An experiment is under way at MARTA’s Civic Center station that could affect whether or not millions of intercity travelers can avoid stressful drives and congested airports. This is ground zero for the largest “curbside bus” hub ever created by discounter Megabus in a spread-out, automobile-oriented city like Atlanta.
The Megabus operation, if successful, could pave the way for the next round of expansion by a new breed of up-and-coming motor coach lines. If it fails, the curbside-bus movement could remain mostly relegated to old-line industrial cities of the East and Midwest for the foreseeable future.
The new Atlanta hub, launched last month, is remarkable in many ways. Intercity buses were all but written off as the province of the destitute a decade ago. Greyhound and Trailways struggled with shriveling demand. Deep cuts left Atlanta and other big cities with only a few dozen daily departures. Many viewed “the bus” as a mode of last resort.
But times have changed, in dramatic fashion. For the fourth year in a row, the intercity bus is America’s fastest growing transportation mode. The number of daily departures nationwide shot up this year by 7.1 percent — more than four times the growth rate of airlines and trains. Greyhound now offers “express” service to Birmingham, Memphis and Savannah with free WiFi, power outlets at every seat and guaranteed seating. Red Coach offers first- and business-class service to Miami and Tampa with seats that recline to 140 degrees.
The Megabus operation, however, stands out, being the company’s lone major hub south of the nation’s capital. With 29 daily arrivals and departures serving 11 cities, it takes passengers as far north as Nashville and south to Orlando. This new service challenges the notion that anyone with other options will avoid sitting on a bus for more than, say, five hours.
So far, the results are encouraging. Bargain-basement fares and rising gasoline prices and airfares, together with word-of-mouth publicity, are proving a powerful combination. Travelers seem to appreciate the curbside boarding in order to sidestep bus terminals, which many — unaware of recent improvements — still consider undesirable places.
The Megabus hub also breaks a dry spell for Atlanta, which once was an exciting place for transportation innovation. Perhaps no other city in America has witnessed so many different airline hubs come and go over the years. The city has missed out on the renaissance in train travel that is now benefitting Charlotte, Raleigh and many other competing southern cities.
But several factors threaten to undermine the bus revival. Worsening traffic congestion, particularly on I-75, could make reliable timekeeping impossible. Public agencies are doing distressingly little to create special lanes for high-occupancy buses. Too often, double-deckers carrying 75 people sit in the same traffic as single-occupant motorists on leisure trips.
Another threat comes from the U.S. Congress, which is considering rules intended to weed out small-fry bus companies with unsafe business practices. The rules, however, could well saddle mainstream operators with excellent safety records, like Megabus, with higher costs. Anyone doubting this should look at the laws governing rail passenger cars, which are so stringent that they make it impossible to use ready-made TGV or Japanese cars, greatly driving up expenses.
No one knows whether enough Atlantans will zip down to the MARTA station to get on Megabus for it to succeed, but the outcome will have important ramifications, not just locally but nationwide.
Joseph Schwieterman is a professor at DePaul University and co-author of the study “The Intercity Bus Rolls to Record Expansion: 2011 Update on Motor Coach Service in the U.S.”
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