Thursday, September 07, 2006
Discount Bus Companies Tangle Over Territory
The number of competitors to Greyhound Lines with inexpensive fares has soared in recent years, expanding well beyond the no-frills buses based in Chinatown in Manhattan and setting off fierce battles for riders. In fact, in the booming world of discount travel, there is apparently no room for two Hasidic-owned companies on the same route.
A dispute between the two bus companies that are vying for riders from New York to Washington, Vamoose and Washington Deluxe, has landed in court. As a result, some customers have been confused in recent days by Vamoose’s Web site, which first said the company was temporarily out of business, then said it was running again, but with fewer stops.
The Vamoose-Washington Deluxe dispute, in which Washington Deluxe says that Vamoose trespassed on its route, is a small scuffle in a more tumultuous struggle that has transformed travel in the Northeast. Involved are more than 30 discount lines that pick up people curbside.
The lines, whose fares are much lower than the cost of air or train tickets and have led to discounts by Greyhound, the nation’s largest carrier, have won over thousands of devoted customers. But the industry’s short history also includes accidents, regular breakdowns, lawsuits and even violence.
The discount bus lines began springing up in Chinatown in the late 1990’s with a handful of operators picking up passengers on haphazard schedules. The new lines had an advantage over more established bus companies because they did not pay for space or employees at the Port Authority Bus Terminal or other bus stations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/07/nyregion/07buses.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin
The number of competitors to Greyhound Lines with inexpensive fares has soared in recent years, expanding well beyond the no-frills buses based in Chinatown in Manhattan and setting off fierce battles for riders. In fact, in the booming world of discount travel, there is apparently no room for two Hasidic-owned companies on the same route.
A dispute between the two bus companies that are vying for riders from New York to Washington, Vamoose and Washington Deluxe, has landed in court. As a result, some customers have been confused in recent days by Vamoose’s Web site, which first said the company was temporarily out of business, then said it was running again, but with fewer stops.
The Vamoose-Washington Deluxe dispute, in which Washington Deluxe says that Vamoose trespassed on its route, is a small scuffle in a more tumultuous struggle that has transformed travel in the Northeast. Involved are more than 30 discount lines that pick up people curbside.
The lines, whose fares are much lower than the cost of air or train tickets and have led to discounts by Greyhound, the nation’s largest carrier, have won over thousands of devoted customers. But the industry’s short history also includes accidents, regular breakdowns, lawsuits and even violence.
The discount bus lines began springing up in Chinatown in the late 1990’s with a handful of operators picking up passengers on haphazard schedules. The new lines had an advantage over more established bus companies because they did not pay for space or employees at the Port Authority Bus Terminal or other bus stations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/07/nyregion/07buses.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin
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