I tried Vonlane, a luxury bus service operating between major Texas cities for $109 one way, and it was one of the most relaxing coach rides I've been on

I tried 2 luxury bus services in New York City and Texas and saw how they're revamping the intercity motorcoach industry

It used to be that you saw a stretch limousine and excitedly wondered who was inside — maybe a corporate executive or a celebrity or some other classy, mysterious type. Now, you see a limo, and you know it's not anyone fancy. Come to think of it … when was the last time you saw a limo at all?Culturally, limousines have gone from "oooh" to "ick," and they're dying out accordingly.They've fallen out of favor. Maybe the occasional bachelorette party or a handful of promgoers opt for them, but their options are limited because limo companies have shrunk their fleets of actual stretch limos. For-hire transportation businesses would rather sell them on an SUV or a party bus, where passengers don't have to awkwardly crawl around in their formalwear."None of us really own limos anymore. We're in the black-car business. We're in the van business. We're in the bus business. We're in the motor-coach business. We could be in the trolley business," said Joe Reinhardt, the owner and CEO of Carolina Limousine &amp; Coach, which operates out of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. He's expanding his business' offering to buses and motor coaches and changing its name to CLC Worldwide to get the "limousine" out of it. It still lets him tell the origin story, while avoiding sounding like a "gaudy limousine company." <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper pullquote-breakout"> <q class="pullquote-quotation">Limousines have gone from 'oooh' to 'ick,' and they're dying out accordingly.</q> </blockquote> The limo industry isn't dead; it's just leaving the classic black stretch version of itself behind."It's really chauffeured transportation these days," said Brett Barenholtz, the president of the industry trade group National Limousine Association who also runs multiple transportation companies out of Maine and Boston. "The vehicles can change. We're just selling a premium service, and people want a premium service."<hr />In the popular imagination, the limo invokes a certain image — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/revisiting-the-fashions-of-wall-street-2010-4">Michael Douglas in "Wall Street,"</a> Richard Gere in "Pretty Woman," or throngs of teens piling into one of them before a school dance. None of that is, you know, up to date or modern. The heyday of the limo is firmly in the past.A constellation of factors contributed to the limo's demise. Consumers have moved on — to a lot of people, a 30-foot-long car seems gauche and tacky, not cool and classic. The industry has moved on, too. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/evolution-mercedes-benz-sprinter-van-2020-9">Mercedes-Benz Sprinter</a> (basically a nice, roomy van), an SUV, or a black sedan is much more versatile and, in turn, easier to make money off than an attention-grabbing car you roll out only for special events."Nobody rides in a limo anymore," Scott Michael, the CEO of the United Motorcoach Association, said. "They're riding in black cars, town cars. They're still called limo companies, but they don't use limos for the most part."On the passenger end of things, the 2008 financial crisis was an important factor in the limo's decline, said Robert Alexander, the CEO of RMA Worldwide, a chauffeured-transportation-service company based in Washington, DC. In an environment where the American public was hurting financially and very angry with a lot of CEOs, it wasn't cute to be spotted hopping into an expensive limousine. It's better for high-paid business leaders to travel in a more muted fashion — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-salary-gap-worker-salaries-labor-finance-economy-hock-tan-2024-6">even if they're still making tons more money than their workers</a>."People didn't want to show their wealth," Alexander said. "That was kind of the beginning of the end."As went CEOs, so went everyone else, eventually — celebrities, brides and grooms, promgoers, funeral attendees. If Gen Z is allowed to take private transportation to a dance these days (which many aren't), they're likelier to opt for a party bus or some other nonlimo option, though a limo may still be on the menu, especially in smaller markets. The rise of "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quiet-luxury-explained-which-brands-will-benefit-2023-4">quiet luxury</a>" came to for-hire transportation as people toned down the visibility of their rides."The old joke was the only time people were using limos is when you're wed and when you're dead, as in a funeral and then a wedding, after corporations went away," Alexander said. "Prom season used to be a big part of a couple months of revenue, not anymore. Even funerals have changed."Some horrific, high-profile accidents also spooked some would-be limo bookers. In 2013, a limo fire in California killed five members of a bachelorette party. In 2018, a limo crash in New York killed 20 people.Prom and wedding seasons still exist, and some parties opt for traditional limos, but not to the same extent they used to. Barenholtz said more weddings use regular buses, the focus being just getting people from the ceremony to the reception. He also noted that some school districts no longer allow students to get to school events in limos or other private transportation. The taxi- and limousine-service industry is expected to bring in about $42.8 billion in revenue in 2024, according to IBISWorld. That number has been on the decline over the past few years because of the pandemic, and it's still recovering as business travel returns.Many in the industry have been fine to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/28/business/limo-service-decline.html">leave the traditional limousine behind</a>. A decade or two ago, a transportation company with 50 vehicles in its fleet would have multiple limos. Now, they may have a couple, because the vehicle is probably already paid off, doesn't have a lot of mileage on it, and sometimes still gets booked. Trade shows and expos for limousines and luxury transportation no longer have many, if any, actual classic stretch limos on their floors. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper pullquote-breakout"> <q class="pullquote-quotation">They weren't safe. They were a rough ride. They were tough to maintain.</q> </blockquote> New stretch limos are also hard to manufacture: Most are created by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-limos-are-made-limousine-luxury-stretch-2018-5">literally cutting a car in half</a>, which is then extended with steel and fiberglass and tossed all together. It's not exactly the safest approach — the structural integrity in the Franken-vehicles can be suspect. (It's also not the most comfortable for passengers — pumping air conditioning into the altered cars isn't easy and can translate to a sweaty experience.) Given these difficulties, fewer stretch limos are being manufactured. The last Hummer limo, for example, was made in 2010. Cadillac and Lincoln have suspended their safety testing on vehicles altered to be limos."It was almost arts and crafts the way that the vehicles were put together," Reinhardt said. "They weren't safe. They were a rough ride. They were tough to maintain."On the internet, in places like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, you can find plenty of used limos for sale. In the New York area, for example, the prices run the gamut — generally, they're priced between $5,000 and $20,000, but some are in the $40,000 to $50,000 range. Others are supercheap, and one was even advertised for free.Businesses in the sector have had to do some work to get customers on board with the transition from limo to party bus. As Chris Weiss, the president and publisher of Chauffeur Driven, a trade magazine focused on luxury ground transportation, put it, a "better mousetrap" was built with the Mercedes Sprinter, but that hasn't always been intuitive for consumers. As much as a limo doesn't scream "class" anymore, a van doesn't really, either."You get in the vehicle, and you don't have to crouch down; you're not crawling around. It's just more comfortable," Weiss said. "Until the consumer really understood, it was up to these companies to kind of say, 'Hey, well, we don't have limos. We have Sprinters.' And then once they got in them, they were like, 'Oh, yeah, this is much better.'"As consumers get wise to the more practical — and often more luxurious — options, businesses in the sector are rebranding themselves away from the limo image. So is the entire industry, to some extent."Everyone was ABC Limo, XYZ Limo forever, and then they started using the word 'transportation,' and then they started using the word 'worldwide' or 'global,' just kind of pulling the word 'limo' out of their name," Weiss said. "Even a lot of the associations that represent this space have morphed or are planning on morphing their name and getting the word 'limo' out of it." Even the National Limousine Association has considered a rebrand, though it notes people know it more as the NLA anyway."It's not a dead business. It's there," Barenholtz said. "Chauffeured transportation has evolved into shuttles and just high-end service."Reinhardt's Carolina Limousine &amp; Coach is moving more into motor coaches (think, like, a fancy-ish big bus). He's not so worried about the threat of ride-hailing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, to his more traditional business. He described them as "glorified hitchhiking," though he acknowledged they had changed client expectations in terms of things like wait times. Barenholtz conceded that sometimes the ride-hailing outfits could compete, but he compared them to a "box of chocolates," where you never know what you're going to get. Alexander's RMA has a large fleet of vehicles, from sedans to luxury vans to motor coaches. He said they keep a stretch limo around for nostalgia's sake more than anything.<hr />Nostalgia, indeed, is a hell of a drug. Usually, when something from the past is dying out, we have a tendency to feel a little bad about it. It's sad to see trends come and go, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trader-joes-mini-tote-bags-stanley-cups-tiktok-consumerism-marketing-2024-3">especially in an era when everything moves so quickly</a>. I remember my one stretch-limo experience fondly, from my high-school prom. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper pullquote-right"> <q class="pullquote-quotation">Even your rock stars are going to ride in an SUV. It's just what they want.</q> </blockquote> But the more I reported on this story, the more surprised I was at my sentiment about the limo's downfall, which amounted to … good riddance. Crouching down and scooching around an actual limo is a little miserable. There are plenty of better alternatives out there that the very same companies provide. The safety stuff is scary."You can reinforce it as best you can," Weiss said, "but they're just not as safe."When the marketplace gets rid of something — because businesses stop selling it, because consumers no longer want it, because it just starts to look bad to use it — sometimes it has a point. A CEO gallivanting around in his or her fancy stretch limousine is gross. Taking a more inconspicuous SUV doesn't solve the problem of income inequality, but at least it means the winners in the scenario are less flashy about it. Regular people can also book an SUV to take them to the airport, which will guarantee they get there on time but also have more space for luggage."Even your rock stars, if you will, are going to ride in an SUV. It's just what they want. They're easier to get in and out of," Alexander said. "They're safe. They can be fairly nondescript."Consumers who insist on renting a limo can find one, of course, and they can buy one, too. But if you'd rather take a party bus or an SUV, that's understandable — so would most everybody else.<hr /><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

