to the addition of overhead storage space and seats within the driver’ s view, which adds to personal safety. The outsized presence of these“ big three” has also reshaped New York – Philadelphia( NY – PHL) travel. Peter Pan grew sharply after Megabus’ s withdrawal, giving it roughly as many trips as Greyhound. This puts it behind only Flixbus, which also rapidly expanded. The route has six providers with three-plus daily departures in each direction, totaling around 58 daily trips, despite Philadelphia’ s continuing struggle after closing its Greyhound Station in 2023. That closure pushed arrivals and departures to curbside stops, most recently to locations outside downtown near the Spring Market transit station. Opposition from Chinatown businesses has dimmed hopes of returning to Philadelphia’ s old station, which some proposed, and a search for a solution continues. A more favorable development is Peter Pan’ s success in attracting many passengers at the former Megabus curbside stop near William Gray 30th St. Station. Plus, it and Greyhound recently opened a modest( and perhaps temporary) storefront station with ticket windows and seating near their Spring Market stops.
Riding Amtrak for Less Amtrak’ s more aggressive pricing creates new worries. Gone are the days when customers booking only a few days in advance could only find train fares of $ 120 or more on the NY – DC route, for example. Although Amtrak’ s steeply discounted options are confined to conventional trains rather than the highspeed Acela and are usually limited to departures outside rush hour, bargain-hunters can often find fares of around $ 45 a week out. The modest additional cost of taking the train when booking only a few days ahead is a premium many are willing to pay,” notes Antolin. While flourishing in other parts of the country, premium bus services are absent on most of the largest Northeast routes, mainly due to competition from Amtrak. The Jet, boasting onboard attendants and 1 × 1 seats, had a twice-daily luxury service between Hudson Yards and Washington but dropped it in February. The service cancellation was a surprise because The Jet had branched out last year by introducing the seasonal Hamptons Streamliner, an ultrapremium service linking Manhattan to Long Island resorts. Customers wanting more than a conventional NY – DC bus trip can turn to BestBus Prime, Tripper Bus Elite, and Vamoose Gold, each with 2 × 1 seats. However, while popular, these services run only once or twice daily and lack the spacious seating and onboard beverage and meal service standard on The Jet and Vonlane’ s Texas and Tennessee services.
Optimism for Bus Travel The flurry of activity underway creates optimism about the nearterm outlook for intercity bus travel. Bus lines enjoy success at niche stops. Greyhound and other lines have significantly pushed to improve on-time performance, with apparent success. Another factor is that Amtrak faces significant capacity constraints nationwide, a problem worsened by corrosion that has recently sidelined its aging Horizon car fleet. Customers can more easily change their reservations if their plans change than those on other modes.“ Making last-minute changes is extremely important to younger travelers,” notes Zaria Bonds, who co-authored the DePaul study. Less appreciated is that buses on express schedules are often as fast as( or faster than) train service on routes without high- or higherspeed offerings, such as the Acela Corridor, our review shows. The time advantage has grown on the New York – Montreal, QC, market, where temporarily lengthened schedules( and multiple service cancellations) on Amtrak’ s Adirondack have resulted from various railrelated restrictions. This created openings for Trailways of New York, FlixBus, and Greyhound, making the trip about three hours faster than the train and accumulating eight trips on busy days. These same lines see heavy New York – Toronto, ON, traffic, with service about an hour faster than the train.
Quieter Conditions on Smaller Routes There has been less to celebrate on smaller routes throughout the Northeast lately. Still, several recent service enhancements stand out.
• Fullington Trailways launched service on the ex-Megabus route from New York to Pittsburgh, PA, last year. It worked with Coach USA to create a service via State College, PA, home of Penn State University. A competitor, Flixbus, returned to this route earlier this year, serving it as part of a new long-distance route to Chicago. However, the sister company, Greyhound, remains dominant, typically making six trips daily.
• FlixBus launched the New York – Allentown service, a route heavily served by Trans-Bridge Lines. The route was extended to Philadelphia; Washington, DC; and Richmond, VA.
• State bus lines have been busy closing gaps between smaller cities. The state-operated Virginia Breeze Bus Lines is set to launch its fifth route this summer. The new Tidewater Current will connect Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach with stops in Norfolk, Newport News, Williamsburg, Richmond, and Charlottesville.
• Massachusetts also recently added more intrastate service to Cape Cod, Pittsfield, and other areas separated from major commercial corridors. The momentum generated in the Northeast and around the country underscores our projection that intercity bus traffic will grow by 4 percent this year, outpacing air and auto growth. Increasing concerns about transportation equity are fueling federal and state interest in intercity buses. According to Szyperski,“ Long-distance buses, long overlooked, are finally earning a place at the table in many governmental planning efforts.”
Joseph P. Schwieterman, Ph. D. is director of DePaul University’ s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development and author of 2025 Outlook for the Intercity Bus Industry, available here. Readers can subscribe for his free Intercity Bus E-News newsletter at chaddick @ depaul. edu
BUSRIDE. COM | 19