Megabus (United States)

Infobox Bus transit
name = Megabus (United States)
(a service of Coach USA)

logo_size = 300

---

image_size = 300px
image_caption = Megabus.com #DD014 picks up customers in New York.
company_slogan = Low cost daily express bus service
parent = Stagecoach Group plc
(Atlantic City route owned by Academy Bus)
founded = 2006
headquarters = 4400 South Racine Avenue
Chicago, IL 60609 [ [http://www.megabus.com/us/help/termsandconditions.php Megabus US HQ] ]
locale =
service_area = flag|USA
flag|Canada
service_type = Intercity coach service
alliance =
routes = 11
destinations = 26 (cities served)
stops = 42
hubs = 2 (NY Penn Station, Chicago Union Station)
stations =
lounge =
fleet = MCI single-deck coaches
Van Hool double-deck coaches
ridership =
fuel_type = Diesel
operator = Coach USA and contractors
ceo = Dale Moser
website = [http://www.megabus.com/us Official Web site]

Megabus, branded on most buses as megabus.com, is a "no-frills" intercity bus service of Coach USA, a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group, which owns the brand.

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 22 March 2006, Megabus started taking bookings for new routes in the United States (service began on 10 April2006), 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 [cite news | date=2007-08-02 |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle | accessdate=2007-08-02|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/02/BU8GRBEPS2.DTL|author=George Raine|title=Bargain bus company riding into Bay Area next week] [cite news | date=August 2, 2007|publisher=The Arizona Republic | accessdate=2007-08-02|url=http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0802megabus0802.html|author=Kerry Fehr-Snyder|title=Phoenix-LA bus service for as low as $1.50] 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 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.Citation
last =Chang
first =Andrea
publication-date =2008-05-17
year =2008
title =Megabus to halt service in L.A.
periodical =Los Angeles Times
pages =C3
url =http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-megabus17-2008may17,0,2008552.story
accessdate =2008-05-18] 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..

In the US, Megabus' main competition is on services from its New York City hub, with primary competition from similarly-modeled BoltBus, a joint venture of FirstGroup subsidiary Greyhound and Peter Pan, and bus services from New York City's Chinatown, and NeOn, a service offered by another FirstGroup subsidiary, Greyhound Canada, and Trailways of New York.

ervice overview

Megabus fares start from $1, with a booking fee of 50 cents. 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 $1 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 centres in major cities, or park-and-rides or on college campuses in other cities.

Tickets must be purchased in advance via the megabus.com website or by telephone. Upon purchase, passengers are given a reservation number which they show the bus operator when they board. Tickets are normally not available from the bus operator.

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 102EL 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. The Megabus fleet for the Northeast is normally equipped with Wi-Fi. This expansion came as Megabus exited from the West Coast market.

In lieu of properly branded Megabus vehicles being available (except for certain M24 and all M25 trips, which do not use Megabus-branded equipment), a differently-branded vehicle provided by Coach USA or the contractor may be substituted.

In accordance with ADA regulations, wheelchair-accessible service is available on all lines with 48 hours advance notice. Such service cannot be booked online, but must instead be booked by contacting [http://www.megabus.com/us/help/general.php Megabus.com's toll-free number] .

Vehicles in the United States market are maintained either by Coach USA-owned companies along the route network, or by contractors operating specific routes under contract to Coach USA.

Routes

Megabus service in the United States and Canada is provided from two hub cities on non-connected networks from New York City and Chicago. A route map of cities served can be viewed to the right. Service was also operated from August 2007 until June 2008 from a hub in Los Angeles.

Chicago hub

Megabus in the U.S. began operations on April 102006 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 112006, a stop in Toledo was added on the route operating between Chicago and Cleveland. Additional services were added on April 22007: 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 132008 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 272008, a new route was added, Chicago-Champaign-Memphis, offering 2 daily trips in each direction.

Route detail from Chicago

All service originates in Chicago from a street stop at South Canal Street and West Adams Street, across the street from Chicago Union Station.

See also

* Gotobus
* Chinatown bus lines
* BoltBusAll of the above provide competition for Megabus primarily in the northeastern United States.

References

External links

* [http://www.megabus.com/ Megabus.com]
* [http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/megabususa/ A US Megabus Discussion Group]