Megabus (North America)

Megabus

Van Hool TD925 coach at Penn Station in March 2009
Slogan	Low cost daily express bus service...stay connected
Parent	Coach USA/Coach Canada (some buses are owned by DATTCO)
Founded	2006
Headquarters	USA: 349 1 Street Elizabeth, NJ 07206 Canada: 791 Webber Ave Peterborough, ON K9J 8N3
Service area	United States Canada
Service type	Intercity coach service
Routes	30
Stops	See list below
Destinations	See list below
Hubs	Chicago Union Station New York Port Authority Philadelphia 30th Street Station Pittsburgh, PA Atlanta, GA Dallas, TX Toronto Coach Terminal Union Station (Washington, D.C.)
Fleet	MCI single-deck coaches Van Hool single- and double-deck coaches
Operator	Coach USA subsidiaries: Megabus USA LLC Megabus Northeast LLC Megabus Southeast LLC Megabus Southwest LLC Megabus West LLC All West Coachlines American Coach Lines of Atlanta Kerville Bus Company Lakefront Lines Olympia Trails Bus Company Pacific Coast Sightseeing Tours & Charters Non-Stagecoach companies: Academy Express LLC & Academy Lines LLC DATTCO, Inc
Chief executive	Linda Burtwistle
Website	us.megabus.com (USA) ca.megabus.com (Canada)

Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/Coach Canada and DATTCO (a non Stagecoach company, under contract) providing discount travel services since 2006, operating throughout the eastern, southern, midwestern, and western United States and in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Megabus is notable for using curbside bus stops instead of traditional stations, low fares starting at $1, and in recent years, operating a point-to-point network of routes with buses making few stops en route to their destination.

History

On April 10, 2006, Stagecoach introduced a no-frills service through its Coach USA subsidiary, using the Megabus brand that it had established in the United Kingdom. On March 22, 2006, Megabus started taking bookings for new routes in the United States (service began on April 10, 2006), with a network of services based in Chicago with daily routes to Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis, Ann Arbor, Columbus, Louisville, Toledo, Detroit, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and State College, Pennsylvania.

On August 8, 2007, Megabus introduced service to the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Tempe, Arizona, using Coach America as a contractor.^[1][2] In its first foray into California, ridership was sluggish and Megabus started to discontinue services from the Los Angeles hub in early 2008. Service to the Phoenix area was discontinued in January 2008, followed by services in San Diego and San Ysidro in March 2008. In May 2008, Megabus made the decision to shut down its Los Angeles hub and discontinue all related services, stating that "(I)n this case, the ridership trends aren't growing fast enough." The final day for services from Los Angeles was June 22, 2008.^[3] Megabus re-entered the market in 2012 after reacquiring some of the assets of Coach America, which had been part of Coach USA prior to a major divestiture in 2003.

While Megabus withdrew from California, it expanded in the Northeast in late May 2008, when Megabus began service from a hub in New York City, with service to Albany, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.. Further expansions included service to Syracuse, Rochester, Hartford, and Niagara Falls, Ontario (Niagara Falls and Hartford were later withdrawn). In Spring 2009, while Eastern Shuttle was under Coach USA ownership, runs were added to Megabus under the Eastern Shuttle name, after Coach USA purchased two Chinatown bus companies in late 2008 and early 2009, significantly increasing capacity. Later in 2009, the Megabus concept was expanded to Toronto and Montreal, and the Chinatown bus companies acquired by Coach USA were sold to independent interests. Megabus expanded deeper into Pennsylvania and the Southeast in 2009 and 2010.

Since 2010 Megabus has focused on transitioning from a traditional spoke-and-hub system, to a point-to-point network of routes with buses making few stops en route to their destination and operating only a few hubs.

Megabus returned to the West Coast on December 12, 2012 initially serving San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Reno, Riverside, and Los Angeles. On its west coast routes, Megabus operates almost exclusively from either commuter rail stations or transfer stations for local transit buses.

Service overview

A fraction of tickets (which must be purchased many weeks in advance) are priced at 1.00 USD or CAD, with an online booking fee of 1.50 USD or CAD per transaction (not per ticket). Megabus follows the yield management model, typically used by airlines, where the lowest fares are offered to those who book early (normally, only one or two seats are sold for 1.00 per schedule), so the less popular schedules tend to be less expensive. In order to keep costs down, Megabus has no waiting rooms and no bus terminals and picks up at curbside on public streets, or in parking lots. Stops may be outside railroad stations or transportation centers in major cities, or on college campuses or at shopping centers in other cities.^[4]

Tickets must be purchased in advance via the website or by telephone (in Canada, through the website only). Upon purchase, passengers are given a reservation number which they show the bus operator when they board. In the United States, tickets are not available from the bus operator. In Canada, owing to franchise regulations, tickets are sold at stops at a fixed price (generally higher than purchasing the ticket through the website).

Fleet

The Megabus fleet can be identified by the megabus.com name on the front and sides in yellow against a blue base, and the Megabus logo on the left side of the coach (facing forward) and rear of the bus. The DATTCO fleet used for Megabus service is also decaled with Megabus logos (but with a DATTCO logo instead of a Coach USA logo for Megabus buses owned and operated by DATTCO). Buses on the M25 Megabus route operate with regular Academy Bus livery.

