Megabus

Megabus (North America)

A Megabus coach lays over by NY Penn Station.
Slogan	Low cost daily express bus service to and from (Chicago, New York City, or Toronto)
Parent	Coach USA/Coach Canada
Founded	2006
Headquarters	USA: 349 1 Street Elizabeth, NJ 07206[1] Canada: 791 Webber Ave Peterborough, ON K9J 8N3
Service area	USA  Canada
Service type	Intercity coach service
Routes	13
Stops	See list below
Destinations	See list below
Hubs	Chicago Union Station NY Penn Station Toronto Coach Terminal
Fleet	MCI single-deck coaches Van Hool single- and double-deck coaches
Operator	Megabus USA, LLC (M1-M3, M5-M7) Megabus Northeast, LLC (M21, M23, M26, and M27) Academy Bus (M25) DATTCO, Inc. (M22) Trentway-Wagar and Autocar Connaiseur (Toronto-Montreal)
Chief executive	Dale Moser
Web site	Megabus (United States)

Megabus, branded on buses as megabus.com, is a "no-frills" intercity bus services of Coach USA/Coach Canada providing discount travel services since 2006.

History

An established brand for no-frills service in the United Kingdom since 2003, Stagecoach Group, through subsidiary Coach USA introduced the Megabus brand in March 2006. On March 22, 2006, Megabus started taking bookings for new routes in the United States (service began on April 10, 2006), with a network of services based in Chicago with daily routes to Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis, Ann Arbor, Columbus, Louisville, Toledo, Detroit, Kansas City and Minneapolis.

On August 8, 2007, Megabus introduced service to the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Tempe, Arizona^[2][3] However, service to the Phoenix area was discontinued in January 2008 due to low ridership and service to downtown San Diego and San Ysidro was discontinued on Sunday, March 23, 2008. In May 2008, as Megabus was about to be introduced from a hub in New York City, the company announced plans to shut down its Los Angeles hub and discontinue all related services stating “...in this case, the ridership trends aren't growing fast enough”. The last day for Megabus services from Los Angeles was June 22, 2008.^[4]

On May 30, 2008, Megabus began service from a hub in New York City, with service to Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo , Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.. Further expansions included service to Syracuse, Rochester, Hartford, and Niagara Falls, Ontario (Niagara Falls later withdrawn). In spring 2009, while Eastern Shuttle was under Coach USA ownership, runs were added to Megabus under the Eastern Shuttle name, after Coach USA purchased two Chinatown bus companies in late 2008 and early 2009, significantly increasing capacity. Later in 2009, the Megabus concept was expanded to Toronto and Montreal, while the Chinatown bus companies acquired by Coach USA were sold to independent interests.

Service overview

Megabus fares start from US$1.00, with a booking fee of US$0.50 on the internet. Megabus follows the yield management model typically used by airlines where the lowest fares are offered to those who book early or on less popular schedules (normally, only two seats are sold for US$1.00 per schedule). Also mirroring the low cost airline model, locations of stops are on public streets or at park-and-ride lots in most cases, usually either outside railroad stations or transportation centers in major cities, or park-and-rides or on college campuses in other cities.^[5]

Tickets must be purchased in advance via the website or by telephone. Upon purchase, passengers are given a reservation number which they show the bus operator when they board. In the United States, tickets are normally not available from the bus operator, but can be purchased from ticket agents at the Penn Station stop in New York City.^[6] In Canada, owing to franchise regulations, tickets are sold at stops.

Fleet

The Megabus fleet is normally easily identifiable, with the megabus.com name on the front and sides in yellow against a blue base and the Megabus logo on the left side of the coach (facing forward) and rear of the bus. The slogans are also marked on the buses.

Upon its introduction, Megabus service began with used MCI 102EL3 Renaissance coaches, often transferred from other Coach USA operations, with some services utilizing Chicago- and Milwaukee-based Coach USA buses. In 2007, Coach USA updated its Chicago-based Megabus fleet with new MCI J4500 single-deck and Van Hool TD925 double-deck motorcoaches. The West Coast services, based out of a hub in Los Angeles, also starting in the summer of 2007 (but withdrawn in spring 2008).

