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First, the Good News about Intercity Bus Travel...
Intercity Bus E-News, Early Summer 2024
May 30th, 2024 | Caption: FlixBus at UCLA stop in May 2024
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Editor’s Perspective
The intercity bus industry has been generating a lot of news lately. Like the Clint Eastwood movie, it has been a saga of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Here is a summary, starting with the good:
Favorable News
-Major bus lines, including FlixBus, Megabus, and Peter Pan, have increased their schedules on selected routes for the “busy season.” Recent additions include added Philadelphia and Washington, DC service, including overnight runs, on Peter Pan, more FlixBus frequency in the Northeast, and enhanced Megabus service from Houston to Dallas on Saturdays. Although passenger demand didn't rise during spring as fast as many bus lines hoped, higher gasoline prices and airfares and Amtrak’s equipment shortages outside the Northeast Corridor are giving the industry a boost.
-Premium service providers are on the move. Landline, the ground provider that codeshares with airlines and departs from behind security at several major airports, has begun working with Air Canada. RedCoach has added Atlanta, GA–Orlando, FL, service in the South. See additional details below.
-Intercity buses on regular schedules are about to be exempted from New York congestion charges, which take effect in June. This E-News editor felt the fees, upward of $36/bus, were excessive, given that many buses travel only a few blocks in Manhattan and create other social benefits, such as reducing pollution and carbon emissions and increasing safety. The ability for contract carriers to get exemptions, however, is still being worked out.
| -Lengthy litigation about Columbus, OH's Bus Station has come to a favorable end, with the relatively new facility preserved for bus passengers making transfers, as described in our feature below. | |
Unfavorable News
-The flurry of announcements usually occurring during spring about new intercity bus lines hitting the roads and expansions by established carriers hasn't occurred this year. FlixBus has made a sizeable Canadian expansion (see below) and added several U.S. routes, but, in general, private bus carriers are playing its safe. Are the equipment needs of the charter business crowding out scheduled services? Is the end of pandemic relief funding creating headwinds? The answer to both questions may be "yes." Nonetheless, the slowdown is worth pondering, considering that the rollout of new airline routes seems to be speeding up.
-The closing of bus stations continues. The Cleveland and Dallas Greyhound Stations will be closed soon to make way for real-estate redevelopment. Large conventional bus lines are neither willing nor able to absorb the considerable costs associated with most privately managed stations. Our review shows that the property tax alone for the Cleveland Station has been more than $98,000, and $68,000 in Dallas. Cleveland’s operations may be moved to a nearby transit center with indoor seating. In Dallas, the municipal government is working with bus lines to find a solution.
- The recent flurry of negative publicity resulting from crime in and around bus stations fits into "the ugly" category of news. High-profile cases in recent months involving shootings in Chicago; Jackson, MS; Bakersfield, CA; Memphis, TN; Pittsburgh, PA; and northern California have all generated headlines. Intercity bus lines have not been accused of wrongdoing in any of the cases. Still, the link between “intercity buses” and “crime” in the minds of travelers persists and is possibly even growing. In some cases, the crimes were perpetrated by people who are not intercity bus customers. Others were on public streets next to bus stations. Sometimes coverage drags on. A court case in Sacramento over a shooting in 2022 generated a barrage of news coverage. The Bakersfield case involves a shooting that dates back to 2020. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to this problem, which mirrors the problems facing urban metro systems.
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Amid this good and bad news, we stand by our prediction that intercity bus ridership will return to pre-pandemic levels by 2026. Traffic recovery continues to outpace service bounce-back, so expect to see many packed buses this summer! In our July Intercity Bus E-News, we’ll send reports of our experiences riding the intercity routes in the Midwest and New England.
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Joseph Schwieterman, Ph.D.
Intercity Bus E-News Editor
Professor and Director, Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Caption: Coach USA Van Galder Bus Lines is boarding at Chicago Union Station, April 2024
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RedCoach is offering a pair of new daily Orlando–Atlanta business-class trips that terminate at MARTA’s Civic Center Station in the Georgia capital. This restores a service briefly operated several years ago and encompasses stops in Macon and Valdosta, GA, and Gainesville, FL. RedCoach routes now link Miami to Atlanta and cover all three sides of the Texas Triangle.
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FlixBus has made several moves in Alberta, Canada, having added Edmonton–Calgary and Calgary–Lethbridge routes, both with two roundtrips daily, and offering a pair of added trips on the Edmonton route on peak days. In the Northeast, FlixBus has boosted frequency on several major routes and added Storrs, CT, home of the University of Connecticut, to its New York–Boston route. It also launched a new Allentown–New York service and added a second daily Portland, OR - Sacramento, CA trip, possibly a seasonal move. FlixBus’s parent company, Flix, is reportedly gearing up for an initial public offering in June. Finally, FlixBus has also reached the three-month mark for its expanding network in India.