The stretch limo is dead

If you were in college over the past 20 years or so, you might have some fond — and not so fond — memories of Megabus. The blue double-decker buses with power outlets that worked most of the time and WiFi that worked rarely have for years been an important, if imperfect, way for budget-conscious travelers to get from point A to point B. The trip wasn't always pretty — you often got plopped in front of an obnoxious phone talker or wound up traumatized by the bathroom — but in general, you got where you needed to go for a good price.But now, Megabus is in trouble. Its parent company, Coach USA, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.coachusa.com/news-and-media/coach-usa-initiates-voluntary-chapter-eleven">filed for bankruptcy</a> in June. Megabus is <a target="_blank" href="https://us.megabus.com/routechanges">handing over</a> its routes between cities in the Northeast to other operators and discontinuing some routes in the South altogether. If you take a look at Megabus' <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/megabus/with_replies">recent Twitter activity</a>, you'll notice the social-media manager's main job lately seems to be explaining to people that, yes, their trip may have been canceled, but no, the company has not gone out of business.Some of what's happened with Megabus has to do with macro factors outside its control. The pandemic was devastating for the already struggling intercity bus industry. The federal government didn't step in to try to shore up the sector like it did with, say, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airlines-coronavirus-bailout-senate-stock-buybacks-2020-3">the airlines</a>. But even before the global catastrophe, there was another particular factor that helped put Megabus on its current downward trajectory: private-equity ownership. Variant Equity Advisors, a Los Angeles-based PE fund, acquired Coach USA in 2019 for $271.4 million and, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-lobster-endless-shrimp-bankruptcy-private-equity-debt-real-estate-2024-5">as private equity is wont to do</a>, loaded the bus operator up with debt the company couldn't service once travel came to a halt."A private-equity firm buying bus carriers right before a global pandemic was not the best timing for them," Andrew Savikas, the CEO of Wanderu, a travel-search platform, said.<hr />It sounds kind of strange to describe a dirt-cheap bus operation this way, but the original idea behind Megabus was to make the service sort of hip. Stagecoach Group, a UK-based travel company, first launched Megabus in the UK in 2003 and then brought it to the US in 2006. It was an upgrade from the Chinatown buses, which also eschewed terminals and instead did curbside pickup as they shuttled from city to city but often offered a lower-quality experience. Megabus had what at the time were considered fancy amenities like outlets and online ticketing, and above all, it maintained a low price point. Both Megabus and its rival BoltBus, which Greyhound and Peter Pan launched in 2008, <a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/archive/6904383/beating-4-gas-with-a-1-bus/">would lure people in by advertising $1 tickets</a>. That number was largely a gimmick — only a handful of tickets on each bus were a buck — but in general, prices were pretty low."Megabus was the disruptor in the industry," John Stepovy, the director of partnerships for North America at Busbud, a bus-ticketing platform, said. "They were the first to really get away from bus terminals and really go curbside and really focus on students and online and just kind of being that cool brand." <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper pullquote-breakout"> <q class="pullquote-quotation">Megabus was the disruptor in the industry.</q> </blockquote> Millennials ate it up. High gas prices pushing up the price of air and car travel <a target="_blank" href="https://business.time.com/2012/11/15/reinventing-the-wheels-megabus-and-boltbus/">made bus travel a convenient, affordable alternative</a>, especially in the wake of the financial market that left many young people on their heels. Megabus' strategy of offering a slightly upgraded experience let it escape the dingy, sketchy reputation buses had. (Seriously, ask your friendly local millennial for a bus story, they probably have a good one.) Along with Greyhound, Megabus became one of the two mega-carriers in the United States.The bus market started to weaken in the mid-2010s. Gas prices <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gas-prices-hit-6-year-low-2015-12">fell significantly</a> in late 2015 and 2016, making alternative and perhaps more preferable modes of transportation, like flying and driving, cheaper. The German operator FlixBus also launched in the US in 2018, adding another competitor to the field."The magic faded," Joseph Schwieterman, a professor of public service at DePaul University, said. "Suddenly, there's three national carriers. It might've been one too many. So Megabus gradually cut back."Stagecoach announced in late 2018 that it would sell its struggling US division to Variant in a deal that closed in spring 2019. We all know what happened the next year: The pandemic ground travel, including on buses, to a stop. In its bankruptcy filings, Coach USA said bus ridership in 2020 fell by 90%, and by 2023, had only recovered to 45% of its pre-pandemic level. That made it hard for the company to pay on its private-equity-induced debt, most of which it still owes. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://bankruptcy-proxy-api.dowjones.ai/cases/Delaware_Bankruptcy_Court/1--24-bk-11258/Coach_USA_Inc/docs/15.pdf">court filings</a>, Coach USA had $197.8 million in debt when it filed for bankruptcy, including $146.6 million on the loan that funded the Variant deal and $37.7 million on a pandemic-era relief loan. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper pullquote-right"> <q class="pullquote-quotation">Suddenly, there's three national carriers. It might've been one too many.</q> </blockquote> The Megabus brand isn't going away entirely. Coach USA is selling off some of its lines, IP, and retail operations to a holding company. Megabus is handing some of its routes to companies such as Peter Pan and Fullington Trailways while also shuttering some routes altogether. You can still book bus travel on <a target="_blank" href="http://Megabus.com">Megabus.com</a>, but if you look closely, you'll see many of the buses that show up are operated by a different company.While Megabus was ahead of the curve with the power outlets and the online booking and the WiFi, everybody else has caught up. And one of the company's more distinctive features — those double-decker buses — hasn't really worked in the US. Passengers don't seem to love them because the storage space they offer is limited, and some people are uncomfortable not being able to see the driver. They can be extra expensive to operate and so big that, operationally, they don't always make sense."The Megabus double-deckers are mostly a thing of the past," Schwieterman said.Coach USA declined to comment for this story. Megabus and Variant did not respond to requests for comment.<hr />The intercity bus industry is not in complete disarray, but things are not going great there. It's still digging out of a pandemic-sized hole, and <a target="_blank" href="https://las.depaul.edu/centers-and-institutes/chaddick-institute-for-metropolitan-development/research-and-publications/Documents/2023%20Outlook%20for%20the%20Intercity%20Bus%20Industry.pdf">ridership is only about 80% to 85%</a> of where it was before. It has benefited from some of the pent-up demand for travel that built up in 2020 and 2021, but not to the extent other industries have as many Americans have opted to travel further afield."You saw revenge travel, and maybe people were flying to places when they hadn't had a chance to go anywhere during the pandemic," Scott Michael, the CEO of the United Motorcoach Association, an industry trade group, said. "It's hard to take a bus to Asia unless you're already there."Outside leisure travelers, remote work also means people who might have taken intercity buses or coaches to commute aren't doing so as frequently.Megabus may be the highest-profile COVID casualty, but it's not the only one. Michael said there were about 3,000 licensed bus and motorcoach companies before the pandemic. Now, that number is around 1,500."Half of the industry is gone, and it's a lot of the smaller companies that were impacted. The larger ones tend to have made it through, with some exceptions obviously," Michael said.BoltBus is gone now, too. Its parent company, Greyhound, shut down its operations in 2021. Greyhound itself was bought for $76 million that same year by FlixMobility (of FlixBus fame). Kai Boysan, the CEO of Flix North America, said BoltBus was shut down because of the pandemic and as part of a broader strategic shift."Bolt Bus was initially launched to target a specific market segment with a low-cost, no-frills service. However, as we assessed the long-term strategy for Greyhound, it became clear that our resources would be better used by focusing on the Greyhound brand," he said.Beyond changing consumer preferences, the industry is also dealing with problems on the operational side, such as rising costs for parts and a shortage of both drivers and mechanics. Bus industry insiders also note that they're often <a target="_blank" href="https://www.governing.com/now/intercity-bus-service-gets-no-respect-from-government">treated as an afterthought</a> by policymakers even though they carry tens of millions of people each year. During the pandemic, intercity buses didn't get a lot of support from the federal government, unlike airlines and <a target="_blank" href="https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/press-releases/us-transportation-secretary-pete-buttigieg-announces-169-billion-amtrak-0">trains</a>."You had a lot of companies, a lot of relatively small, independent, family-owned businesses who were waiting in line with everybody else for the kind of assistance that they could get to get through COVID," Savikas, from Wanderu, said. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper pullquote-breakout"> <q class="pullquote-quotation">Megabus and all that, it's just a microcosm for all these bigger problems that we're seeing.</q> </blockquote> Fred Ferguson, the president and CEO of the American Bus Association, told me that funding the intercity bus industry does get from the federal government — namely, to help them service less populous areas — isn't keeping up with rising costs. He added that some localities are also pushing back against bus terminals because "there's this perception that if you have a bus terminal, you're somehow going to attract people who you don't want in your towns." It's <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIMBY">NIMBYism</a>, but for the bus stop."What happens is it's the end consumer, and more times than not the end consumer who can't afford a plane ticket, who's getting left behind," Ferguson said. "Megabus and all that, it's just a microcosm for all these bigger problems that we're seeing."It's not just the public sector that's exacerbating the terminals issue; it's the private sector, too. In 2022, Greyhound's former parent company, FirstGroup, sold 33 of its bus stations to Twenty Lake Holdings, a commercial real-estate investor. It's a subsidiary of Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/18/1046952430/the-consequences-of-when-a-hedge-fund-buys-newspapers">notorious for buying up and gutting local newspapers</a>. Twenty Lake can make more money using the real estate for something else, so many of those terminals have already closed, moved, or are expected to do so soon, including in Philadelphia, Dallas, and Chicago. Wanderu estimates that the closures will affect 65% of bus travelers in and out of Philadelphia, 50% in Dallas and Chicago, and virtually everyone in and out of Cleveland."They've been willing to talk to the bus lines," Schwieterman said. "They're not just saying, 'You're out of here, new chapter.' They're reportedly just saying, 'We paid lots of money for these terminals and we have to be financially rewarded for our investments.'"Twenty Lake didn't respond to a request for comment.In short, the intercity bus business is facing some headwinds — and the involvement of private equity and hedge funds is not helping.<hr />If you're jonesing to hop on a bus to Boston or New York for the weekend, you have options. There's still Peter Pan, Greyhound, and Flix, plus a fair number of smaller regional and local carriers that will get you where you're going. But your options will most likely be more limited than before. They might also be more expensive, just like everything. I recently bought bus tickets to Atlantic City for the weekend, and I was initially convinced I'd made some sort of mistake, given the cost.According to data from Wanderu, the average price of one-way bus trips across the US for the summer travel period from Memorial Day through Labor Day increased from $45 in 2020 to $68.73 in 2023, though prices dipped slightly in 2024 to $64.01. Wanderu noted that train prices remain higher, going from $68.16 in 2020 to $99.95 this year.People in the bus industry I spoke to were relatively hopeful about its future. They noted that business for charter operations, like bringing a high-school football team to a game or getting workers to a corporate retreat, was starting to pick up. Most expected ridership to bounce back over the next couple of years. Boysan, from FlixBus, said its ridership had increased by 36% from 2022 to 2023, and they're seeing consumers gravitate toward "budget options" given inflation."Travelers are more price-sensitive and looking for ways to save money without sacrificing convenience or comfort," he said. "This trend is especially pronounced among solo travelers, middle-class travelers, and those from lower-income brackets."But even getting back to pre-pandemic levels isn't a total fix, given the steady ridership decline that predated the shutdowns. No one seemed to have a great answer on how to reverse the industry's long-term problems, but many companies are experimenting with some options. Savikas, from Wanderu, said some carriers are implementing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-dynamic-pricing-surge-cost-fatigue-2024-7">airline-like dynamic pricing</a>, where ticket prices change around supply-and-demand dynamics."The goal is to make it more economically sustainable all around," he said. He emphasized that bus travel can be environmentally sustainable, too, compared to everyone driving their own cars or flying. "Buses actually are a pretty green way to get around."Still, bug travel may never be what it once was. "There are questions, probably, if there will be full recovery in certain sectors, in certain regions," Stepovy said.The heyday of hungover 20-somethings dragging themselves onto a Megabus after a slightly too fun weekend is in the rearview mirror. But there's some sort of iteration of it ahead, too, just not on a blue double-decker.<hr /><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