In May 2008, Megabus expanded to the Northeast market, with a fleet of mostly brand-new MCI D4505 coaches, a number of new Van Hool TD925-double decker buses, and some buses purchased secondhand or transferred from the Chicago fleet. This expansion came as Megabus exited from the West Coast market.^[4] Further expansion in the Northeast came in the fall and winter of 2008-2009, when additional double-decker buses were delivered, resulting in much of the single-deck buses being transferred to sister operation Eastern Shuttle, pushing many of the EL3s to retirement. The fleet transferred to Eastern Shuttle was divested when Eastern Shuttle was sold in August 2009.

All Megabus coaches branded as such in the United States are equipped with Wi-Fi and about half of the fleet is equipped with electrical outlets. The vehicles without power outlets are currently being retrofitted and will be completed in the fall of 2009 (Megabus coaches for Toronto-Montreal service will be equipped with Wi-Fi in the future).

In accordance with ADA regulations, wheelchair-accessible service is available on all lines with 48 hours advance notice (although most service is operated with true-low-floor double-deck coaches). Such service cannot be booked online, but must instead be booked by contacting Megabus.com's toll-free number.

The Canadian Megabus fleet consists of 15 2009 TD925 buses and are operated by Trentway-Wagar.^[7] The Canadian buses are pooled with the US fleet for NYC-Toronto runs with American drivers beyond Buffalo.

Routes

Megabus service in the United States and Canada is provided primarily from two hub cities on non-connected networks from New York City and Chicago, with another route originating from Toronto. Service was also operated from August 2007 until June 2008 from a hub in Los Angeles. Megabus operates primarily as a hub and spoke model.

Chicago hub

The Megabus route network in the Midwest.

Megabus in the U.S. began operations on April 10, 2006 with routes between Chicago and Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and St. Louis, from a hub at Chicago Union Station. Services also began between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. A service that was initially offered between Indianapolis and Columbus was later withdrawn due to low ridership, but has since been reinstated and currently operates.

On September 11, 2006, a stop in Toledo was added on the route operating between Chicago and Cleveland. Additional services were added on April 2, 2007: a stop in Ann Arbor along the Chicago-Detroit route for travel to and from Chicago, new service between Minneapolis and Milwaukee, an extension of the Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland route into Pittsburgh (since withdrawn), an extension of the Chicago-St. Louis route into Kansas City, reactivation of the Chicago-Indianapolis-Columbus route, new service between Cincinnati and Columbus, and new service between Chicago and Louisville via Indianapolis (since withdrawn).

On March 13, 2008 a stop was added in Madison, Wisconsin on the twice daily Chicago-Minneapolis route. The Chicago-Minneapolis route operating via Milwaukee service gained a second daily bus. Also, Columbia, MO was added with one stop daily in each direction on the Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City route. On March 27, 2008, a new route was added, Chicago-Champaign-Memphis, offering 2 daily trips in each direction.

Later in 2008, Megabus expanded service to Minneapolis to 4 daily departures, but also announced the cancellation of overnight schedules mid-week on routes to Ohio and Memphis. Early in 2009, these midweek overnight schedules were restored, only to be pulled again in summer 2009.

Route detail from Chicago

All Megabus-branded buses operating from the Chicago hub are normally equipped with Wi-Fi.

New York hub

The Megabus route network in the Northeast. NOTE: Hartford withdrawn September 2009.

On May 30, 2008 Megabus began East Coast operations with service to and from Atlantic City (operated by Academy Bus), Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, and Buffalo and Toronto. Service to Baltimore, MD was added after negotiations over the usage of the White Marsh Park & Ride were concluded. On June 6, a once-daily service was added to Binghamton for travel to and from Buffalo and Toronto.

On all routes except for the Atlantic City route, Megabus competes directly with various discount bus operators, including Greyhound and Peter Pan's BoltBus service, Washington Deluxe, Vamoose Bus Service, other Chinatown bus lines (Eastern Shuttle itself is one), and the NeOn service offered by Greyhound Canada and Adirondack Trailways.

