hitting the breaks
Once-popular bus service departs Houston and Texas after bankruptcy filing
Texans lost a more sustainable way of traveling the Lone Star State this month.
Megabus, the cheap and efficient bus company that offered rides for as low as $1, has ended service across Texas, including all routes operating between Austin, Dallas, Grand Prairie, Houston, and San Antonio.
According to a notice on the company's website, they shut down the Texas routes on August 16 as part of a set of new nationwide route changes that also included offloading other routes to competing operators.
Known for its eye-catching double-decker royal blue buses, Megabus was first launched in the U.K. in 2003, then came to the U.S. in 2006. It generated considerable excitement when it entered the Texas market in 2012, by offering free Wi-Fi, restrooms, and fares for as low as $1.
The changes come after Coach USA, Megabus' owner, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, winning court approval to sell its Megabus service in July. The company blamed its bankruptcy on a decline in ridership during the pandemic.
Shutdowns:
- Routes operating between Atlanta, Charlotte, Durham, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. will be discontinued as of August 16th, 2024. Customers with tickets booked on these services have been notified and refunds have been processed.
- Routes operating between Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston will be discontinued as of August 16th, 2024. Customers with tickets booked on these services have been notified and refunds have been processed.
New operators:
- Routes operating between New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. will be operated by Peter Pan Bus Lines
- Routes operating between New York, State College, Harrisburg, King of Prussia, and Pittsburgh will be operated by Fullington Trailways
All other routes in the United States and Canada will operate as normal.
Megabus still operates in more than 500 different cities and university campuses across the U.S., including several popular routes between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
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This article originally ran on CultureMap.