Millennials loved Megabus. So why did it go mega-bust?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>John Oliver is offering Clarence Thomas $1 million a year to leave the SCOTUS bench.</li><li>The comedian highlighted what he said were Thomas' many conflicts of interest.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-oliver-claps-back-at-elon-musk-thin-skin-2024-1">John Oliver</a> says he will give Supreme Court Justice <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-life-career-supreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas-2023-2">Clarence Thomas</a> a million bucks a year if he quits the Supreme Court immediately."This is not a joke," he said on the latest episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," which aired Sunday. "This is real. A million dollars a year until you or I die."Besides offering Thomas money, Oliver said he would also throw in a $2.4 million motorcoach. The offer he said, would only be valid for the next 30 days."So that's the offer. A million dollars a year and a brand new condo on wheels, and all you have to do in return is sign the contract and get the fuck off the Supreme Court," Oliver said on the program.Oliver made the hefty offer during the season premiere of his Emmy-award-winning show. Oliver spent most of the episode discussing the Supreme Court and the issues he said were plaguing it — one of them being Thomas.During the segment, Oliver accused Thomas of having various conflicts of interest, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-luxury-vacations-gop-megadonor-harlan-crow-report-says-2023-4">accepting lavish vacations from a GOP megadonor</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-recusal-ethics-allegations-supreme-court-2023-10">refusing to recuse himself on cases involving his wife, Ginni</a>.Associate Justices like Thomas earn an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-compensation">annual salary of $298,500</a> but hold their appointments for life.In 2023, ProPublica published several reports about Thomas' close relationship with several billionaires, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-harlan-crow-clarence-thomas-trips-billionaire-gop-megadonor-2023-4">real estate developer Harlan Crow</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-undisclosed-luxury-vacations-cost-millions-scotus-ethics-2023-8">oil tycoon Paul "Tony" Novelly</a>. Thomas accepted gifts from these businessmen without disclosing them, per ProPublica.In 2001, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://nypost.com/2001/05/13/thomas-cries-heart-out-in-speech/">The New York Post</a><a target="_blank" href="https://nypost.com/2001/05/13/thomas-cries-heart-out-in-speech/"> reported</a> that Thomas said during a speech that he thought the job of a Supreme Court justice was "not worth doing for what they pay.""The job is not worth doing for the grief. But it is worth doing for the principle," Thomas told the Bar Association in Savannah, Georgia, according to the Post. And Oliver says he now has a simple solution for Thomas, which pays well, too. "Clarence Thomas is arguably the most consequential justice on the court right now, and he's never really seemed to like the job. He's said it's not worth doing 'for the grief,'" Oliver said of Thomas during his Sunday show. "So what if he could keep the luxury perks that he clearly enjoys without having to endure all of that grief?"Oliver said he'd spoken to legal experts, who told him that his offer was "somehow legal" and "there are no rules in place" to stop him from making such an offer."Let me be clear. HBO is not putting up the money for this. I am personally on the hook," Oliver said. "You can make me really regret this. I could be doing standup tours to pay for your retirement for years."Representatives for Thomas did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

John Oliver just made Clarence Thomas an offer he thinks the SCOTUS judge can't refuse

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Hundreds of motorcoach drivers are engaging in a "rolling <keyword id="12735" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="rally">rally</keyword>" in Washington, D.C. on May 13.</li><li>They're coming to educate the public about the importance of the motorcoach industry, and ask for a $15 billion bailout.</li><li>Nearly 600 million motorcoach trips <a href="https://www.buses.org/news/article/national-bus-and-motorcoach-associations-call-on-congress-to-act-immediatel">occur in the US each year</a>, just 100 million fewer than the domestic airline industry.</li><li>Do you work in the motorcoach industry and have a story to share? Email <a href="mailto:rpremack@businessinsider.com">rpremack@businessinsider.com</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>About 90% of motorcoach drivers own or work for small businesses — and shutdowns from the coronavirus pandemic has crippled their livelihood. That's why up to 1,000 <keyword id="6494905" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bus-drivers">bus drivers</keyword> from 47 states have driven across the United States to descend upon Washington, D.C., on May 13. The American <keyword id="41800" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bus">Bus</keyword> Association and the United Motorcoach Association organized the "rolling rally."Dan Donnelly, vice president of operations at McCarter Coach &amp; Tour, and his family are driving from Western Pennsylvania to participate in the rally. Donnelly <a href="https://www.timesonline.com/news/20200512/bus-companies-join-rolling-rally-in-nationrsquos-capital-wednesday">told The Times</a>, a local outlet based 28 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, that his business has been shuttered for eight weeks already.More than 90% of the motorcoach workforce <a href="https://www.buses.org/news/article/americas-motorcoach-industry-will-descend-on-washington-d.c.-on-may-13-for">has been laid off</a>, and small business owners like himself are still slammed with insurance and lease payments on their parked busses. "We need a little bit of help to get through," Donnelly <a href="https://www.timesonline.com/news/20200512/bus-companies-join-rolling-rally-in-nationrsquos-capital-wednesday">told The Times</a>.The motorcoach industry is comprised of mostly small businesses, but their combined size is surprisingly massive. Nearly 600 million motorcoach trips <a href="https://www.buses.org/news/article/national-bus-and-motorcoach-associations-call-on-congress-to-act-immediatel">occur in the US each year</a>, just 100 million fewer than the domestic airline industry.The American Bus Association <a href="https://www.buses.org/news/article/americas-motorcoach-industry-will-descend-on-washington-d.c.-on-may-13-for">said</a> the purpose of the rolling rally is to ask for $15 billion in grants and loans for the motorcoach industry, along with modifications to programs to support small businesses and their payrolls. "This is a positive event showcasing how big buses and small businesses move America," a <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> release <a href="https://www.buses.org/news/article/americas-motorcoach-industry-will-descend-on-washington-d.c.-on-may-13-for">said</a>.<div type="image" title="bus drivers" height="2000" width="2667" msid="75721884" hostid="261"></div>But unlike airlines, motorcoach operators were shunned from the $2 trillion CARES Act signed into law in late March. While the CARES Act appropriated $50 billion for emergency small business loans, the lending program has an enormous backlog and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/07/sba-disaster-loans/">has been unable to give funding to many applicants</a>.That includes Donnelly, who was unable to receive a loan when he applied. "I would venture to say half the motorcoach companies will go out of business if we don't receive some sort of additional help," Scott Lumbert, a motorocoach business owner in northern Arkansas, <a href="https://www.ky3.com/content/news/Motorcoach-industry-feels-the-government-has-forgot-about-charter-services--569910111.html">told local outlet KY3</a>.The owner of one Missouri motorcoach company, Mid-American Coaches, did manage to snag a loan. Still, business owner Dennis Jones <a href="https://www.emissourian.com/covid19/mid-american-coaches-to-join-rolling-rally/article_8fff928c-9480-11ea-aa72-7b7f4a64202b.html">told The Missourian</a> on May 13 that he sent four of his drivers to participate in the rallies. Family, friends, and local veterans gathered Monday morning to send the drivers off."But we all want to be back on the road, bringing people from point A to point B while serving our communities again," Jones <a href="https://www.emissourian.com/covid19/mid-american-coaches-to-join-rolling-rally/article_8fff928c-9480-11ea-aa72-7b7f4a64202b.html">told The Missourian</a>. "Without help from the federal government, I fear our buses may never return to the road and our passengers will be stranded without access to the nation's <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword> system."Should a mass bankruptcy event slam the motorcoach industry, that would devastate many parts of domestic tourism, evacuation of natural disaster victims from hurricanes or wildfires, military transport, and — of course — school field trips.But, even when things re-open, Donnelly of Pennsylvania is worried that folks still won't get on one of his motorcoaches. "If you think about the motorcoach industry, a lot of folks who travel are retirees, some of the most vulnerable, right – the older, the elderly," Donnelly told The Times. "So, it's a concern. Are we ever going to be able to start back up and do the things that are necessary to sustain?"Do you work in the motorcoach industry and have a story to share? Email <a href="mailto:rpremack@businessinsider.com">rpremack@businessinsider.com</a>.Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/motorcoach-drivers-demand-coronavirus-bailout-dc-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Hundreds of out-of-work bus drivers are descending upon Washington, D.C. to demand a bailout