Upon its introduction, Megabus service began with used MCI 102EL3 Renaissance coaches, often transferred from other Coach USA operations, with some services utilizing Chicago- and Milwaukee-based Coach USA buses. In 2007, Coach USA updated its Chicago-based Megabus fleet with new MCI J4500 single-deck and Van Hool TD925 double-deck motorcoaches.

In May 2008, Megabus expanded to the Northeast market, with a fleet of mostly brand-new MCI D4505 coaches, a number of new Van Hool TD925-double decker buses, and some buses purchased secondhand or transferred from the Chicago fleet. This expansion came as Megabus exited from the West Coast market.^[3] Further expansion in the Northeast came in the fall and winter of 2008-2009, when additional double-decker buses were delivered, resulting in much of the single-deck buses being transferred to sister operation Eastern Shuttle, pushing many of the EL3s to retirement. The fleet transferred to Eastern Shuttle was eventually returned to mainline Coach USA duty following divestiture a few months later.

All Megabus coaches branded as such in the United States are equipped with Wi-Fi and electrical outlets.

In accordance with ADA regulations, wheelchair-accessible service is available on all lines (although most service is operated with true-low-floor double-deck coaches). This can now be done online or by phone.

The Canadian Megabus fleet consists of 15 2009 TD925 buses and are operated by Trentway-Wagar.^[5] All of the Canada fleet is equipped with electrical outlets and Wi-Fi. The Canadian buses are pooled with the US fleet for NYC-Toronto or Philadelphia-Toronto runs, with drivers swapping at Buffalo to stay within their certified country. Note that on these runs the buses will typically only have WiFi service available in the home country for the bus being used; i.e. Canadian buses will turn off their WiFi at the US border and American buses will turn off WiFi upon entering Canada. This is to avoid incurring roaming charges from the cellular carriers that provide the internet service.

Hubs

Megabus routes as of January 2016.

Megabus service in the United States and Canada operates primarily as a hub-and-spoke model in the Midwest and as a network of point-to-point routes along the East and West Coasts. Northeastern service uses New York City and Washington, D.C. as hub cities. There are also hubs in Chicago and Atlanta, additional routes serving Florida and Texas, and a separate point-to-point network serving California and Nevada.

Atlanta hub

Megabus announced the creation of their first southeastern United States hub, in Atlanta, on October 25, 2011. In November 16, 2011, Megabus began operations out of its Atlanta hub, located at the Civic Center MARTA Station in Downtown Atlanta.^[6]

Initially, Megabus began service from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville, Montgomery, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Orlando, Memphis, Birmingham, Charlotte, Durham, Mobile, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. Megabus now also serves Athens and New Orleans. In addition, passengers are able to link to northeastern US Megabus service through Knoxville and Charlotte, and link to Midwestern Megabus services through Memphis and Nashville.

Megabus also has a bus line linking Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville together, started on March 14, 2012 ^[7]

Chicago hub

Megabus in the U.S. began operations on April 10, 2006 with routes between Chicago and Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and St. Louis, from a hub on the curb next to Chicago Union Station. (Megabus passengers are prohibited from waiting in the station unless they are using other companies' services.) Services also began between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. A service that was initially offered between Indianapolis and Columbus was later withdrawn due to low ridership, but has since been reinstated and currently operates.

On September 11, 2006, a stop in Toledo was added on the route operating between Chicago and Cleveland. Additional services were added on April 2, 2007: a stop in Ann Arbor along the Chicago-Detroit route for travel to and from Chicago, new service between Minneapolis and Milwaukee, an extension of the Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland route into Pittsburgh (since withdrawn on the Midwest network, but later re-entered on the Northeast network), an extension of the Chicago-St. Louis route into Kansas City, reactivation of the Chicago-Indianapolis-Columbus route, new service between Cincinnati and Columbus, and new service between Chicago and Louisville via Indianapolis (since withdrawn).

On March 13, 2008 a stop was added in Madison, Wisconsin on the twice daily Chicago-Minneapolis route. The Chicago-Minneapolis route operating via Milwaukee service gained a second daily bus. Also, Columbia, Missouri was added with one stop daily in each direction on the Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City route. On March 27, 2008, a new route was added, Chicago-Champaign-Memphis, offering 2 daily trips in each direction. In early 2010, Champaign/Memphis route was cut to one daily round-trip due to poor ridership, but the second round trip has since been restored.

Later in 2008, Megabus expanded service to Minneapolis to four daily departures, but also announced the cancellation of overnight schedules mid-week on routes to Ohio and Memphis. Early in 2009, these midweek overnight schedules were restored, only to be pulled again in summer 2009.

On May 4, 2010, a new route from Chicago to Des Moines via Iowa City began operating.

On August 17, 2011,^[8] Megabus started service to Omaha via Des Moines and Iowa City; twice-daily departures and arrivals from Omaha and an increase to four daily departures and arrivals from Des Moines and Iowa City.

