NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Move over Megabus, Peter Pan Bus Lines will be taking over the transit company’s Northeast Corridor and Mid-Atlantic routes, connecting New York City with service to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, White Marsh and Philadelphia beginning on Friday.
Coach USA, which owns Megabus, filed for bankruptcy in June citing low ridership. This led to what Peter Pan described in a Thursday statement as “a partnership” between itself and Megabus. Now, the nearly-100-year-old bus company will operate these Megabus routes 24/7, adding to its offerings at Port Authority Bus Terminal.
“We’re modernizing our fleet, which is what our consumers want; they want a nice, clean, modern bus,” chairman and CEO of Peter Pan Peter Picknelly said in a recent interview. “We listen to our customers—where they want to go—and expand where it makes sense.”
To prepare for the influx in routes, Peter Pan has slashed costs by close to 40%, hired 75 new drivers and purchased 45 new buses. All Peter Pan modern buses have better-designed seats, video and Wi-Fi, and the company relaunched its app where passengers can book trips and earn points in its PERKs program.
“What people want in a bus company is really very simple,” Picknelly said. “They want a clean bus, a professional driver, and on-time friendly service.”
But on Friday, passengers were still waiting at the 34th Street stop in Midtown for the Megabus instead of the jumping on their new Peter Pan bus at Port Authority.
"Our agreement with Megabus is that they would be contacting all passengers via email with a link to rebook their Megabus ticket on Peter Pan Bus Lines," a Peter Pan spokesperson said in a statement to 1010 WINS/WCBS 880.
The company also recently announced a partnership with Trailways that integrated Peter Pan destinations with Trailways.com and Trailways.ca, and added many Trailways destinations to PeterPanBus.com, to provide passengers with a larger selection of routes and destinations.
Trailways announced Friday that it would be taking over some Megabus routes connecting NYC, including from Pittsburgh, Toronto and Montreal.