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Windy City Report: After we released our May Bulletin, we received word that the City of Chicago is working to find a solution to the impending end of the lease of the Chicago Greyhound Terminals. Both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times wrote editorials in support of the brief’s recommendations. The report also points to notable gaps in Illinois service. Greyhound has quietly ended service to Markham and Kankakee, IL, which had been intermediate stops on a Chicago - St. Louis route. The Markham exit ends more than a century of conventional intercity bus service in Chicago’s South Suburbs. Greyhound has restored express service, with two stops, on the Chicago to Cincinnati route, closing a ground transportation gap.
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Landline, the ground operator that partners with major airports to serve short-hop routes for which flights are increasingly uneconomical, remains on an impressive growth trajectory. As part of its new partnership with Air Canada, its coaches will link Toronto International Airport to Hamilton and Kitchener, ON. Landline continues to codeshare with American Airlines in Philadelphia, United Airlines in Denver, and Sun Country Airlines in Minneapolis. In Philadelphia, Landline has added new routes to Wilmington, DE, and Scranton/Wilkes Barre, PA, pushing its daily operations to twenty roundtrips. Daily service has grown to 5 or 6 trips each way on an Allentown route. In Denver, Landline recently added frequency and new stops to its Ft. Collins, CO, route. Most Landline routes can be used by customers not making airline connections.
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The Federal Transit Administration has taken notice of the loss of traditional intercity bus stations. New policy language is being considered for its policy Circulars to expand the pool of grants available for both intercity bus station development and bus operations and give bus lines greater access to transit centers.
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Philadelphia’s intercity bus stop for Greyhound and Peter Pan may move again, possibly by Labor Day, with several downtown options being considered. Among the possibilities are parking facilities, including a large parking deck. The City of Philadelphia is assisting bus lines in finding a longer-term solution due to the industry's difficulty since the city's Greyhound Station (pictured at right) closed in June 2023. Greyhound and Peter Pan both now have stops near the Spring Hill metro rail station, a short distance northeast of the central business district. Recently, Peter Pan began using a new City Center stop near Ninth and Market. In short, the situation remains quite fluid.
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Peter Pan received the American Bus Association’s ABA Leadership in Sustainability Award in February. In a press announcement, the Massachusetts-based carrier noted that “more than 55 new buses added to the fleet in the past five years” are “equipped with advanced technologies that minimize emissions, enhance passenger comfort, and integrate seamlessly with modern technological advancements.” Congratulations to the Peter Pan team!
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Minnesota Department of Transportation launched the pilot program in March that puts the schedules of 13 rural public transportation providers and intercity bus companies onto the Transit App. This includes Otter Express in Fergus Falls, Morris Transit, Minnesota River Valley Transit, and the public transit systems in Mankato and Rochester. This move showcases how technology can help make rural services easier to find and simplify trip planning.
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Virginia Breeze Bus Lines announced the impending launch of a fifth route and its first east-west offering. The Tidewater Current will connect Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach with potential stops in Norfolk, Newport News, Williamsburg, New Kent, Richmond, and Charlottesville. Managed by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the state-supported network has seen ridership jump 10% from 2023 to 2024.
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Late Notice: Is On-Time Performance Improving?
By Akshara Das & Joe Schwieterman
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An old marketing concept states that it is six times more expensive to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one. This brings to mind the problem of late buses, among the principal reasons some passengers never return.
Conversations we've had with intercity bus officials lately make us optimistic that improved service punctuality has become a higher priority. The gradual alleviation of driver shortages is helping bus lines meet schedules. So is the adoption of reservations-only business models, which prevents the chaotic situations that can arise when it is unclear if there are enough seats to accommodate all waiting passengers. The accountability of managers is also being stepped up.
Yet, in our view, punctuality remains a critical concern. Even an hour or two delay in an austere bus station or at a curbside can be a “never again” experience for some riders. While flyers have newsstands, restaurants showing sporting events on big screens, free WiFi, and cushioned seats with power outlets, bus travelers must often settle for an unpadded seat and a poorly stocked vending machine, often without power outlets. Asking bus drivers or station personnel about a particular bus in the middle of a hectic shift can elicit an unhelpful response. The creation of the "Bus Tracker" app is a major step forward in customer care, but travelers do not have access to information about on-time performance at the time of ticketing. Plus, when bus lines turn to rental buses to fill gaps, that equipment often lacks GPS tracking. Air or train travelers, conversely, have more universal tracker apps and much online information about the punctuality of the services. For airline passengers, on-time performance is, by law, available with a simple "click" on a booking website with each flight displayed.
To fill the void in understanding, we collected in April and May 2023 a sample of 500 trips by intercity bus lines that are part of extensive interconnected networks. We looked only at arrivals into centralized terminals in metro regions with populations over one million. We also only looked at conventional bus lines that are part of interconnected networks, including both national and state-supported lines. We looked at arrivals for only a handful of the dozens of bus lines and concentrated only on a few days. Our industry-wide snapshot, therefore, is far from definitive, and we do not intend to present carrier-specific results.
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First, the good news. On-time performance was respectable, with 73.8% of buses arriving on time or within 15 minutes of their advertised arrival time and 91.6% arriving within an hour of the advertised time. Plus, 20% arrive at least 5 minutes early, suggesting that there is slack in some schedules. The percentage of buses arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled time is only slightly below that of airlines during a typical month (usually around 78%) and comparable to passenger rail (in which the 15-minute standard used by airlines is not universally used).
