Mass transit that is privately run has been on a downward spiral for decades. In the 1970s, railroads gave up their passenger services to Amtrak. Privately owned bus systems, primarily Greyhound and Trailways, shrunk their systems, increased prices, and lost ridership.
In the 1990s, on the East Coast inter-city bus services grew because of "Chinatown buses," buses that ran between Chinatowns in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, DC, and to some extent Richmond.
The for profit carriers saw this and created new services, such as Bolt Bus and Megabus to provide service in high transit corridors like DC-Boston. Then some of the companies branched out, created multistate regional hub services such as out of Chicago.
There's been a bunch of private equity activity, I haven't kept up.
The last major switchover involved private equity selling off the real estate--terminals--leaving the riders and services to fend for themselves. This has been covered some by the media ("Regional and multi-state inter city bus transportation. Thanksgiving is a time of big travel.," 2023). Especially by the Philadephia Inquirer ("Philly’s failure to improve conditions for intercity bus riders is an equity issue," "It’s time for Philly to build a proper bus station. Here are six possible locations.").
From the second PI article:
That’s good to hear because Philadelphia, like many American cities, has long undervalued the importance of its intercity buses. While SEPTA, Amtrak, Philadelphia International Airport, and the area interstates all receive government funding, long-distance bus service is privately run and operates with virtually no public subsidies, even though it serves a much poorer population. I never ceased to be amazed at the extreme contrast between the dismal, bunker-like space at Greyhound’s rented Filbert Street terminal and Amtrak’s soaring waiting room at Gray 30th Street Station.
After the federal government deregulated the bus industry in 1982, some carriers stopped using the bus station and began picking up customers at sidewalk stops. The general lack of respect for this low-cost bus service may explain why the Streets Department thought it could dump Greyhound’s operation on Market Street with no amenities for travelers.
Carroll and Mondlak told me that the city now sees intercity buses as a crucial part of Philadelphia’s transportation network, as important as trains, planes and highways. Besides ensuring that residents have access to an affordable form of long-distance transportation, they believe that intercity bus service also supports Philadelphia’s vital hospitality industry.
Cities and states should step in to ensure there is adequate shelter-terminal service provided to riders, in part as a transportation demand management effort.
Joseph Schweiterman, a professor at DePaul's Chaddick Institute, is one of the only professors who focuses on intercity bus.
Like how many states are investing in passenger rail expansion, Colorado is probably the most active state in developing an inter-city bus network at the state scale. Bustang is the normal ineration, with winter service focused on skiing separately branded as Snowstand.
Because the US doesn't have a national transit plan, we don't have a plan for inter-city bus service.
National Greyhound map/ad, 1941
I argued a few years ago, when Greyhound was for sale, that Amtrak should buy it.
-- "Two train/regional transit ideas: Part 1 | Amtrak should acquire Greyhound," 1921
Granted these are services of last resort, and the federal government is so far from being able to work in a bipartisanship way to ensure national transit service (thank you Republicans), but as far as national transit planning and equity is concerned it seems the way to go.
Especially since Megabus, owned by Coach USA, and Coach USA declared bankruptcy ("'A great alternative’: Riders fret over the future of low-cost Megabus after bankruptcy," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), "sBus Carrier Coach USA Goes Bankrupt After Ridership Drops," Bloomberg). From the PPG:
The bankruptcy comes just two years after Megabus added 22 new destinations from Pittsburgh to Central Pennsylvania and southern New York through a partnership with Fullington Trailways, a motor coach carrier based in Clearfield.
The new service added routes to Indiana, Punxsutawney, State College and Bradford in Pennsylvania and Olean and Buffalo in New York, among other locations. The agreement also expanded Megabus service from Philadelphia (11 new cities), Harrisburg (9), State College (18) and New York City (14).
The low-cost bus service was a immediate hit with Pittsburghers when it arrived in the city in 2011. According to the Megabus website, a one-way ticket to New York City now costs $50, while a ticket across the state to Philadelphia is just $25. Reducing routes and facilities would bring less accessibility to riders, said Lexie Ditchkus, 27, of Scranton.
Coach USA is subdivided into 25 distinct businesses, and has entered purchase agreements with affiliates of The Renco Group, Inc. and AVALON Transportation, LLC for 16 of them, according to the company’s news release. The sales should “ensure uninterrupted passenger transportation,” according to court documents.
Megabus is in the process of being sold, but no company has officially pursued purchase agreements. It will operate on an “ordinary course” pending the court’s decision. If a transaction does not occur, routes may be limited, according to the court document.
It's not like we don't know how this story goes. Because of relatively short distances in Europe and less car ownership, private bus systems (which bought many of the companies in the US) are more economically viable.
Inter-city bus service should be combined with Amtrak, and a national transit system should be maintained and improved.
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