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Exciting News on Expanded Bus-Train Integration
Intercity Bus E-News, August 2025
August 5, 2025 | Caption: a Peoria Charter departure for Champaign, IL at Chicago O'Hare in late 2024
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Editor’s Perspective
Sometimes the most significant travel developments don’t make headlines but generate much excitement behind the scenes. That’s certainly the case for a new reservation platform created by Jacksonville-based Transcor Data Services (TDS) in collaboration with Amtrak. Four bus lines are utilizing this new platform: Adirondack Trailways, BayRunner Shuttle, and Martz Bus in the Northeast, and American Star Tours in the West. The new technology links their reservation system with Amtrak’s and paves the way for what could be a major boost in combined bus-rail schedule offerings.
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For background, combined train-bus itineraries involving Amtrak train and Amtrak Thruway bus connections are managed in various ways. For some itineraries, particularly those involving independent bus lines with their own booking platforms, however, the process can be far from seamless. After a traveler makes a booking on amtrak.com with a bus connection, the bus company may need to manually enter the booking information into their reservation system. In anticipation of these bookings, bus lines often set aside a fixed number of seats to be sold by Amtrak. If the expected Amtrak bookings don’t materialize, a bus line may needlessly turn away customers using its reservation platform. Revenue can also be lost if too few seats are set aside to meet Amtrak-related demand.
| The new TDS process resolves these problems through digital integration. By easing administrative complexity, it also encourages carriers to allow combined bus-train bookings closer to departure and gives customers a more straightforward process for changing reservations, a simplicity many travelers have come to expect. | |
“This is huge for us,” reported Caroline Presburg, President of BayRunner Shuttle, in an Intercity Bus E-News interview. Presburg pointed to BayRunner’s traffic growth at its pickup and drop-off stop at the BWI Airport train station, its main transfer point with Amtrak. BayRunner’s 10–15 seat passenger vans stop at the station shortly after departing the central Baltimore terminal to serve Thruway riders. The new platform is creating particular advantages on BayRunner’s route to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, which operates every two hours throughout much of the day. Passengers appreciate the added flexibility to adjust their reservations as their plans change.
| BayRunner also offers train-bus connections to Cumberland, MD, a publicly supported 5311(f) service. Presburg indicated that the new system helps BayRunner drive traffic to the extra sections it operates at peak times. The company is having a busy summer and recently earned recognition from the State of Maryland for reaching its 20th year of service. | The next several years may bring sizeable payoffs as more carriers adopt the new integrated approach, notes John Baranowski, TDS’s Chief Commercial Officer. I am quite hopeful that the integration will enable Amtrak and bus lines to collaborate more effectively and efficiently, leveraging the differing strengths of each travel mode. That will be exciting to watch! | The issue of Intercity Bus News also showcases many notable developments and my observations from the Lone Star State. | |
Joseph Schwieterman, PhD
Intercity Bus E-News Editor | Professor and Director, Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
For a link to this newsletter to share with others, click here.. Captions: Photograph from the Bayrunner Shuttle Facebook page.
| Insights on First-Class Service from Vonlane's Alex Danza | Getting the formula right for a first-class coach service needs constant adjustment, noted Alex Danza, CEO of Vonlane, in an interview with Intercity Bus E-News. Danza described Vonlane’s recent expansion in the Texas Triangle and budding Southeast system, which now encompasses three routes from Nashville, TN, with the longest being a four-hour run to Atlanta. Vonlane uses coaches with 2x1 seating, accommodating 22 passengers, and features an onboard attendant on each trip to provide customer service. | |
Much of our conversation, which took place during my trip to Dallas in June, explored concepts that one would more likely expect to discuss in the context of airline networks rather than motorcoach services. Vonlane’s loyal customer base and growing brand awareness in Texas enable it to experiment with niche routes without the lengthy transitional periods often required before services become profitable. A four-times-daily service from the north-Dallas suburb of Plano to Austin exemplifies this benefit. Launched in the spring, the route caters to the large number of travelers living near Plano who have already ridden Vonlane (some of whom are members of the Vonlane Pass loyalty program) and closely follow the company’s service rollouts. Others have heard about the carrier from friends and coworkers.