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Infinity pools, multimillion-dollar clubhouses, tennis courts, and spas are among the many amenities at luxury <keyword id="1323206" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="RV">RV</keyword> resorts.</li><li>RV lots can come with villas or cottages that are outfitted with private kitchens, sun decks, fire pits, and private pools.</li><li>Many luxury resorts only allow Class A motorhomes, which are the largest and most spacious type of RV and can cost up to $2 million.</li><li>COVID-19 has increased sales of motorhomes and inquiries for RV resorts as <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword>ers are looking for safe ways to travel domestically.</li></ul>The sun is setting in Indio, California, and Dan Cross and wife, Colleen, are driving a golf cart along a palm tree-fringed path.They're heading to their friends' home for dinner, where dinner is served on a private outdoor patio near the pool. Mountains loom in the distance and the blazing sun fades away as the friends talk in <a href="https://www.desertshoresresort.com/">Desert Shores Motorcoach Resort</a>, the luxury <keyword id="9293857" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rv-resort">RV resort</keyword> the Crosses have called part-time home for the past 12 years and where a lot costs an average of $400,000.<div type="image" title="desertshoresresort (7)" height="1630" width="2173" msid="77506641" hostid="261"></div>The Crosses have been RVing for nearly 35 years, and they've been in the high-end RV market for most of that time. Their primary residence is in Iowa, and they chose California to escape the cold Midwestern winters. They stay at Desert Shores from November through April, and to live there is to have a social existence. "There's an awful lot of socializing going on within the park," Cross told Business Insider. "During a typical week, you find people inviting their friends and neighbors over and having dinner on their patios."RVing has long been a popular travel option, but as the coronavirus pandemic led to border shutdowns around the world, many Americans have turned to old-fashioned domestic road travel to satiate their cabin fever. RVshare, a peer-to-peer rental marketplace, reported a 650% increase in bookings since early April.RVs are hotels, cars, and offices in one — with the added perk of bathrooms and WiFi. For families on the go, the sights and national parks in Western states like South Dakota, Wyoming, Arizona, and California remain top RV destinations. But for travelers who appreciate the finer things in <keyword id="6360041" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="life">life</keyword>, luxury RV resorts, which are similar to five-star hotels, prove to be extremely popular.Not just a place to park your RVs, RV resorts have spacious lots and operate essentially like country clubs, with monthly dues in exchange for access to a wide array of amenities.<h2>No ordinary RV park</h2>Just 30 minutes from Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park and one hour from Big Bear Lake, Desert Shores has 141 lots.All guests at Desert Shores sleep in their motorhomes, but each of those lots also has a villa. They're aptly named "villas": Each measures between 1,200 and 1,800 square feet and is replete with its own pool, hot tub, and patio. Indoors, space opens up to a kitchen, a great room, a bathroom, and a garage. Owners can put their lots into a rental pool and renters must stay for a minimum of 31 days. <div type="image" title="desert shores pool rv" height="694" width="925" msid="77506644" hostid="261"></div> Guests also have access to a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse, pool, spa, kitchen, ballroom, fitness center, tennis courts, a dog park and enhanced security.Darren Leigh Smith, Desert Shores' Broker, says the resort attracts buyers seeking an upscale experience. "Our guests are primarily snowbirds from colder states, and most are self-made husband-and-wife duos who have built small businesses together," Smith said. "All of the hard work they put in affords them the time to enjoy life away from work more. They come to Desert Shores because of the extra space we provide with our large lots and casitas, which allows them to invite their kids and grandkids to visit, which can be hard to do with typical RV resorts."<h2>Welcome to your land yacht</h2>These specific restrictions match most of those who own Class A motorhomes. Like many of the luxury RV resort offerings, Desert Shores requires guests to have Class A motorhomes (also referred to as bus conversions and motorcoaches), which typically measure 36- to 45-feet long. They're the largest on the market, sleeping eight to 10 people.These are also considered the most luxurious RVs out there and cost anywhere from $50,000 and to $3 million. <div type="image" title="Featherlite RV" height="1875" width="2500" msid="77506649" hostid="261"></div>Among the many companies that create Class A motorhomes are Monarch, Marathon Coaches, Prevost, and Anderson Mobile Estates. These motorhomes are often regarded as "land yachts" for their expensive fabrics and flooring, top-notch appliances, and even rooftop hot tubs. <a href="http://www.featherlitecoaches.com/">Featherlite Coaches</a>, a luxury motorcoach manufacturer, creates conversion motorhomes on the Prevost bus chassis with floor plans that can include multiple bathrooms, bunk beds that convert to closets, and dinettes that convert to coffee tables for entertaining. Many are even installed with Amazon Alexa voice controls, Apple TV, HDTV satellite antennas, and cellular routers to stay connected even in the most remote locations.Mark Eisenhart, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Featherlite Coaches, told Business Insider the company has seen a marked increase in sales and deliveries of coaches since mid-May. Compared to the same months last year, sales and deliveries have more than doubled, Eisenhart said. "As more executives need to travel, and more families search for a safer way to travel and vacation, coaches offer a method to satisfy both needs," Eisenhart said.<h2>The North Carolina RV resort beloved by Fortune 500 execs</h2>The camaraderie and like-minded community is what draws people to RV resorts. "RV people are different. They like being outdoors, and they like being with their spouse," said Kyle McCain, an RVer and President of the Board of Directors at <a href="https://www.mtn-falls.com/">Mountain Falls Motorcoach Resort</a> in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina. "Any one of us can get on an airplane and fly to the Ritz-Carlton. But if you're at an RV resort, you like being with similar people." Mountain Falls attracts an affluent clientele that includes Fortune 500 business executives, developers, oil company executives, hoteliers, and wine connoisseurs. McCain says COVID-19 has positively impacted sales at Mountain Falls, reporting a 127% increase in revenue and 102% increase in rentals over the last year. <div type="image" title="mountain RV" height="1122" width="1496" msid="77506652" hostid="261"></div>There are 230 lots, most of which come with a cottage and can set you back $1.2 million to $3 million. There's no lack of activities to partake in on-site: the RV park has tennis courts, pickleball courts, a fitness center and spa, a nine-hole golf course, and two pools. That's in addition to a concierge who organizes off-property activities like hiking, and a chic clubhouse with stately stone fireplaces and a dining room."At Mountain Falls, ownership is inspired by the absolute beauty we're surrounded by — a state park wilderness on one side and the Blue Ridge Mountains on the other side," McCain said. "That, combined with the best amenities and social events that we, as 38-year RVers, have ever experienced."Lisa Proctor and her husband, both of whom are retired, have been traveling to Mountain Falls for four years. They head there for the summer months to escape the sweltering Tennessee heat. Their small dog Roxy has been a trusty companion on their travels."RV living is, more than anything else, about being outside and away from the noise, confinement and complexity of urban life," she told Business Insider.<div type="image" title="Mountain Falls RV park" height="1004" width="1339" msid="77506655" hostid="261"></div><h2>'A piece of paradise forever'</h2>While some love the seclusion, others choose resorts for their proximity to the ocean and world-class golfing. Enter: <a href="https://www.naplesmotorcoachresort.com/">Naples Motorcoach Resort</a> in Naples, Florida.Many RVers love Naples Motorcoach Resort because they can bring their boats for day trips or fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, to which the resort offers direct access. The 184-lot luxury resort's grounds feature manicured gardens, palm trees, and tidy green lawns. Among its amenities are three pools, fitness center, poker room, private theater, billiards room, and a ballroom. Chad Geffert, General Manager of Naples Motorcoach Resort, told Business Insider that owners typically build custom casitas with amenities like tiki huts, outdoor kitchens, and fire pits. Lots range from $129,900 to $289,000, excluding the cost of the customizations.<div type="image" title="NaplesPicture" height="1637" width="2183" msid="77506660" hostid="261"></div>"RV ownership has gone up in the industry, and I think it's related to the fact that RVs are probably the safest way to travel for the next few years," Geffert said. Of Naples Motorcoach's clientele, he noted, "It's all large-scale, Class A motorhomes. When people come down from the north, they'll spend the whole season down here. It's more of a long-term resort with the option to buy and have a piece of paradise forever."At <a href="https://www.hearthsidegrove.com/">Hearthside Grove Motorcoach Resort</a> in Petoskey, Michigan, vacationers are able to access the outdoors in complete luxury. Lots have cottages with chic amenities and contemporary interiors, but they do not come cheap: Purchasing a lot can cost up to $1 million. The resort is ensconced in lush woodlands and is just minutes from the lake with easy access to golfing, sailing, fishing trips, and cooking classes with local chefs. It's the perfect family-friendly resort.<div type="image" title="Hearthside Grove The Only 5 Star Luxury RV Resort in Michigan 1" height="1250" width="2500" msid="77506664" hostid="261"></div>The ease of having an RV, especially during COVID-19, is paying off for several travelers. Cross and his wife will return to Desert Shores for their usual November to April season, but in the meantime, they're hoping to take a trip up to Michigan with the lifelong friends they've met at Desert Shores resort."We've built probably the best friends of our lives there," he said. "Like family."

