National transportation study highlights growth of megabus.com, bus industry

NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Megabus.com, the city-to-city express bus company serving 120 cities across North America, is showcased in the annual review of America's transportation industry, released today by Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development of DePaul University.

The seventh annual study, to be presented at the American Bus Association meeting in St. Louis on Tuesday, January 13, is entitled "Adding on Amenities, Broadening the Base / 2014 Year-in-Review: Intercity Bus Service in the United States." The full study is available at http://bit.ly/1y3SC9b on the DePaul University website.

"More and more, Americans are turning to city-to-city express bus for travel," said Joseph P. Schwieterman, Professor, School of Public Service and Director of Chaddick Institute. "2014 was a really good year for megabus.com, which is showcased in the report due to its new services and Reserved Seating offering. Also, travelers are looking to save money and avoid the stress of flying and driving," Schwieterman added.

"Megabus.com is the increasingly popular choice of more than 40 million travelers seeking affordable, safe and reliable travel options, and today we're pleased to be recognized again in Chaddick Institute's annual study," said Dale Moser, Chief Executive Officer of megabus.com. "As Americans travelers continue to look for ways to stretch their dollar, we look forward to providing them with big value; that's why ridership on buses it gaining ground compared to on planes, trains and cars."

Highlights of the study include:

• During 2014, city-to-city express bus service providers added more than 100 new daily services across the Unites States, resulting in a 2.1 percent increase in daily scheduled operations. While bus service grew, Amtrak train miles held constant, and the number of airline flights diminished by 3.5 percent.
• In the midst of another wave of expansion, intercity bus retains its status as America's fastest growing intercity travel mode. Megabus.com grew from 594 to 616 daily operations (departures) during 2014.
• Megabus.com reported, in October 2014, a 13.5 percent increase in ridership over the previous year.
• Megabus.com introduced Reserved Seating during 2014, and the study noted that Reserved Seating at a table gives work-oriented passengers traveling in groups the opportunity to conduct business meetings during the trip. Ten seats – of the total 81 seats on each double-decker bus – are available for Reserved Seating.
• Megabus.com added extensive new service in Florida, California as well as in New England, and continues to aggressively move towards building a national network of interconnected hubs that cater to both short- and longer-distance trips.
• City-to-city express bus service providers are attracting an ever-widening range of passengers through the introduction of sought-after amenities and services. Megabus.com is the first company in North American to offer customers state-of-the-art, green-certified double-decker buses with free Wi-Fi, electric outlets, restrooms and are wheelchair-accessible. As a result, bus travel is gaining loyalty among passengers who place a premium on comfort and convenience.
• Increasingly, business travelers who have tended to shy away from bus service in the past are now climbing onboard.
• Megabus.com has developed innovative new technologies to inform customers about service issues, such as delays due to weather or traffic congestion.

Megabus.com, a subsidiary of Coach USA, launched in April 2006 and is one of the largest city-to-city express bus service providers in North America. In addition to affordable fares, megabus.com offers customers state-of-the-art, green-certified double-decker buses with free Wi-Fi, restrooms and are wheelchair-accessible.
 
Visit www.megabus.com for additional information about the service, schedules, arrival and departure times and fares.

ABOUT MEGABUS.COM
Megabus.com, one of the largest privately funded providers of city-to-city express bus transportation, maintains the highest (Satisfactory) safety compliance rating with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Transportation Safety Exchange (TSX), an independent safety rating organization that provides safety ratings of more than 300,000 passenger and freight carriers, announced in January 2014 that all megabus.com carriers are TSX-approved. Megabus.com is the first carrier group to achieve TSX approval, demonstrating the most stringent safety standards in the industry.
 
Megabus.com operates service to/from more than 120 major cities in North America from 23 hubs in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Gainesville, Los Angeles, Memphis, Mobile, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, San Francisco, St. Louis, Texas Triangle (Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio), Washington, D.C. and Toronto – creating more than 1,000 new, professional jobs during the past eight years.
 
Since its launch on April 10, 2006, megabus.com has served more than 40 million customers.
 
Service for megabus.com operates daily. Fares shown are one-way and include all government taxes.
 
* Watch the video here for safety information.
 
Megabus.com is a subsidiary of Coach USA, one of the largest transportation companies in North America. Paramus, N.J.-based Coach USA owns and operates a family of 25 local companies in North America, some that have been in business for more than 75 years, which operate scheduled bus routes, motor coach tours, airport transportation services, charters and sightseeing tours. 
 
For the latest news and travel deals, follow megabus.com on Twitter at @megabus and Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/megabus.com.officialpage. 

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150112/168583
 

SOURCE Megabus.com

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