Less favorably, 3.8% of buses arrived more than 2.5 hours behind schedule, and 2% were more than four hours behind schedule. Both performance metrics appear to be below those for airlines. About 40% of buses arrive 5 minutes or more after they are due. In many instances, delays are unavailable due to expressway traffic backups and detours, but they nonetheless create serious hardships for riders. Gone are the days when most bus lines keep extra buses and drivers on hand to troubleshoot when major delays occur.
Every route poses different challenges. Running on time from Boston to New York is more difficult than running from Denver to Omaha. Not surprisingly, therefore, only around two thirds of buses arriving in Manhattan were within 15 minutes of the advertised time, below the national average. This problem is partially offset, however, by the frequency of service to and from Manhattan and the abundant retail options around the Port Authority Bus Terminal and curbside bus stops, which makes missed connections less of a problem than in other parts of the country.
Although we did not find “chronic lateness” to be significantly worse for intercity buses than for other modes of travel, punctuality needs further attention. The closing of traditional intercity bus stations is making long waits more arduous. In many cities, the transit centers that have replaced these stations have limited seating and fewer amenities. When convenience stores or other retail businesses without seating serve as pickup locations, even brief delays can create a contentious situation. Passengers may direct their frustration to business owners, who may decide the hassle of being at a bus stop is not worth the benefits. Passenger making transfers also endure much anxiety when they are uncertain if they will make their connection.
Caption: Megabus at Washington Union Station in April 2024
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OurBus's Impressive System Map | |
OurBus has created a well-designed map that shows the booking site's extensive offerings in the New England and Mid-Atlantic states. The stylized map is similar to those of metropolitan transit agencies. A passenger can (in theory) travel from Blacksburg, VA, to Boston on OurBus. The color coding allows users to see the itinerary of buses to and from New York and other hubs. Some routes are seasonal. OurBus has also announced that at peak times this summer, it will sell service from JFK International Airport to upstate New York universities and launched the Ottawa - Toronto, ON service.
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New England: Where Some Bus Stations Resemble Mini Airports | |
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Station facilities in New England operated by Concord and Dartmouth Coach (with the same owner) and C&J Bus Lines point the way for an enhanced passenger experience. The Dartmouth Coach facility in Lebanon, NH, pictured above, stands out for being relatively new and boasting a staffed ticket counter, clean restrooms, parking ($6/day and free for the first hour), monitors showing Boston Logan flight status, vending, large windows with high ceilings, and a spacious waiting area with free WiFi.
To be sure, Concord, Dartmouth, and C&J are more specialized than many larger bus lines, which have far more stations and stops to maintain. Each focuses heavily on connecting points north of Massachusetts to Boston Logan International Airport, downtown Boston, and Midtown Manhattan. Although the “New England model” can’t easily be replicated in many other parts of the country, it sets an example for thoughtful station planning.
Another takeaway from our review is that all three carriers will benefit from expanding Boston’s South Station Bus Terminal. An improvement project, including a new office building built over railroad platforms, will grow the terminal’s footprint by 50% and improve transit connections at South Station. Plus, Massachusetts is adding several new inter-regional bus routes, including more service to the Berkshires. Policymakers in Chicago and elsewhere should take notice! We thank reader William White for assisting with this article.
Caption A Dartmouth Coach in Lebanon, NH in April 2024
| A Novel Solution for the Columbus Bus Station | |
The difficult legal proceedings between bus lines and the City of Columbus over the Columbus Bus Station have come to an amicable conclusion. This station on the city's west side, used by Barons Bus and Greyhound, is an important transfer point due to its role as a hub for the state-funded GoBus system operated by Barons and numerous Greyhound trips along the Interstate 70 corridor. These bus lines moved to this location at considerable expense after they lost access to downtown station facilities in 2023.
The agreement reached last week allows bus lines to continue using the station for passenger transfers and ticketing but shifts all originating and terminating traffic to an Ohio State University stop, a John Glenn International Airport stop, and a third spot yet to be named. Barons, which manages the station, will submit an updated plan for the station within 30 days and provide a sufficient level of security personnel. Although the agreement is good news, it remains puzzling that the local government has lacked a commitment to providing bus companies access to bus stations with indoor waiting facilities in the downtown district. Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton all suffer from having bus stations both separated from downtown and major transit routes.
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Perspectives on Chicago's Greyhound Terminal | |
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Caption: Passengers retrieve their luggage at Chicago’s Greyhound Terminal in April 2024.
Greyhound's lease at its Chicago Terminal, a facility long used by the legacy bus line and Burlington Trailways and Barons Bus Lines, ends in October. FlixBus started using the facility in the spring of 2023. This station sees more than 75 bus movements daily. Numerous Greyhound trips make brief stops at Chicago Union Station before or after leaving the terminal, often to pick up or drop off passengers making bus-train connections. Watch for Intercity Bus E-News updates in the months ahead.
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