Inside the wild world of luxury RV travel in America, where an RV site can cost up to $3 million and business is booming amid the pandemic

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e4310b84b661b23eb0f59c4-1591/c10 double decker.jpg" alt="BYD C10MS" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>BYD has created a fully electric 45-foot double-decker coach bus and is now introducing it to the US market.</li><li>The bus has a maximum range of 230 miles and can seat 77 people.</li><li>Its creator also claims it can be used for public transit.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://en.byd.com/bus/45-double-decker-electric%e2%80%8b-bus/">BYD</a> has created a 45-foot electric double-decker coach bus that has a range of 230 miles, model number C10MS.The zero-emissions double-decker known C10MS was unveiled at the United Motorcoach Assocation's expo in Nashville, Tennessee, according to <a href="https://insideevs.com/news/393982/byd-largest-electric-motorcoach-north-america/">Inside EVs</a>. The company is now introducing it to the US market.Founded in 1995, the Chinese company claims the C10MS is the biggest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world for three years now. It builds the bus in its 450,000-square-foot factory in China and maintains its North American branch in Los Angeles. BYD also has a full line of products besides its electric double-decker buses. Its product and concept arsenal also includes non-double decker motorcoaches, semi-truck cabs, garbage trucks, forklifts, energy storage units, taxis, and skyrails, all fully electric.Keep scrolling to take a look inside:

The largest electric coach bus in the US is this 45-foot long double decker that can seat 77 and go 230 miles on a single charge

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rep. Charlie Crist of St. Petersburg will face off against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in November.</li><li>Crist was Florida's governor from 2007 to 2011, when he was a Republican. </li></ul>HIALEAH, FLORIDA — Florida voters on Tuesday rejected Democrats' change candidate in favor of a potential repeat of Rep. Charlie Crist — who roughly a decade ago was the Republican governor of Florida — for a shot at unseating Gov. Ron DeSantis in November. Crist bested Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried for the Democratic nomination. Voters told Insider on Tuesday they thought a candidate with experience who could unify the state would have the best shot against rising Republican star DeSantis. "Charlie has the message, he has the momentum, and he also has the moment right now," Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones of Miami Gardens said ahead of the election results. "What we're seeing is a response to all three of those things."But DeSantis didn't mention Crist during a speech he gave at packed campaign event on Tuesday night in Hialeah, a city in the Miami metro area. He instead targeted President Joe Biden, saying that a vote in support of Republicans in Florida in November would "send a message that we are fighting back against his destructive policies." In his victory speech, Crist said voters "want a governor who cares about them, who solves real problems, who preserves our freedom, not a bully who divides us and takes our freedom away." DeSantis' frequent criticisms of Biden have led many in political circles to believe the governor will seek the White House in 2024. Florida Democrats have stressed this message in recent months, saying the stakes are high nationally for a candidate who also generates a good deal of support from former President Donald Trump's voters — and his big-dollar donors. After his time as governor, Crist ran as an Independent for US Senate but lost to GOP Sen. Rick Scott. He became a Democrat in 2012 and has been in the US House since 2017.To many supporters, Crist's extended experience in public office was an attractive quality for the nomination. "We're still in a global health pandemic," Robert Stephens, who is running for city councilman in Miami Gardens to keep the seat he filled through a vacancy two years ago, told Insider. "People are still without jobs, our housing crisis is at its all-time high. We need someone that can get in on day one and actually do the work from day one."Democrats have hit DeSantis for the policies he's pushed in Florida, including restrictions on abortion rights, new rules on voting, and laws that limit discussions on race, gender, and sexuality in classrooms and workplaces. Stephens called the past legislative session in Florida "one of the worst legislative sessions I've ever witnessed.""If we weren't in such bad shape, Nikki probably would have had a chance, but because we are in such bad shape we need someone with political experience who can actually get in there and do something and try to save the Sunshine State and bring us back to where we were once before." <div type="image" title="Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried gestures after conceding the race to Rep. Charlie Crist on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida." height="1666" width="2222" msid="93741951" hostid="261"></div><h2>Fried promises to keep fighting and unite Democrats</h2>Had Fried won, she would have been on track to become Florida's first female governor. During her campaign Fried hit Crist for changing parties and positioned herself as a stronger defender of abortion rights given the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade."I know that we are not going to stop fighting," she said during her concession speech. "I have been a champion and a fighter for the people of our state our entire life." During the race for the Democratic nomination, her campaign said she represented "something new" for Florida, a slogan meant to attract voters such as Charmaine Roundtree, a motorcoach driver in Miami Gardens, Florida's largest majority-Black city. "I've had the experience of Charlie Crist being in the chair," Roundtree told Insider as she prepared to vote. "It's time for somebody different, a new individual, a female especially." In her bid for the Democratic nomination, Fried frequently criticized DeSantis — a move the governor said contributed to her loss, accusing her in a press conference in Tallahassee earlier Tuesday of "using her time to basically try to smear me on a daily basis." Fried pledged during her concession speech that she would campaign for Democrats all over Florida and said the party needed to unify. "We are going to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor," she said, "and a zero-term president of the United States."<div type="image" title="Rep. Frederica Wilson" height="767" width="1023" msid="93741954" hostid="261"></div><h2>'Most consequential election'</h2>To many Democrats in Florida, DeSantis' power in the state is paving the way for a White House run. "This is the most consequential election in our state that I can ever remember," Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat of Miami Gardens, told Insider in an interview. Wilson does not endorse during primaries but told Insider ahead of the results she would support whichever Democratic candidate won on Tuesday. Wilson has been in the US House since 2011, meaning that she and DeSantis overlapped because he was in the US House from 2013 to 2018. Remembering him then versus now, she said, was like seeing "two different people." "He never was vocal," she said of their Florida delegation meetings together. "He never said a word. He never asked questions, and next thing I knew he was running for governor. I couldn't believe it."DeSantis received Trump's endorsement when he ran for governor in 2018, which helped propel him to the GOP nomination. He won against progressive Democrat candidate Andrew Gillum by just 32,000 votes, but is expected to win by much higher margins in November. DeSantis himself predicted during his speech in Hialeah that Florida would have "the biggest Republican turnout this state has ever seen." A big win in Florida, which was previously a swing state but is now seen as red by many analysts, would help DeSantis supporters make the case he could run for president in 2024. Wilson said she was "petrified" that DeSantis might run for the White House, citing his policies on education and voting rights. Stephens agreed: "Everything concerns me about a DeSantis second term," he said. One Miami Gardens voter, Sabrina, said abortion rights were important to her vote. Florida recently passed a law that makes it illegal to have an abortion 15 weeks into a pregnancy. "We have got to get this other dude out," she said of DeSantis. "He's crazy." But DeSantis has drawn a loyal base of supporters after allowing states and businesses to stay open far earlier than other states. "I love his stance on COVID," Karen Thomas, 58, a Miami Gardens voter who has the rare distinction of supporting both Democrats and Republicans, told Insider. "DeSantis just reminds me a little of Trump," she said. "Regardless of what people said he still stood his ground. And he stood his ground not only for the vaccines for the kids in school, he did a lot. He didn't just follow the parties. And that's what I like about him. I would vote for him again."