On March 14, 2012, Megabus started service from Chicago to Nashville via Indianapolis and Louisville.^[9]

In June 2012 Megabus announced service from Chicago to Detroit via Grand Rapids and East Lansing beginning July 12.^[10]

On September 15, 2015, Megabus discontinued service in Columbia, Missouri and Kansas City.

On February 2, 2015, Megabus discontinued service from Columbus, Ohio to Cleveland. ^[11]

Dallas hub

On May 31, 2012, Megabus announced new service to be effective June 19, 2012, entering into a new hub in Grand Prairie, Texas to serve the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. From Dallas, passengers had options to travel to Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Little Rock, Memphis, Norman, Oklahoma City, Springfield, and St. Louis. Passengers also have the option to connect to other Megabus routes in Memphis, from Dallas; and to New Orleans, from Houston.^[12] On November 18, 2012, it was announced that customers would also be able to be served in Dallas downtown area as well as the Grand Prairie location. They received the necessary permissions in order to start on the following Monday.^[13] On April 4, 2013, service was discontinued for the Oklahoma state and Missouri state stops via Dallas.^[14] Dallas-to-St. Louis is now only accessible via routing through Memphis.

New York hub

Station at 9th Avenue in Manhattan

Dispatch desk at 34th Street in Manhattan

M21 traveling west on 23rd Street in Manhattan

On May 30, 2008 Megabus began East Coast operations with service to and from Atlantic City (operated by Academy Bus), Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, and Buffalo and Toronto. Service to Baltimore was added after negotiations over the usage of the White Marsh Park & Ride were concluded. On June 6, a once-daily service was added to Binghamton for travel to and from Buffalo and Toronto.

On all routes except for the Atlantic City route, Megabus competes directly with various discount bus operators, including Greyhound and Peter Pan's BoltBus service, Washington Deluxe, Vamoose Bus, other Chinatown bus lines, and the NeOn service offered by Greyhound Canada and Adirondack Trailways.

During fall 2008, the New York City-Washington, DC line was expanded to 14 northbound and 13 southbound trips, with all service now stopping in Baltimore. Additional departures were also added on Fridays and Sundays to and from Boston.

In December 2008, service to Binghamton, which had been operating only to Buffalo and Toronto, was dropped in favor of service to Syracuse, Rochester, and Niagara Falls (Ontario). A new route also began service to and from Albany. Both revised services offer four trips daily (up from two on the Toronto line), with a fifth Buffalo-Toronto express overnight trip also offered. All services were moved from the Royal York Hotel to the Toronto Coach terminal. Hartford was also added on the M22 route in December 2008, with service to Boston or New York available.

In spring 2009, following the purchase of two Chinatown bus operators (Eastern Shuttle^[15] and Today's Bus^[16]) in late 2008 and early 2009 and subsequent merger of their operations (with the Eastern brand retained), the M21 route expanded to hourly (or less) departures during the day, with the M23 route expanding to over 20 departures in each direction on weekdays, and over 15 departures in each direction on weekends. As a result, Megabus would briefly enter the Chinatown bus market in the Northeast, a market that it would exit in August 2009.

For summer 2009, the Philadelphia schedule was streamlined to provide 18 daily trips in each direction (evenly split between Megabus and Eastern, but eventually transferred to Megabus when Eastern was sold), and the M24 route saw its two AM departures from either end of the route combined into a single departure. In addition, service to Rochester was reduced to once daily in each direction. Layover time at Syracuse was increased from 20 minutes to 30 minutes to account for the rest stop that used to occur between Syracuse and Rochester.

For winter 2009, service to and from Hartford and to Niagara Falls, Ontario were dropped due to low ridership.

On May 4, 2010, a new route from New York to Pittsburgh via State College began operating; Pittsburgh had previously been served by a route to and from Chicago earlier.

In Spring 2010, Philadelphia was established as a second hub with originating buses to several additional destinations. In summer 2010, Providence to New York was added as an additional destination. On September 8, 2010, Service was stopped between Philadelphia and Atlantic City due to low ridership.

On December 15, 2010, Service was added to Hartford and Amherst due to public outcry in Greater Hartford.

Beginning August 1, 2012, the New York stop moved to 34th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues, across the street from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the 34th Street – Hudson Yards subway station.^[17]

Toronto hub

Similar to the Megabus model in the United States, in June 2008, Coach Canada began offering tickets from C$1 on their route between Toronto and Montreal, using the same yield management model.^[18] As of summer 2009, this route has been converted to a Megabus route as marketed on the Coach Canada website, with double-deckers branded for Megabus replacing single-deck Coach Canada buses on the route, except for over-booked trips in which case the Toronto-to-Kingston leg of the trip reverts to a single-deck Coach Canada bus and the Megabus does not stop in Kingston en route to Montreal. Like services in the United States, Wi-Fi is available on the Toronto-Montreal service. Unlike services in the USA, however, all service is normally accessible for those with mobility impairments; a 48-hour reservation in advance is still required because the number of seats per trip is affected.