During fall 2008, the New York City-Washington, DC line was expanded to 14 northbound and 13 southbound trips, with all service now stopping in Baltimore. Additional departures were also added on Fridays and Sundays to and from Boston.

In December 2008, service to Binghamton, which had been operating only to Buffalo and Toronto, was dropped in favor of service to Syracuse, Rochester, and Niagara Falls (Ontario). A new route also began service to and from Albany. Both revised services offer four trips daily (up from two on the Toronto line), with a fifth Buffalo-Toronto express overnight trip also offered. All services were moved from the Royal York Hotel to the Toronto Coach terminal. Hartford was also added on the M22 route in December 2008, with service to Boston or New York available.

In spring 2009, following the purchase of two Chinatown bus operators (Eastern Shuttle^[8] and Today's Bus^[9]) in late 2008 and early 2009 and subsequent merger of their operations (with the Eastern brand retained), the M21 route expanded to hourly (or less) departures during the day, with the M23 route expanding to over 20 departures in each direction on weekdays, and over 15 departures in each direction on weekends. As a result, Megabus would briefly enter the Chinatown bus market in the Northeast, a market that it would exit in August 2009.

For summer 2009, the Philadelphia schedule was streamlined to provide 18 daily trips in each direction (evenly split between Megabus and Eastern, but eventually transferred to Megabus when Eastern was sold), and the M24 route saw its two AM departures from either end of the route combined into a single departure. In addition, service to Rochester was reduced to once daily in each direction. Layover time at Syracuse was increased from 20 minutes to 30 minutes to account for the rest stop that used to occur between Syracuse and Rochester.

At the Penn Station stop, there is a ticket window across the street from the bus stop where walk-up ticket sales can be paid for with cash, debit card, or credit card. This is the only location in the United States where cash is accepted for travel on Megabus service. Megabus operators do not sell tickets.

Route detail from New York

Megabus routes M21 through M23 and M27 should not be confused with similarly-named routes wholly within New York City. In addition, the M25 route does not have Wi-Fi.

Toronto hub

Similar to the Megabus model in the United States, in June 2008, Coach Canada began offering tickets from C$1 on their route between Toronto and Montreal, using the same yield management model.^[11] As of summer 2009, this route has been converted to a Megabus route as marketed on the Coach Canada website, with double-deckers branded for Megabus replacing single-deck Coach Canada buses on the route. Like services in the United States, Wi-Fi is available on the Toronto-Montreal service. Unlike services in the USA, however, all service is normally accessible for those with mobility impairments; a 48-hour reservation in advance is still required because the number of seats per trip is affected.

Route detail from Toronto

Los Angeles hub

Megabus operated briefly from Los Angeles, opening for business on August 8, 2007 at Los Angeles Union Station, with services operated by unaffiliated Coach America under contract from facilities in Oxnard and Bakersfield. Initially services were offered to Phoenix, Tempe, Las Vegas, San Diego, and San Francisco via either San Jose and Millbrae, or Oakland. However, with ridership not meeting expectations, service to Arizona was withdrawn after only five months, and by late March 2008, service to San Diego was also canceled. After June 8, 2008, only the Los Angeles-Oakland-San Francisco service remained. After June 22, 2008, Megabus service originating from Los Angeles ended altogether.^[4]

Route detail from Los Angeles

Routes had been introduced on August 8, 2007. The withdrawal date is listed below.

Megabus stop locations

Accidents

On Thursday December 10, 2009 at 3:20AM, a M24 New York City to Toronto bound bus slid off the I-90 Thruway 3 Miles past exit 49 in Lancaster, New York. At the time there were reported to be 12 passengers and the driver on board. 8 passengers and the driver were taken to local hospital to be treated for minor injuries. It is believed that poor visibility, blowing snow, high winds and an unsafe Lane change are variables that caused the accident.^[12][13][14]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Megabus (USA)

• Chinatown bus lines
• BusJunction - ticket search engine that includes Megabus tickets

References

External links

• Megabus.com
• A US Megabus Discussion Group
• A review of Megabus Wi-Fi