Florida Democrats chose former Republican Charlie Crist to face Gov. Ron DeSantis, who could challenge Trump in 2024

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The private bus industry — which includes scheduled service operators like Megabus, commuter shuttles, and private charters — faces a crisis of epic proportions. </li><li>The COVID-19 pandemic decimated travel virtually overnight, and while airlines, public transit agencies, and Amtrak all received 10-figure bailouts, the country's 3,000 private bus companies were left without a paddle. </li><li>Private buses account for 600 million passenger trips each year and serve a vital purpose in the nation's <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword> infrastructure, industry leaders say. </li><li>Without a federal aid package, 50% of private bus firms could go out of business by 2021, taking with them thousands of jobs as well as crucial transportation options.</li></ul>Owosso, Michigan-based Indian Trails — now in its third generation of continuous family ownership — was founded in 1910 and grew over the past century to become one of the major private bus companies in the Midwest. Now with roughly 80 buses in its fleet, the firm transports close to 2 million passengers annually through its scheduled intercity service, private charters, contract shuttles, and Michigan Flyer airport shuttle.But when the pandemic began to take hold in March, Indian Trails' 110 years of business was upended virtually overnight."I can recall very vividly," Chad Cushman, Indian Trails' president, told Business Insider. "It was on a Thursday, I was at a business lunch meeting, and I had gotten a call from our inside sales supervisor that cancellations were coming in left and right."The next day, the Big Ten college basketball tournament pulled its reservations, and then it "just started to overflow," Cushman said. The following week, Indian Trails shut down Michigan Flyer, and the company's daily scheduled service soon followed. "We literally went from operating at pretty much 100% capacity down to 10% within about three weeks," Cushman said. A similar crisis hit other private bus firms as nonessential travel plummeted, schools closed, events were canceled, and people across the country hunkered down.<div type="image" title="Greyhound bus" height="1586" width="2500" msid="79394706" hostid="261"></div>But as airlines, public transit agencies, and Amtrak all scored billions in emergency federal aid through the CARES Act stimulus package in March, the roughly 3,000 operators that make up the nation's private motorcoach industry were left without a paddle in a riptide that threatens their very existence. "These are small family businesses, many of them multigenerational," said Peter Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association, a trade group that represents around 1,000 US and Canadian bus companies. "They've put their life's work into running what was a successful company and, really through no fault of their own, their world turned upside down."Eight months later, with passenger demand at a fraction of normal levels and a return to normalcy still months or years away, the bus industry faces an existential crisis. The way things are going, Pantuso said up to 50% of bus companies could close up shop permanently by 2021.That could lead to 30% to 40% of the national bus network vanishing, taking with it 78% of jobs in the charter-bus sector along with 65% of jobs in the shuttle-bus, commuter, and intercity-bus segments, according to<a href="https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Special-Bulletin--Intercity-Bus-Industry-in-Dire-Condition.html?soid=1103274555013&amp;aid=VQzYd5jlneMlneM"> third-party research</a> commissioned by the ABA.To stave off that calamity, the bus industry is pleading for a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/motorcoach-industry-looks-to-congress-to-keep-buses-on-the-road.html"></a>lifeline from the federal government. Without some much-needed aid, experts and industry leaders say, this vital part of the nation's transportation infrastructure risks permanent damage. <h2>The private bus sector's demise would leave large swaths of the country without any realistic transport options</h2>When the pandemic hit the US, bus ridership plummeted and the industry went into a forced hibernation. Now, all three of the industry's main segments are still operating at a fraction of their normal capacities. Pantuso said scheduled intercity service is down 75%, commuter lines are down 90%, and charters — by far the industry's largest sector, which includes sightseeing tours, school trips, transportation for sports teams, and the like — are virtually nonexistent. A majority of the industry's nearly 100,000 employees<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/24/business/motorcoach-employees-furloughs/index.html"> are out of work</a>. <div type="image" title="megabus traveling on the highway" height="922" width="1845" msid="79394708" hostid="261"></div>And yet, the private bus industry serves a vital purpose: providing low-cost transportation to millions of people annually. According to the ABA, private motorcoaches provide 600 million passenger trips each year, making the industry second only to commercial flights in terms of ridership. Airlines count around 800 million domestic passengers each year, while Amtrak, by comparison, carried<a href="https://media.amtrak.com/2019/11/improved-safety-and-customer-experience-drive-record-amtrak-ridership/"> 32.5 million riders</a> in the fiscal year ending in September 2019. Approximately 65 million people ride scheduled intercity buses annually, according to research from Joseph Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University's School of Public Service who runs its urban-policy think tank. Not only is <keyword id="121663" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="bus-travel">bus travel</keyword> typically the lowest-cost option for getting between cities — as compared with air travel, private cars, or trains — it serves as the de facto public transit network in many parts of the country, Schwieterman told Business Insider. "For many cities, intercity buses are the only public mode of travel available," Schwieterman said. "There's just so many places where that's true."<div type="image" title="motorcoach private bus driver" height="1667" width="2500" msid="79394711" hostid="261"></div>In addition to providing direct transportation within and between cities, private buses fill a crucial role by connecting people to other modes of transportation, whether that's public buses, subways, or Amtrak, Pantuso said. And if emergency relief doesn't come through soon — forcing companies to permanently slash routes or shut down altogether — the impact on regional transportation networks could be devastating. "The risk is the sector is passing a point of no return, where whole clusters of routes may never come back," Schwieterman said. "Cities could be left without services they've long come to rely on."If intercity and charter bus service become greatly diminished, multiple experts said many will be left with no realistic travel options."You would certainly see some people turning to private cars, but a lot of the folks that are taking those trips don't have access to or can't afford a car," Paul Lewis, vice president of policy and finance at the Eno Center for Transportation, a nonprofit think tank, told Business Insider. "So I think people just wouldn't be able to travel, which has huge economic and social consequences."The private bus industry's other critical responsibilities, multiple operators and experts said, include evacuating people during natural disasters and moving troops around the country."Who will help when hurricanes rage?" Pantuso wrote in a<a href="https://www.buses.org/news/article/death-of-an-industry"> recent blog post</a> titled "Death of an Industry." "Who will move our troops? Who will drive our children to school? Who will provide Americans affordable travel?"