Posts Tagged 'bus service'
New York-Boston Luxury Bus Service Shuts Down
A luxury bus operator in the New York-Boston market abruptly closed on New Year's Eve after 17 years in business.
The president of LimoLiner cited financial pressures and competition that led the company into bankruptcy proceedings.
Mark Richardson said those pressures included rising expenses for insurance, mantenance and labor.
Efforts to sell the operation fell thought. "It was our last resort," he said of the shutdown. "Coming into the new year with our slow season, we just felt we were no longer able to continue operating."
LimoLiner, which had begun operations in 2003, was known for offering onboard movies, spacious leather seats, and fresh meals served by an attendants.
Its fleet of eight buses and 25 employees operated multiple daily trips to Midtown Manhattan from the Back Bay and Framingham for fares of less than $100.
Richard said LimoLiner was also hurt by other bus companies entering the market and lower airline and Amtrak fares.
Some of LimoLiner's loyal customers told the Boston Globe that they considered it to be an affordable and comfortable alternative to Amtrak.
"It felt like this extravagant way to travel, but it really wasn't so expensive compared to taking a train," said Susan Rubin of Stoneham.
Tags:Amtrak, Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, bus service, intercity bus service, LimoLiner, New York-Boston corridor
Oregon POINT Bus Service Resumes Normal Schedule
The completion of a construction project involving Interstate 5 has meant that POINT Bus Service is back to normal in Oregon.
The service connects Amtrak trains in the state and had been disrupted by the I-5 work.
In a service advisory, Amtrak said normal schedules resumed on Oct. 28.
For updates or more information on the highway construction on I-5 and impact for travel, visit https://www.oregon.gov/odot/projects/pages/projectdetails.aspx?project=19831
Tags:Amtrak, bus service, Oregon, Oregon Department of Transportation, POINT Bus Service
Megabus to Serve Charlottesville Amtrak Station
It won't be a Thruway service, but a new connecting bus route will soon be operating at the Amtrak station in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Megabus said it will begin offering service between the station and Dulles International Airport starting on May 16.
The bus will operate daily except Tuesday and Wednesday.
Megabus said the bus will operate once a day on Monday, Thursday and Saturday with twice a day service on Friday and Sunday.
Dillons Bus Service is operating the service on behalf of Megabus. The buses will pick up and discharge passengers near the Seventh Street SW entrance to the station.
Tags:Amtrak stations, bus service, Charlottesville Virginia, Dulles International Airport, Megabus
Seattle Service Disrupted
Amtrak issued a service advisory today saying that Cascades trains and the Empire Builder between Seattle and Everett, Washington, have been canceled with substitute bus service being provided.
The bus transportation will continue through the morning of April 18 due to a moratorium on passenger service issued by BNSF following a landslide.
Amtrak service south of Seattle will continue to operate normally.
Tags:Amtrak, Amtrak Cascades, Amtrak service disruptions, Amtrak's Empire Builder, bus service, landslides, Seattle-Vancouver BC corridor
FlixBus to Start Service in California, Southwest
FlixBus has announced that it will launch its European-style luxury bus service this summer in Southern California and the Southwest.
Based in Munich, Germany, FlixBus did not say in a news release what routes it will travel in the United States.
The company instead emphasized that it has transported more than 100 million passengers in Europe since debuting in 2013.
It said buses will offer onboard 4G Wi-Fi, low fares and connections with other routes.
FlixBus said it offers 250,000 daily connections in 1,400 cities across 27 European countries.
Starting March 24 it plans to get into the passenger rail business with its FlixTrain service in Germany between Hamburg and Cologne, and between Berlin and Stuttgart.
The news release did not say anything about offering rail service in the United States.
Tags:bus service, FlixBus, Southern California
Greyhound Ceding Nevada Route to Amtrak
Citing low ridership, Greyhound is pulling out of five rural Nevada communities and suggesting that displaced passengers ride Amtrak instead.