Pittsburgh hub

On March 29, 2011, Megabus announced the Pittsburgh hub, operating service out of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center underpass. Megabus routes from Pittsburgh included Pittsburgh-State College-NYC, Pittsburgh-Washington, Pittsburgh-Harrisburg-Philadelphia-Camden, Pittsburgh-Erie-Buffalo-Toronto, Pittsburgh-Columbus-Cincinnati, Pittsburgh-Akron-Cleveland (a restoration of an earlier cut), and Pittsburgh-Toledo-Detroit. Megabus had also announced a route between Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor later, starting March 14, 2012.

On March 13, 2012, Megabus removed under-performing services from Pittsburgh, including Pittsburgh-Erie-Buffalo-Toronto and Pittsburgh-Columbus-Cincinnati and Pittsburgh-Akron, leaving Pittsburgh-State College-NYC, Pittsburgh-Washington, Pittsburgh-Harrisburg-Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh-Cleveland -Toledo-Detroit-Ann Arbor as their remaining services. On May 6, 2014, Megabus also ended the Pittsburgh-Ann Arbor route due to poor ridership, leaving Pittsburgh customers with no direct connection to points west of the city.^[19]

Philadelphia hub

Starting July 21, 2010, Megabus began operating service out of a hub near 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Service operates to the Pennsylvania cities of Harrisburg, State College and Pittsburgh, as well as to Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Toronto, and Washington, D.C..^[20]

In 2013 Megabus added service to and from Newark, Delaware from Philadelphia en route to Washington, D.C.

Washington D.C. hub

Originally a destination from either New York or the Philadelphia hubs, Megabus began operating south of Washington D.C., using Washington as a new hub, on December 15, 2010. In November 2011, Megabus began operating from the bus deck above the top level of the Amtrak station at Washington's Union Station.^[21]

California/Nevada network

Megabus re-entered California on December 12, 2012, serving San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Reno, Riverside, and Los Angeles. Service runs on four routes (LA-San Jose-SF, LA-Oakland-SF, SF-Sacramento-Reno and LA-Riverside-Las Vegas).^[22] Unlike the East coast and Midwest networks, Megabus does not operate any hubs on the west coast with all buses operating on point-to-point routes. Megabus also operates almost exclusively from either commuter rail stations or transfer stations for local transit buses. In Los Angeles, the buses utilize Union Station's Patsaouras Transit Plaza. In San Jose, Megabus stops at the Diridon Station, which is served also by Caltrain, Amtrak and competing bus services, such as Greyhound, Greyhound-owned BoltBus and California Shuttle Bus. In Las Vegas, buses utilize RTC's South Strip Transfer Terminal.^[23] Since the service began, the Megabus routes between San Francisco and Southern California have been extended to serve more destinations. A stop in Burbank (serving Northern LA County) was added on August 15, 2013, and the route was extended down to Anaheim (serving Orange County) on December 6, 2014.^[24]