<h2>Private bus companies have received little to no aid and are teetering on the brink </h2>As parts of the transportation sector got significant bailouts from the federal government to stay afloat — airlines received around $60 billion, public transit agencies got $25 billion, and Amtrak got $1 billion on top of its existing annual subsidies — the private bus industry was left out. "It wasn't for lack of effort, believe me, on our part," Pantuso said. "I think we were just an afterthought. Nobody really considered it or considered the impact of losing a major piece of the overall transportation network."After Congress snubbed the industry in March, leaders ramped up lobbying efforts. A caravan of hundreds of bus operators <a href="https://www.busandmotorcoachnews.com/motorcoaches-drive-home-their-message-to-congress-in-rolling-rally/">convened at the National Mall</a> in Washington, DC, in May in the hopes of attracting lawmakers to their cause.<div type="image" title="Motorcoach protest washington dc 2020" height="1667" width="2500" msid="79394716" hostid="261"></div>Some operators obtained loans through the US Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program, Pantuso said, but those weren't of much use, since the plunge in demand meant companies had little reason to keep drivers and other employees on staff. For most firms, the majority of operating costs are fixed and not tied to payroll. That includes buildings, leases, rent, and vehicle loans, and Pantuso said "all that didn't change when the pandemic hit.""I even had some guys who applied for loans, they got them, and then once they realized what they had, they were ready to turn it back in again," he said. Congress is mulling over a bailout for the industry — a $10 billion package of grants and other aid called the<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/7642/text?r=5&amp;s=1;s=1"> Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) Act</a>, which would also help out school bus companies, passenger boats, and other transportation providers. Operators hope it will be attached to the next federal stimulus bill, whenever that arrives.In the meantime, however, private bus firms of all stripes are suffering. DeCamp Bus Lines, which was founded in 1870 and ferries commuters between northeast New Jersey and Manhattan, suspended service at the end of March as the pandemic spread. It started limited service back up in early June, but the public-health crisis and the resulting plunge in daily commuters had reduced ridership to a trickle. Normally, 6,500 to 7,000 passengers rode DeCamp buses daily, Jonathan DeCamp — the sixth generation to run his family's business — told Business Insider. But on a good day in August, his buses might have seen 400 passengers. He can't think of a time in the company's 150-year history when ridership would have been diminished so severely."During the Great Depression, World War I, World War II, people were still going to work." DeCamp said. "Even after 9/11, we were still up and running. After Hurricane Sandy, we were back up within three or four days and moving people, and actually we were helping out New Jersey Transit."That drop in demand meant there weren't enough fares coming in to cover the costs of running service, so DeCamp parked his buses again in August. He laid off all but three of his 160 employees, and hires drivers whenever business comes in on the charter side of his company — less than once a week. DeCamp said his company needs aid "now" in order to ride out this crisis. "And I think that's the industry as a whole," he added. "Everybody's been stretched way beyond thin at this point in time."<div type="image" title="Indian Trails motorcoach" height="1500" width="2100" msid="79394723" hostid="261"></div>Indian Trails was able to bring back a large portion of its scheduled service in August, but that was only thanks to around<a href="https://www.indiantrails.com/indian-trails-resume-daily-scheduled-bus-service-throughout-michigan-and-beyond"> $2.4 million</a> in CARES Act funding it obtained through the Michigan and Wisconsin transportation departments. Only Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire have shared CARES Act aid for public transit with struggling bus operators, according to the<a href="https://www.busandmotorcoachnews.com/private-operators-challenge-states-to-share-cares-act-transit-funds/"> United Motorcoach Association</a>. Even so, Indian Trails is only running at 35% capacity and half of its 150 employees remain furloughed. Michigan Flyer and the company's commuter service remain stalled for the foreseeable future, and it has had to sell some of its fleet to adapt to the new business levels. Funding through the CERTS Act would allow it to put more buses and shuttles on the road, even as ridership and fare revenue stay low. "All we're asking for is a one-time grant to bridge that gap until business returns," Cushman said, adding that Congress' inaction "at this point is just frustrating."<div type="image" title="motorcoach industry rally washington dc" height="1667" width="2500" msid="79394729" hostid="261"></div>But the pandemic hasn't only impacted small and medium-sized operators — even industry giants are struggling. Coach USA, a juggernaut that owns Megabus and more than two dozen other bus companies, employed 4,500 to 5,000 workers before the pandemic hit. In March, the company furloughed 2,800 employees while those who remained took 40% pay cuts, Sean Hughes, the company's director of corporate affairs told Business Insider. Taking into account all of its business — scheduled service, charters, and everything else — Hughes said Coach is operating at roughly 15% to 20% capacity. Megabus' Washington, DC, to New York route, which ran 20 to 25 round trips daily before the pandemic, is down to between three and five trips. In July, Coach closed down three of its companies — including Lakefront Lines, the largest bus company in Ohio — permanently eliminating more than 400 jobs, Hughes said. "We need the CERTS Act to pass, because we are in dire straits right now," Hughes said. "We need relief, and we need it now."<h2>With a second relief package as far away as ever, the private bus industry faces a bleak outlook </h2>The CERTS Act has gained considerable momentum and bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress in recent months, and<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/7642/cosponsors?r=5&amp;s=1&amp;searchResultViewType=expandedexpanded"> 269 representatives</a> have cosponsored the bill to date. But with stimulus talks in a stalemate and the lame-duck session in full swing, aid for the bus industry appears as far away as ever. And as the pandemic drags on, emergency relief for companies becomes increasingly urgent. Pantuso doesn't predict any sort of organic recovery for operators until late 2021, given that widespread distribution of a vaccine is still far away and he doesn't think the busy spring season will happen next year."I can't overemphasize that time is really of the essence for this industry," Pantuso said. "There are literally hundreds and hundreds of spaces that have been reserved by banks to repossess buses."But while the bus industry as whole is weak, some companies have hope for the future. Seeing as Indian Trails is a fairly sizable operator with a diversified business — and a fresh influx of federal money — Cushman is confident his firm will exist in a post-pandemic world, whenever that arrives."We survived the Great Depression, we survived two world wars, a number of economic downturns — and this is definitely the biggest economic disaster we've ever had," Cushman said. "We'll weather it, we'll get through it. But we're going to be a lot different company coming out of it."

