Peter Pan & Fullington Trailways pick up Megabus routes + Webinar on Chicago Bus Station problem on Tuesday

Megabus routes in the Northeast picked up by Peter Pan & Fullington Trailways, Texas Service ends

Intercity Bus E-News Bulletin | August 22, 2024

Last week, important news came out of Coach USA’s bankruptcy proceedings. Massachusetts-based Peter Pan Bus Lines has picked up Megabus’s Northeast Corridor (NEC) routes between New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. The company notes: “In preparation, Peter Pan has reduced fares by close to 40%, hired 75 new drivers, and purchased 45 new buses…The company has also relaunched its app, enabling passengers to easily book their trips in advance and feature its PERKs program, where users can earn free travel.”

Purchasing so many new buses is newsworthy on its own and the move augments Peter Pan’s already sizeable presence on the New York—Washington (NY-DC) and New York—Philadelphia (NY-PHL) routes. Activity in New York will be consolidated at the Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT), which is more convenient for travelers than Megabus’s once-busy Hudson Yards curbside stop, now largely devoid of long-distance scheduled service. The acquisition will expand connections to other Peter Pan services.

On the NY-DC route, Peter Pan now boasts 18 trips on Fridays in each direction, compared to just eight as recently as last January, according to our review. NY-PHL frequency has risen to approximately 20, up from about 10 earlier this year. (Precise counts on NY-PHL are challenging due to different stop patterns in Philadelphia). The transition continues the trend of bus travel in the NEC becoming less fragmented while still being intensely competitive. Established carriers, for example, filled the void when Megabus dropped its New York – Boston and Upstate New York service last year.

Fullington Trailways picked up Megabus’s routes from New York and Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, PA. “We’re thrilled to build upon our existing partnership with Fullington to continue offering tickets to so many key markets in the northeast,” said Colin Emberson, VP of Commercial Operations for Megabus, in a press release. Fullington had less overlap with Megabus than Peter Pan before the deal and now has a daily New York – Pittsburgh trip via State College, PA, home of Penn State University. A separate Philadelphia – State College service allows for well-timed transfers to the Pittsburgh route and gives travelers a later westbound departure between Pennsylvania’s largest cities than Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian. Having express schedules, the westbound service is only about a half-hour slower than the train and similar eastbound, despite the transfer.

These moves end Megabus's impressive run in the NEC dating back to 2008. According to one report, Megabus Northeast LLC, based in Elizabeth, has announced layoffs of 101 people. Information about Megabus services from Washington to Jacksonville, FL, has yet to emerge. However, Megabus has quietly stopped serving this route, and its remaining Texas service was permanently suspended last week. We await updates on the other Coach USA units, many operating with little change.

E-News Critique

The most favorable aspect of these moves is that Megabus’s financial results were strong enough to entice two reputable bus lines to integrate its routes into their systems. The chance of this happening was questionable after Coach USA made dramatic announcements about how its traffic had dropped since pre-pandemic times.

The acquisitions help Peter Pan compete more effectively against Amtrak, which has two NY-DC departures hourly during much of the day, alternating between conventional and high-speed Acela Express offerings, and even more NY-PHL service. FlixBus-Greyhound, Peter Pan, and OurBus are now powerhouses in NY-DC, all using the PABT except FlixBus. More frequency from PABT makes it more enticing for Peter Pan riders to change their reservations if their plans change, a low-cost perk of bus travel. Travelers will feel less compelled to straddle carriers on their outbound and return trips, which fosters brand loyalty. Fullington and Peter Pan services will continue to be sold on megabus.com, allowing them to tap into Megabus’s massive customer dataset while also being mainstays on trailways.com. The megabus.com site remains under separate ownership. Three other outcomes stand out:

The total number of departures on the above NEC routes diminishes, with combined Megabus-Peter Pan departures down about 25 – 30% because, according to our review, Peter Pan is not adding trips on a one-for-one basis to the dropped Megabus service.

Megabus’s iconic double-deckers are gone, which means fewer seats per average departure. The total number of combined Megabus-Peter Pan seats has dropped by roughly 35% on the above routes, perhaps even more. However, many travelers (including this editor) did not love the double-deckers, and Peter Pan could always add schedules or run extra sections if needed. Arguably, there had been too much capacity on these routes.

Another consequence is far less traffic on the 100 block of Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, a curbside stop used by Peter Pan and Greyhound, and (until recently) Megabus. That traffic has been the source of neighborhood concern. Peter Pan and Greyhound still use this stop, but Peter Pan also added another curbside stop near Amtrak’s 30th Street Station, which is preferred by many travelers. Whether the diminished Spring Garden Street traffic reduces pressure to create a new permanent off-street bus station in Philadelphia remains to be seen.

After a dearth of major strategic moves, last week’s announcement may suggest that intercity bus activity is picking up. Finally, we welcome you to participate in our webinar on the effort to preserve the Chicago Intercity Bus Station on Tuesday, August 27, at noon CT. For details, click here.

Joe Schwieterman

Intercity Bus E-News editor

Captions: Top: Peter Pan at the now-closed Philadelphia intercity Bus Station, 2022; Middle: Peter Pan at Hyannis, MA, July, 2024, Bottom: A Megabus doubledecker in New York, 2022

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