to downtown Chicago could be coming.
Detroit Metro (DTW) now has a new motorcoach shuttle pilot, Detroit Air XPress, launched with state financial support between downtown Detroit and the city’s international airport. Operated 16 times daily by Indian Trails, the service pilot complements the state-funded Michigan Flyer service linking the airport to Ann Arbor, East Lansing, and other points.
Nebraska’s Open Plains Transit launched a rural route linking Valentine and North Platte last year, described as “the first-ever north-south intercity bus route through Nebraska’s midsection.” The 130+ mile route runs twice weekly and is made possible by public financial support. Connections can be made to buses to Denver and other points, each at North Platte. Minot, ND’s new transit center has become a pickup point for Souris Basin Transportation service to Bismarck, provided with 9 – 14 seat passenger vans. This arrangement has significantly increased passenger traffic making interline connections with Jefferson Lines at the state capital.
Other rural operators also made moves. Minnesota’s transportation department launched a pilot program that puts the schedules of 13 rural providers and intercity bus companies onto the Transit App. They include Otter Express in Fergus Falls, Morris Transit, Minnesota River Valley Transit, and the public transit systems in Mankato and Rochester. South Dakota's newly completed Statewide Intercity Bus Study offers a compelling ridership analysis and review of expansion opportunities. Finally, Illinois’s
| | |
Station and Stop Updates for Midwestern Cities | |
The Midwest has been “ground zero” for prospective or actual bus station closings, with a half-dozen cities affected. Chicago's Intercity Bus (Greyhound) Station may be on borrowed time. In autumn, FlixBus announced a month-by-month lease extension to give it time to explore options in consultation with the city government, which previously did not appear to make saving it a priority. The station serves FlixBus, Greyhound, Barons Bus, and Burlington Trailways and has around 76 daily movements (arrivals and departures combined).
Before the extension, Greyhound service was briefly expanded in Gary, IN, by adding stops on routes previously not serving the city. Gary is a possible replacement hub for specific services if the Chicago station is lost, although it is questionable if this is an optimal location or facility for such a hub. Adding to Chicago’s woes, Peoria Charter was required to move from its longstanding curbside home near Chicago Union Station to an unappealing Interstate 290 underpass several blocks away due to construction. It has appealed to local officials for a better location.
In November, Barons Bus and Greyhound announced they will relocate from the historic Cleveland Greyhound Station to the Brookpark Transit Station on the City’s Red Line transit route near the city’s international airport. (Our review found that the property tax for the downtown station has exceeded $98,000.) Barons is making preparations for the move to Brookpark.
In Columbus, lengthy legal proceedings between bus lines and the municipal government in response to neighborhood concerns about the city’s primary bus station on the west side have ended. The facility, used by Barons Bus and Greyhound, is an important hub for the state-funded GoBus system operated by Barons. The bus lines moved to this location at considerable expense in 2023 after they lost access to a downtown station. The agreement allows bus lines to continue using the new station for passenger transfers and ticketing. However, it shifts all originating and terminating traffic to curbside stops at Ohio State University, Columbus’s International Airport, and a downtown curbside stop.
St. Paul Union Depot, beautifully refurbished several years ago, is seeing more passenger traffic due to FlixBus’s relocation and Amtrak’s new Borealis. The historic Twin Cities facility also serves the Empire Builder and Coach USA, Greyhound, and Jefferson Lines as well as a light rail line connecting St. Paul with Minneapolis via the university district.
| Check Out our Coverage of Other U.S. Regions by clicking here | Free Webinar, February 27, 2025 |
|
We hope you can join us for our free webinar on the industry's outlook on Thursday, February 27, 2025, from Noon to 12:50 pm CT. It lasts less than an hour and is free. Our presenters include:
- Joseph Schwieterman and Zaria Bonds, DePaul University
- Anthony Savikas, CEO, Wanderu.com
- Representatives from Peter Pan Bus Lines
We have nearly 100 registrants and welcome you to join us.
Click here to register.
| Help Intercity Bus E-News Grow its Readership | Join or invite your colleagues to join our Intercity Bus Listserv. Reply to this email or contact chaddick@depaul.edu to notify our program manager, Zaria Bonds, to join. You will receive 10 – 12 emails per year. No spam and unsubscribing is easy if you choose to do so. | |
Other reports and podcasts of interest
Caption (Top): A Greyhound bus loads at Illinois Terminal in Champaign, IL, in late 2024
| | | | |
