… for passenger travel might want to avoid the latest TIME magazine. It documents the flourishing private business of bus travel.
As millions of americans begin their annual migration home for the holidays, there’s one group that will escape the indignities of airports and the soaring cost of gas: budget-minded, tech-crazed, urban-dwelling young people. They will make Thanksgiving one of the busiest days of the year for Megabus and BoltBus. Living in cities with heavy traffic and limited transportation alternatives beyond cars, 20- and 30-something riders have emerged as the core constituency for this new breed of curbside buses, which are becoming the JetBlue of U.S. highways—fun, cheap and efficient. …
… Even more than high-tech amenities, cost is driving the bus business: prices of gas and train and air travel are near record highs. Drivers pay $25 to $50 in fuel costs to drive from New York City to Washington, D.C. The same trip averages $19 on Bolt and $22 on Megabus. Like JetBlue, curbside-bus companies have cut costs by drastically reducing rent and labor expenses, eschewing bus terminals for city-center curbside pickup. The strategy seems to be working: while traditional bus companies are still growing, curbside companies are booming. Megabus’ North American division doubled its revenue over the past two years to more than $160 million and reported an operating profit of $6.3 million this fiscal year.
And none of this required a government central planner.