Routes

Operating services

Route	Terminal A	Serves	Terminal B	Notes and history
M1 M1A	Chicago, IL	Ann Arbor, MI (M1) Grand Rapids, MI (M1A)	Detroit, MI (M1) or East Lansing, MI (M1A)	Service began on April 10, 2006. Ann Arbor added on April 2, 2007. Grand Rapids added on July 12, 2012, as M1A. East Lansing added on July 12, 2012, as M1A. On July 22, 2015, route M1A was combined with route M1 eliminating express service between Chicago and Ann Arbor/Detroit, MI. All schedules now stop in Grand Rapids and East Lansing. Passengers cannot purchase tickets between Ann Arbor and Detroit. In early 2016, the Chicago-Detroit via Ann Arbor route M1 was restored, and the service to Grand Rapids and East Lansing no longer continues on to Ann Arbor or Detroit.
M3	Chicago, IL	Toledo, OH	Cleveland, OH	Service began on April 10, 2006. Toledo, OH added on September 11, 2006. Pittsburgh, PA added April 2, 2007; initially withdrawn on September 16, 2007 due to insufficient ridership. Restored on route M45 in 2011 before being withdrawn a second time.
M4 M4A	Chicago, IL	Milwaukee, WI (M4A) or Madison, WI (M4)	Minneapolis, MN	Service began on April 10, 2006. Minneapolis, MN added on April 2, 2007. Madison, WI added on March 13, 2008. Service is not available wholly within Wisconsin.
M5	Chicago, IL	Normal, IL	St Louis, MO	Service began on April 10, 2006. Kansas City, MO added on April 2, 2007 but withdrawn on September 15, 2015. Columbia added on March 13, 2008 but withdrawn on September 15, 2015 along with Kansas City. Columbia and Normal were not served on the same trip.
M6 M6A M6B	Chicago, IL	Indianapolis, IN	Columbus, OH (M6A or M6B) or Cincinnati, OH (M6A)	Service began on April 10, 2006. Overnight trips serve both terminals. Columbus, OH withdrawn June 4, 2006 due to low ridership. Reinstated on April 2, 2007. Louisville, Kentucky withdrawn September 16, 2007 due to low ridership.
M7	Chicago, IL	Champaign, IL	Memphis, TN	Service began on March 27, 2008.
M8 M8A	Chicago, IL	Iowa City, IA	Des Moines, IA (M8) or Omaha, NE (M8A)	Service began on May 4, 2010. Service with two of four continuing to Omaha, began August 17, 2011.
M9	Chicago, IL	Indianapolis, IN and Louisville, KY	Nashville, TN	Service began on March 14, 2012.[25]
M10	Los Angeles, CA	Riverside, CA	Las Vegas, NV	Service began on December 12, 2012. Service initially operated as M11 from August 7, 2007 until June 8, 2008 when it was withdrawn because of poor ridership.
M11	Anaheim, CA	Los Angeles, CA Burbank, CA Oakland, CA	San Francisco, CA	Service began on December 12, 2012. Stop in Burbank added on August 15, 2013. Route extended to Anaheim on December 6, 2014.[24] Service initially operated from August 7, 2007 until June 22, 2008 when it was withdrawn because of poor ridership.
M12	Anaheim, CA	Los Angeles, CA Burbank, CA San Jose, CA	San Francisco, CA	Service began on December 12, 2012. Stop in Burbank added on August 15, 2013. Route extended to Anaheim on December 6, 2014.[24] Service initially operated as M14 from August 7, 2007 until June 8, 2008 when it was withdrawn because of poor ridership.
M13	San Francisco, CA	Sacramento, CA Reno, NV	Sparks, NV	Service began on December 12, 2012.
M20	New York, NY	Providence, RI Fall River, MA Dartmouth, MA Fairhaven, MA	Hyannis, MA	Providence added in 2010. Providence is a standalone line. NY-Boston runs do not stop in Providence. Service extended to Hyannis during the summer season only. Service runs only between Fairhaven/Providence and New York all other times.
M21	New York, NY	Baltimore, MD Philadelphia, PA (Early AM Only)	Washington, D.C.	Service began on May 30, 2008. Passengers are carried to and from New York City only. Early morning AM trip from New York are interlined with the M31 service. Customers traveling between Baltimore and Washington D.C. must use the M31. Early morning trips, operates via Philadelphia, to replace M23.
M22	New York, NY		Boston, MA	Operated by DATTCO under contract to Coach USA (using both Coach USA-owned and DATTCO-owned equipment). Service began on May 30, 2008. Hartford added December 4, 2008, but withdrawn on September 14, 2009.[26] NY-Boston runs do not stop in Providence. NY-Providence runs are designated as M20.
M23	New York, NY		Philadelphia, PA	Service began on May 30, 2008. Late Night, M21 (New York to Washington, DC via Baltimore), stops at Philadelphia.
