http://articles.philly.com/2013-08-07/business/41171232_1_megabus-boltbus-greyhound-express
By Theodore Schleifer, August 7, 2013
Megabus on JFK Boulevard. Greyhound has learned from discounters'
success: It now offers point-to-point, less-hassle, lower-price
services.
Intercity
bus service has steadily grown nationally and in Philadelphia over the
last five years, industry experts say, reversing a slow half-century
decline across the nation.
Discount city-to-city operators, such
as BoltBus and Megabus, came to Philadelphia in 2008 and have disrupted
the local market dominance of Greyhound Lines. Changes here mirror
trends across the nation, where the number of trips by discount carriers
rocketed 30.6 percent between 2011 and 2012.
Discount operators'
success has catapulted the bus industry forward. Bus traffic grew 7.5
percent between the end of 2011 and 2012, a drastic change from the
average decline of nearly 1.5 percent between 1960 and 1980 and nearly 3
percent between 1980 and 2006.
BoltBus'
and Megabus' growth in the area has been "astounding," said Joe
Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University in Chicago, who tracks
trends in the bus industry.
Both firms declined to release their ridership totals in Philadelphia, citing competitive reasons.
A
Megabus spokesman said that Philadelphia was one of the company's top
five markets and that Megabus growth in the area was roughly in line
with national trends.
BoltBus general manager David Hall said
Philadelphia was his company's top market; BoltBus enjoys 5 percent to
10 percent higher occupancy in this region than other markets it serves.
Between Megabus and BoltBus, 1.5 million travelers come in and out of Philadelphia each year, according to Hall.
"Discount
operators have a cool, high-tech image that people find attractive,"
Schwieterman said. BoltBus and Megabus passengers can book
point-to-point trips online, carry a ticket digitally on their phone,
and board a bus at a curb a block from 30th Street Station, rather than
at a terminal.
Also, it's relatively cheap. BoltBus fares from
Philadelphia to New York typically are $10 to $20. Megabus fares are
more variable: Tickets purchased far in advance or for buses that depart
at undesirable times can be as low as $1. Greyhound's prices for a
Philadelphia-to-New York trip be $12 to more than $20.
Customers
at the Megabus location near 30th Street said Monday that it was mainly
price that brought them to the discount operator.
"Price is all.
I'm not picky," said Brian Raczynski, 20, who takes Megabus to New York
about twice a month. "Megabus is good quality for me most of the time."
That
is not to say that traditional Greyhound service has suffered
appreciably. Greyhound, which owns BoltBus, has coped with the
competition from within by launching Greyhound Express, which markets
the point-to-point, low-hassle service of discount operators to its
wealthier and older clientele.
Many customers at the Greyhound
terminal at 10th and Filbert Streets said they either had not heard of
the discount operators or thought Greyhound was worth the price.
"You
want to try something cheaper, but when you go cheaper, it's not worth
it," said Carolyn Gillis, 45, of Darby Borough, who said she has been
riding Greyhound her entire life.
Greyhound similarly expanded to
meet a new demand when the so-called Chinatown buses were subjected to a
federal crackdown in June 2012. Between 1997 and 2007, Greyhound lost
60 percent of its market share in the Northeastern United States to
Chinatown buses, according to Brian Antolin, a Philadelphia
transportation researcher, who has worked for BoltBus.
Greyhound
seized the market for itself by launching the Asian-community based Yo!
bus service, explained Hall, the BoltBus GM. While BoltBus already had a
high occupancy rate in Philadelphia, Hall said, traditional Greyhound
service also benefited from the newly available customer base.
After
a half-dozen years of Chinatown buses' eating into Greyhound traffic,
Antolin said, specialty bus services are "how [Greyhound] has been able
to combat all the losses."
Schwieterman warned, however, that the recent industry changes still total increased competition for Greyhound.
"The
demise of the Chinatown carriers is benefiting traditional bus
carriers," he said, "but that may not be enough to offset the market
share lost."
A lady talks on the phone
while pushing a stroller across Colorado Blvd at Fair Oaks Ave. The U.S.
Department of Transportation said the number of pedestrian deaths has
been on the rise in the last two years.