With no COVID-19 relief in sight, the private bus industry could collapse — taking with it a vital US transport network

<table class="image-container float_right" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4fc61f41ecad04545b000008-400-300/screen-shot-2012-05-29-at-2.39.29-pm.jpg" border="0" alt="Fung Wah" /></div>Vivian Giang / Business Insider</td></tr></table>The federal government has shut down Fung Wah Bus <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword>, Inc. — more commonly known as the "Chinatown" bus — after a number of its vehicles failed safety inspections, <a href="http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/02/26/feds-shut-down-fung-wah-bus-company-following-i-team-investigation/">according to</a> CBS in Boston.
The company, known for its cut-rate bus rides between New York City's Chinatown and Boston's Chinatown, came under fire earlier this month when Massachusetts inspectors found cracked frames, oil leaks, and other hazards on many of Fung Wah's buses, according to CBS.
But now the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has stepped in, demanding that the operator cease using its 28 buses and conduct thorough safety inspections.
<div class="wp-caption">
The FMCSA said in a statement:
(The FMCSA) has ordered Fung Wah Bus Transportation, Inc., to immediately cease passenger service and provide its entire fleet of 28 motorcoaches for thorough and detailed safety inspections by qualified inspectors ... FMCSA’s safety investigators are continuing their examination of Fung Wah’s operations, including examining the safety records of its vehicles, drivers and other company safety performance requirements prescribed by federal regulations, and may consider additional actions against the company if warranted.
No word yet on what the "additional actions" could be, but the operator could be out of commission for awhile.
Fung Wah and other Chinatown bus operators have faced safety concerns in the past. In May, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinatown-bus-safety-crackdown-2012-5">federal regulators shut down</a> three bus lines that run out of Chinatown over safety issues.
According to the company's website, it is the largest bus service provider between New York and Boston, and has operated for more than 10 years. One-way tickets on the Fung Wah run around $15.
</div>

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