M24 M26	New York, NY	Syracuse, NY Victor (Rochester), NY Buffalo, NY (downtown and airport)	Toronto, ON	Service began on May 30, 2008. Syracuse and Rochester local service began on December 4, 2008. Binghamton was added on June 6, 2008, but withdrawn on December 3, 2008 because of low ridership. Niagara Falls, Ontario was added on December 4, 2008, but withdrawn on June 28, 2009 due to low ridership.
M27	New York, NY	Ridgewood, NJ	Rensselaer (Albany), NY Saratoga Springs, NY	Service began on December 4, 2008. Passengers are carried to and from Albany-Rensselaer only. Saratoga Springs service began April 2, 2012.
M28	New York, NY	State College, PA	Pittsburgh, PA	Service began on May 4, 2010.[27]
M29	Pittsburgh, PA	Harrisburg, PA and State College, PA	Philadelphia, PA	Service began on July 21, 2010.[28] State College service merged with former M30 line (date unknown)
M31 M31A	Philadelphia, PA	Baltimore, MD Washington, D.C. Richmond, VA	Hampton, VA	M31A service operates to Newark, DE. Most trips terminate in Washington; selected trips do not serve Baltimore. Eight weekday round trips; two trips extended to Richmond/Hampton. Local passengers may be carried between Washington and Baltimore on the M31 line. Some trips are interlined with M21 trips.
M32	Philadelphia, PA	Secaucus, NJ	Boston, MA	One daily round trip.
M34	Philadelphia, PA	Syracuse, NY Buffalo, NY (downtown and airport)	Toronto, ON	Two round trips, only one of which served the Buffalo Niagara Airport. Withdrawn (date unknown); replaced by M44 route from Washington.
M35	New York, NY	Hartford, CT Amherst, MA Burlington, VT	Montpelier, VT	Service between New York and Amherst began on December 15, 2010; extended to Burlington and Montpelier in 2014.[29]
M36	Pittsburgh, PA	Morgantown, WV	Washington, D.C.	Service began on December 15, 2010 [30] Frederick service added May 11, 2011; subsequently withrdrawn Morgantown service added on January 12, 2012 [31]
M37	Washington, D.C.	Richmond, VA Durham, NC	Charlotte, NC	Service started December 15, 2010 [30]
M38	Washington, D.C.	Christiansburg, VA	Knoxville, TN	Service started December 15, 2010 [32]
M42	Washington, D.C.	Baltimore, MD Secaucus, NJ Philadelphia, PA	Boston, MA	Two daily round-trips. Service started December 15, 2010 [30]
M44	Washington, D.C.	Baltimore, MD Philadelphia, PA Buffalo, NY	Toronto, ON	One daily round-trip. Service started December 15, 2010 [30]
M51	Boston, MA	Hartford, CT	New Haven, CT	Service began August 17, 2011.
M52	Newton, MA		New York, NY	Service began March 24, 2016. This route is a standalone service and does not serve Boston.
M53	Boston, MA	Burlington, VT	Montpelier, VT	Service began August 17, 2011 between Boston and Burlington; extended to Montpelier in 2014.
M54	Burlington, VT	Saratoga Springs, NY	New York, NY
M56	Fairhaven, MA	Dartmouth, MA Newport, RI Kingston, RI (Univ. of Rhode Island) New Haven, CT	New York, NY	Service began in 2015. Operates Fridays and Sundays only.
M71	Dallas, TX		Houston, TX	Service began June 19, 2012 [33]
M72	Dallas, TX	Austin, TX	San Antonio, TX	Service began June 19, 2012 [33]
M74	New Orleans, LA	Baton Rouge, LA	Houston, TX	Service began June 19, 2012 [33] Baton Rouge service added September 9, 2013 [34]
M76	Dallas, TX	Little Rock, AR	Memphis, TN	Service began June 19, 2012 [33]
M91	Atlanta, GA	Chattanooga, TN	Knoxville, TN	Service began November 16, 2011 [35]
M92	Atlanta, GA	Chattanooga, TN	Nashville, TN	Service began November 16, 2011 [35]
M93	Atlanta, GA	Birmingham, AL	Memphis, TN	Service began November 16, 2011 [35]
M94	Atlanta, GA	Montgomery, AL	Mobile, AL New Orleans, LA	Service began November 16, 2011 [35] Service extends to New Orleans on April 2, 2012
M95	Atlanta, GA		Charlotte, NC	Service began November 16, 2011 [35]
M96	Atlanta, GA	Jacksonville, FL or Gainesville, FL	Orlando, FL	Service began November 16, 2011 [35]
M97	Atlanta, GA	Athens, GA Columbia, SC Fayetteville, NC	Durham, NC	Service began February 18, 2014[36]
M98	New Orleans, LA	Jackson, MS or Oxford, MS	Memphis, TN	Service began December 17, 2013[37]
TOR- MTL	Toronto, ON	Kingston, ON	Montreal, QC	Various pickup points within the Greater Toronto Area and on the Island of Montreal only for travel to Kingston and beyond.