| The duration of a trip from the origin to the destination is a pivotal factor in route planning. Routes with travel times of four hours or less, such as those between Dallas and Austin and Houston, hit the market’s “sweet spot.” Routes with longer travel times, while perhaps looking good on paper, face stronger competitive headwinds, Danza noted, and give air travel a competitive edge; he added that Southwest Airlines is a go-to choice for many Texans. When the route is confined to a single state, the prospective market tends to be much larger, partly due to the significant presence of state government and university business. The Texas Triangle routes from Austin and New Nashville–Knoxville are finding success accordingly, each having stops near the flagship campuses of major public universities. | |
My trip from Dallas to Houston the next day allowed me to sample Vonlane’s many features and amenities. Most departures the day I arrived were sold out, but my preferred Saturday option had seats. I booked just four hours ahead, paying $145 one way (Southwest was $303), only about $15 more than the company’s typical advance-purchase fares. Such relatively flat prices give travelers confidence that they can book their trip close to departure without incurring an airline-like price surge. Travelers can cancel up to two hours before departure, retaining the ticket value for a future trip.
On the coach, which was about two-thirds full, the attendant came by regularly, offering beverages, snacks, and hot towels, and even adjusted my tray table. I chose a chilled chicken Caesar salad for my entrée, which was quite good; other customers nearby opted for a wrap. The restroom, impressively, had what appeared to be a standard porcelain toilet.
| The service utilizes a high-occupancy lane in suburban Houston (see inset photo), which helps reduce the impact of congestion. After an on-time arrival in downtown Houston, the attendant helped ensure passengers hadn’t forgotten any belongings. Having faced uncomfortably long walks at airports and long hotel-shuttle waits lately, I took particular interest in travelers needing to only walk perhaps 150 feet to the Hyatt Regency Hotel’s front desk for a check-in. Intercity Bus E-News will continue to cover how Vonlane is enhancing visibility for premium coach travel. I thank Mr. Danza for the insightful interview. | |
Massachusetts-based Peter Pan Bus Lines has become the first major carrier to eliminate booking fees for all tickets purchased on its booking site and mobile app. “When you book directly with us, you get the lowest price guaranteed with no fees,” the company noted in its July 11, 2025, press release. Such fees are typically around $4 per reservation among bus lines that have them. The shift comes at a time when resort fees, add-ons at hotels and short-term rental properties, and restaurant credit card fees have become pervasive. Separately, Peter Pan has expanded significantly on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) bus routes between Boston and New York, as well as Washington, over the past several years, while also introducing many new coaches, suggesting it is positioning itself to attract frequent travelers who are repeat customers.
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FlixBus has made several significant moves in New York City, most notably adding a curbside spot at 12th Avenue & 34th Street in Manhattan, near the East River adjacent to the Javits Convention Center in the Hudson Yards neighborhood. The stop serves certain NEC schedules, although most of its New York service remains at boarding areas near Penn Station and the Moynihan Train Hall. The new location appears to alleviate congestion while offering customers more itinerary options. Separately, FlixBus launched routes from New York’s Brooklyn borough to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington with an intermediate stop in the eastern part of Queens. The buses operate directly from Brooklyn and Queens to their destination without time-consuming intermediate stops in Manhattan.
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The Chaddick Institute’s analysis of data from our July 2025 Intercity Bus Frequency Report shows that most routes held steady from mid-January to mid-July. Overall, the number of departures on the 66 evaluated routes increased by 5.4%, from 740 to 780, on a typical Friday in each respective month, likely due to both seasonal effects and the continued recovery in demand. Midweek (Wednesday) service grew by around 10%. Among the increases were those of Greyhound and Peter Pan on NEC routes, as well as FlixBus adding more midweek service and expanding in the South and on the Seattle–Vancouver route. OurBus added more peak-day New York to Ithaca service.
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The summer brought several significant changes to Landline, the Minnesota-based coach operator that partners with major airlines to offer short-hop bus service on routes that might otherwise be served by regional jets. It offers services for American Airlines at Philadelphia International Airport, Sun Country Airlines at Minneapolis-St. Paul International and Air Canada at Toronto Pearson International. In July, American extended its collaboration to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, where Landline launched several daily round trips to South Bend International Airport and service to Rockford, IL. Buses leave from behind security at O’Hare, exactly like a regional flight. In Colorado, however, United Airlines ended its partnership at Denver International Airport this summer, which primarily consisted of service to a regional airport in Fort Collins.