The bus carrier said it will cease service on Feb. 21 to Elko, Winnemucca, Lovelock, Battle Mountain and Wendover. It also is ending service to Salt Lake City on a route that also serves Reno.
The bus cuts come on the heels of Megabus ending service to Reno on Jan. 9.
At the time that it ended service to Reno, Megabus cited aggressive pricing by airlines serving Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
Greyhound will continue to offer service from Reno to such western cities as Sacramento, San Francisco and Phoenix.
It said it has reached an partnership with Amtrak to allow those booked on Greyhound to take the train.
Amtrak's California Zephyr between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay region offers service to Reno, Elko, Winnemucca and Salt Lake City on a similar schedule to what Greyhound operates.
Travelers to Battle Mountain, Lovelock and Wendover, however, will not receive similar accommodations.
Tags:Amtrak, Amtrak in Nevada, Amtrak's California Zephyr, bus service, Greyhound, Greyhound Bus Lines, Greyhound Lines, intercity bus service, Megabus
German Bus Company to Enter U.S. Market
A German long-distance bus company says it plans to begin service in the United States in competition with Greyhound, Megabus and Amtrak.
FlixBus said it will be based in Los Angeles.
"There is a significant shift in the American transport market at the moment. Public transportation and sustainable travel is becoming more important," FlixBus founder and manager Andre Schwaemmlein said in a statement.
FlixBus has been a major player in European long-distance bus service since 2013 and has survived a fierce price war among new market entrants to boost its market share in Germany.
A Reuters news service story said FlixBus has more than 90 percent market share and its bright green motor coaches are a common sight on German motorways.
FlixBus does not own any of its buses but instead works with local and regional partners.
That is similar to how Megabus operates in the United States. Owned by Britain's Stagecoach Group, Megabus began U.S. service in 2006.
One of its chief competitors, Greyhound, is owned by a British company, FirstGroup PLC. Greyhound carries 18 million passengers a year with a fleet of 1,700 vehicles.
By contrast, Amtrak carried 31.3 million in fiscal year 2016. Figures are not yet available systemwide for FY 2017.
FlixBus did not say when it would begin service or what routes it would serve.
Tags:Amtrak, bus service, FlixBus, Greyhound Bus Lines, Greyhound Lines, intercity bus service, Megabus
PennDot Might Sponsor Buses Before Amtrak Service Expands from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh
As the Pennsylvania Senate considers approving legislation designed to increase Amtrak service to Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is eyeing sponsoring bus service until Amtrak service can be expanded.
The state funds the Pittsburgh-New York Pennsylvanian and is considering funding additional Amtrak service between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The Senate Transportation Committee recent voted unanimously in favor of a nine-month review study into adding two more passenger trains between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. The full Senate is expected to vote on the study proposal by the end of June.
The study would be conducted within nine months by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.
The resolution also calls for looking at the prospect of adding service between Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
A number of steps would need to be taken before the service could become a reality, including making improvements to the Norfolk Southern tracks that the trains would use and negotiating agreements with Amtrak and NS. The route to be used is a busy NS freight line.
Western Pennsylvania interests have long noted that since 2000, the state has invested $400 million to increase passenger service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia from six trains to 14.
PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick said the agency welcomes the review of what it would take to increase passenger service but that earlier studies have shown it would cost $3.75 million to $6 million to add one more passenger train, plus capital improvements estimated at $100 million in 2005.
Kirkpatrick said that in other regions of the country bus service has been paired with Amtrak service.
He said a dedicated bus could connect western Pennsylvania cities with Amtrak's Keystone Service in Harrisburg to New York and Philadelphia.
Tags:Amtrak, Amtrak eastern corridor trains, Amtrak in Pittsburgh, Amtrak Keystone Service, Amtrak Thruway buses, Amtrak trains, Amtrak's Pennsylvanian, bus service, Norfolk Southern, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsylvanian, Pittsburgh, western Pennsylvania
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