Discontinued services

Route	Terminal A	Served	Terminal B	Begun	Withdrawn	Notes
M10	Los Angeles, CA	Phoenix, AZ	Tempe, AZ	August 7, 2007	January 7, 2008	Withdrawn because of poor ridership.[3]
M15	Los Angeles, CA		San Diego, CA	August 7, 2007	March 2008	Withdrawn because of poor ridership.[3]
M33	Philadelphia, PA		Atlantic City, NJ	July 21, 2010	September 8, 2010	Withdrawn because of poor ridership.
M45	Pittsburgh, PA		Akron, OH	May 11, 2011	March 13, 2012	Withdrawn because of poor ridership.
M46	Pittsburgh, PA	Cleveland, OH Toledo, OH Detroit, MI	Ann Arbor, MI	May 11, 2011	May 6, 2014	Withdrawn because of poor ridership.[19]
M47	Pittsburgh, PA	Columbus, OH	Cincinnati, OH	May 11, 2011	March 13, 2012	Withdrawn because of poor ridership.
M64	Pittsburgh, PA	Erie, PA Buffalo, NY	Toronto, ON	May 11, 2011	March 13, 2012	Withdrawn because of poor ridership.

Megabus stop locations

City	Route	Stop location(s)
Midwest network
Ann Arbor	M1	University of Michigan State St. Commuter Lot
Champaign	M7	Illinois Terminal
Chicago	M1-M4, M5-M8	Union Station
Cincinnati	M6, M47	Gest Street, Queensgate.	Univ of Cincinnati
Cleveland	M3	Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center
Columbia	M5	Columbia Transit Wabash Station
Columbus	M6, M47	W Hickory St and N Ludlow St	Ohio State University Ohio Union
Des Moines	M8	Center St Park & Ride at 830 6th Ave
Detroit	M1	Rosa Parks Transit Center	Wayne State University
East Lansing	M1	East Lansing Amtrak Station	Michigan State University
Grand Rapids	M1	Grand Rapids Amtrak Station
Indianapolis	M6	Indianapolis City-County Building
Iowa City	M8	Dubuque St and Court St
Kansas City, MO	M5	3rd & Grand Metro Center Park & Ride
Madison	M4	University of Wisconsin–Madison Memorial Union	Dutch Mill park-ride (West Beltline Highway, Exit 266)
Memphis	M7	MATA North End Terminal
Milwaukee	M4	Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Minneapolis	M4	318 3rd Avenue North (near Target Field)
Normal	M5	Bloomington-Normal train station
Omaha	M8A	Crossroads Mall (next to parking deck at N 72nd St between Dodge and Cass Sts)
St. Louis	M5	St. Louis Union Station
St. Paul	M4	240 East Kellogg Blvd. (St. Paul Union Depot)
Toledo	M3	University of Toledo, South Entrance, Transit Center Building
Northeast network
Atlantic City	M25	Atlantic City Hilton Tropicana Trump Plaza Caesars Claridge Resorts Taj Mahal Showboat
Baltimore	M21, M31	White Marsh Mall
Boston	M22, M32, M51	South Station
Buffalo	M24, M34, M64	Buffalo Metropolitan Transportation Center, Gate 13
Burlington	M53, M54	Royall Tyler Theater, University of Vermont, 116 University Place
Camden	M29, M30	ABC Bus Yard, 194 Admiral Wilson Blvd
Cheektowaga	M24	Buffalo Niagara International Airport International Arrivals
Christiansburg	M38	I-81 Exit 118 Falling Branch Park and Ride Lot
Erie	M64	Presque Isle Downs & Casino
Harrisburg, PA	M29, M30	Harrisburg Mall
Hartford	New Route	Columbus Blvd & Morgan St
New York City	M21-M28	Megabus service: W 34th St. between 11th and 12th Ave. (departures) 7th Ave & W 28th St (arrivals)	Academy Bus service: Port Authority Bus Terminal, Gate 1
Philadelphia	M21, M23, M29-M32, M34	30th Street Station	6th and Market Sts (M23 only)
Pittsburgh	M28, M29, M36, M45-M47, M64	David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Providence	M22	Fountain St at City Hall Park (two blocks from the Kennedy Transportation Center)
Portland, ME	New Route	Portland Transportation Center
Rensselaer (Albany)	M27	Albany-Rensselaer train station
Ridgewood	M27	Route 17 park-ride (near Racetrack Rd exit)
Rochester	M24	Pitkin St. between E Broad St. and Savannah St.
State College	M28, M30	Wal-Mart, 1665 N Atherton St
Syracuse	M24, M34	William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center
Toronto	M24, M34	Toronto Coach Terminal
Washington, D.C.	M21, M31, M38	Union Station, top level above Amtrak.
Toronto-Montreal service
Toronto	TOR-MON	Toronto Coach Terminal, Bay St & Dundas St	Scarborough Town Centre
Whitby	TOR-MON	Whitby GO Station
Kingston	TOR-MON	Kingston Bus Terminal
Brockville	TOR-MON	Stewart Blvd & Jefferson Dr
Cornwall	TOR-MON	Irving 24 Service Centre, 3250 Brookdale Ave
Kirkland- West Island	TOR-MON	Dépanneur Beausoir, 2875 St. Charles Blvd
Montreal	TOR-MON	South side of Le 1000 de La Gauchetière building.
California/Nevada network
Anaheim, CA	M11, M12	Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) Bus Bay #11, 2626 E Katella Avenue
Burbank, CA	M11, M12	Downtown Burbank Metrolink Station Bus Bay #2, 201 N. Front St
Las Vegas, NV	M10	RTC South Strip Transfer Terminal Bay 9, 6675 Gilespie St
Los Angeles, CA	M10, M11, M12	Los Angeles Union Station, Patsaouras Transit Plaza Bay 8
Reno, NV	M13	Silver Legacy Resort and Casino, W 5th St between N Sierra & N Virginia Sts
Riverside, CA	M10	Riverside-Downtown Station, 4066 Vine St
Sacramento, CA	M13	University / 65th Street Station, 6740 Q St
San Francisco, CA	M11, M12, M13	San Francisco Caltrain Station, Townsend St between 4th & 5th Sts
San Jose, CA	M12	Diridon Station, Crandall St between Cahill St and S Montgomery St
Sparks, NV	M13	RTC Centennial Plaza Bay A, 1421 Victorian Ave
Oakland, CA	M11	West Oakland BART Station, 1451 7th St

Incidents and accidents

Below is a list of notable incidents and accidents involving Megabus vehicles (not counting Megabus vehicles operated by DATTCO or Concord Coach Lines on services to and from Boston, and services on the M25, which are operated separately).

• On September 1, 2008, a Detroit-bound M1 coach was pulled over by Michigan State police after officers noticed the bus swaying and speeding outside Benton Township, Michigan. The bus's driver was arrested when he was found to have a blood alcohol level of .07, well above the .04 limit for commercial bus operators. It was the first drunk driving incident in Coach USA history. A replacement driver was brought in to bring the 30 passengers to their final destination.^[38]
• On September 11, 2010, around 2:30 a.m., a Toronto-bound M34 double-decker coach missed an exit to the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center in Syracuse, NY, and hit a railway overpass carrying the St. Lawrence Subdivision along NY Route 370 2 miles (3.2 km) farther away. Four passengers were killed, all in the front of the upper deck, which was crushed into the lower deck in the crash, and 17 others were injured.^[39][40][41]
• On August 2, 2012, a St. Louis-bound M5 service Megabus coach with 64 passengers slammed into a concrete bridge pillar on Interstate 55 near Litchfield, Illinois. At least one passenger was killed.^[42]

According to federal records, since August 2007, Chicago hub drivers have been cited 54 times by police: 21 times for not maintaining driver logs, 20 times for speeding, three times for following too closely, 2 times for improper lane changes, and 2 for windshield violations. There were 6 other violations of local laws.^[43] Also, New York hub drivers have been cited 29 times by police: 14 times for speeding, five times for not maintaining driver logs, two times for failing to obey a traffic control device, two times for defects (windshield cracked and other), and 1 time for falsifying a log book. There were 5 other violations of local laws.^[43] There have been four other accidents involving Megabus vehicles.^[43]