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Jefferson Lines has launched direct service from Whitefish to Billings, MT, operating Fridays through Mondays. The approximately 9.5-hour daytime service includes stops in Missoula, Butte, Bozeman, Livingston, Big Timber, and numerous other points. It provides connections to other Jefferson routes and closes a gap in the Mountain region's ground transportation system. Jefferson is working on a possible through-ticketing arrangement with Amtrak's Empire Builder at Whitefish, as well as enhanced connections to Yellowstone National Park. Efforts are also underway to improve connections with the state's rural transit providers.
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Flix North America, the parent company of FlixBus-Greyhound, is building a new terminal in Dallas on Harry Hines Boulevard, directly across from Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Bachman Station, a major light-rail and bus stop near Dallas Love Field. The station is expected to open in autumn, according to the company's press release. The downtown station, built in 1940, will remain in use until the transition is made. Heavy construction has been visible from the Bachman Station's elevated train platform.
| Tornado Bus Sees Heavy Traffic at its Dallas I-30 Terminal | Tornado Bus’s extensive network throughout the eastern half of the US mainland, catering to Spanish-speaking travelers, continues to focus on its Dallas I-30 Terminal hub. The spacious facility, located seven miles east of downtown, features a large ticketing desk with multiple agents on duty, extensive indoor seating, and a cafeteria-style restaurant with American and Mexican fare. The company organizes its schedule so that most Dallas connections are three hours or less in duration. | |
An Intercity Bus E-News visit in late June saw passengers leaving their larger luggage with an attendant inside the terminal for tagging and delivery to the bus bays for loading, well before the traveler’s coach arrived. This sped up loading and prevented passengers from milling around outside their bus before departure. A fence around the outer perimeter of the terminal’s bus apron automatically opens and closes when buses come and go. A particularly large number of passengers took a bus heading for Austin, a route with 10 trips each way on busy days, with some buses continuing to the U.S.–Mexico border area.
| Joe Schwieterman’s brief ride from Fort Worth included a stop at Tornado’s Dallas Jefferson Station, a smaller and closer-to-downtown hub, where many passengers boarded. The trip ended at Tornado’s Fort Worth station, located in a mini-mall, which was kept open until our arrival to allow passengers to wait inside during the hot weather. | News Photos from Around the U.S. | Greyhound-FlixBus Station, Seattle, WA | Passengers at Seattle’s Greyhound-FlixBus Station board a FlixBus service to Portland, OR (inset photo), in July 2025. The station has several features that may have helped justify its preservation at a time when many other private bus stations have been closed. It is situated on a fairly small parcel, has a tidy (but comfortable) waiting room, and has just four gates, which likely helps keep the cost of maintaining it comparatively low. Located near downtown, it is adjacent to a stop on Seattle’s heavily used Line 1 light-rail corridor, which enhances customer convenience and puts it within view of thousands of daily transit riders. Amtrak’s King Street Station is one transit stop away and within walking distance. | Several passengers prepare to board a FlixBus at its downtown Houston location at 605 Gray Street in June 2025. The number of bags in the luggage hold suggests that many passengers are already onboard. FlixBus has significantly increased its service from this location to both Austin and Dallas over the past 18 months. Sister company Greyhound has focused its operations on a dedicated station several miles southeast of downtown since the closure of its bus station in Midtown. Although conveniently located, the former station was aging and, in the opinion of many, had a relatively unattractive design. | A RedCoach business-class bus, featuring a wrap that showcases a passenger using its generously reclining seats, has just departed from its downtown Dallas stop on South Lamar Street on June 25, 2025. Several hours earlier, a first-class bus followed this same route. RedCoach operates on all three sides of the Texas Triangle, bounded by Austin, Dallas, and Houston, with a mix of downtown and outlying stops, including Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport. | | A New Coach in Dayton Trotwood, OH | | Greyhound's new coaches, including this Prevost model (built in 2024), are now operating in the Midwest, as evident by this May 2025 Intercity Bus E-News photo from Ohio's Dayton Trotwood Station. The coaches have a midnight blue livery, featuring a silver dog graphic and lettering, along with a green stripe. Moments after this photo was taken, a FlixBus arrived, and many passengers emerged from the station building (visible at left) to board. | | |
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