The safety of curbside bus services came under scrutiny after a 2011 crash in New York of a chartered bus caused 14 fatalities.^[44] The National Transportation Safety Board conducted a six-month study and found that while bus travel was considerably safer than by car, curbside buses had seven times the fatality rates of traditional bus lines.^[45][46]

See also

• Chinatown bus lines
• BusJunction - a now defunct ticket search engine that included Megabus tickets

References

1. George Raine (2007-08-02). "Bargain bus company riding into Bay Area next week". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
2. Kerry Fehr-Snyder (August 2, 2007). "Phoenix-LA bus service for as low as $1.50". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
3. Chang, Andrea (2008), "Megabus to halt service in L.A.", Los Angeles Times (2008-05-17), pp. C3, archived from the original on May 21, 2008, retrieved 2008-05-18
4. "Buying tickets". Megabus.com. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
5. Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board thread (must be logged in to view), cptdb.ca, retrieved on 2009-08-18
6. "Megabus to open Atlanta Hub". Atlanta Business Chronicle. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
7. "Megabus.Com Expands Service In Tennessee". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
8. "Megabus.com expands service to Omaha". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
9. "Megabus.com $1, Daily, Express Bus Service Returns to Louisville". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
10. "All aboard: Megabus unveils start date, ticket sales for new Michigan route". mlive.com. 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
11. http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2016/02/megabus_eliminates_service_bet_1.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
12. "Megabus.com expands service to/from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and five cities". Megabus.com. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
13. "Megabus resumes service to Dallas | wfaa.com Dallas-Fort Worth". Wfaa.com. 2012-11-18. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
14. "Oklahoma business briefs for April 2, 2013 | NewsOK.com". M.newsok.com. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
15. "Coach USA acquires Eastern Travel & Tour". justia.com. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
16. Novikoff, Josh (2009-02-17). "Today's Bus Now Part of Eastern Coach/Coach USA". DCist.com. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
17. "New York City Departure Stop Change". Retrieved 17 July 2012.
18. "Coach Canada begins offering $1 fares from Toronto to Montreal". CityNews.ca. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
19. "Megabus cancels route from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, Detroit". Pittsburgh Business Times. April 18, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
20. "Megabus.com Expands Philadelphia Service to and From Nine Northeast Cities". Press release. Pennsylvania: PRNewsWire.com. June 10. Retrieved 2012-02-10. Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. "Bus Stops". megabus.com. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
22. Lindsay William-Ross (2012-11-28). "$1 Express Bus Service From L.A. To Bay Area and Vegas is Back!". LAist. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
23. VEGAS INC staff. "Megabus returning with trips between Las Vegas and L.A.". VegasInc.com. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
24. Forgione, Mary (November 19, 2014). "Megabus to begin Anaheim–San Francisco service in December". Los Angeles Times.
25. "Megabus.Com Expands Service To/From Nashville". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
26. "New York to Boston is now express!". Facebook. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
27. "Megabus.com Expands Service in Midwest and Northeast". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
28. "Megabus.com Expands Philadelphia Service to and from Nine Northeast Cities". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
29. "Megabus.com Expands New York Service". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
30. "Megabus Expands Washington DC Service to and from 11 Cities". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
31. "Megabus.Com Expands Service To Morgantown". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
32. "Megabus.com Expands Washington D.C. Service to Christiansburg/Blacksburg/Roanoke". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
33. Archived August 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
34. "Megabus.com adds three daily arrivals/departures to/from Baton Rouge". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
35. "Megabus.com expands service to/from Atlanta and 11 cities". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
36. "Megabus.com expands service to/from South Carolina". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
37. "Megabus.com expands service to/from Mississippi". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
38. "MegaBus driver arrested on DUI charges in Southwest Mich.". The Michigan Daily. 2008-09-03. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
39. "4 passengers in Megabus crash file lawsuits - NewsChannel 9 WSYR". 9wsyr.com. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
40. Nicholas Lisi / The Post-Standard. "Megabus passengers awake to crash, blood and cries for help". syracuse.com. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
41. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) http://web.archive.org/web/20110428121932/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/canadians-not-among-4-killed-in-megabus-crash/article1703804/. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
42. "1 dead, 3 dozen injured after Megabus slams into concrete pillar on I-55". KMOV kmov.com. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
43. "SMS - Safety Measurement System". Ai.fmcsa.dot.gov. 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
44. "Carnage on I-95 After Crash Rips Bus Apart", New York Times, March 12, 2011
45. "High Fatality Rate Found for Low-Cost Buses," New York Times, October 31, 2011
46. "National Transportation Safety Board: Report on Curbside Motorcoach Safety". JournalistsResource.org, retrieved February 2, 2012

Further reading

• Bowen, Alison, "Boltbus, Megabus and Fung-Wah: Curbside buses more dangerous: Buses that pick up passengers off the street are more dangerous than those that use a terminal, a new report found", Metro newspaper, New York City, October 31, 2011

External links

• Megabus.com (USA)
• Megabus.com (Canada)