Trailways Bus Lines Historic Milestones

HISTORY OF TRAILWAYS

History Milestones
Overview: Trailways is North America's oldest independent group of privately owned motorcoach companies, operating over 2,500 luxury-styled motorcoaches, serving more than 1,000+ destinations throughout North America and parts of Europe and safely carrying more than 16 million passengers annually. The distinctive red Trailways lettering is a familiar sight on city streets, roads, and highways. This well-respected brand represents a proud heritage of passenger transportation in existence for almost eighty years. Horse-drawn stagecoaches were undoubtedly the forerunners of today's motorcoach industry, but it was not until after World War I, and the introduction of motorbuses, that the Trailways motorcoach network began to formulate. In the beginning, the Trailways system of motorized vehicles was operated by a few independent or privately owned transportation companies each operating with a different company name. Then, in 1936, 15 companies banded together as a singularly brand providing ed, far-reaching system of cross-country passenger bus service under the Trailways brand. Soon it became a highly recognizable national brand, recognizable by its distinctive 'crimson and cream' livery for all vehicles. Trailways played an important role in the development of America through the late 20th century, providing bus service to towns and parts of rural America that had little or no other means of public transportation. However, with the introduction of U.S. bus deregulation in the mid-80s, Trailways began to face strong competition from smaller independent charter & tour motorcoach operators flooding the travel market. Additionally, other more expedient travel modes of transport, such as regional airlines and Americans' love of the automobile, began to shift the balance of Trailways' once dominant market-share status. By the mid-90's, with scheduled route (intercity) motorcoach service rapidly diminishing, Trailways' strategy evolved to welcome aboard the once competitive independent charter and tour motorcoach operators. Once again, Trailways was on the road to expanding and rebuilding its network and services, and growing its network of independent bus operator-members. As Trailways entered the 21st century, technology has played an increasingly important role in passenger transport. Over the past two decades improvements to ticketing technology, booking procedures, call center access, GPS service, and the Internet have all played an important part in Trailways' growth and success. Over the last 75 years, Trailways has grown and evolved and remains a well-regarded brand today. To learn more bus history, visit the Museum of Bus Transportation, Hershey, PA www.busmuseum.org

Trailways

Trailways; Who We Are Founded in 1936, the Trailways Transportation System (Trailways) operates similar to a Franchise System. The network of private motor carriers is currently comprised of 88 independently-owned and managed passenger ground transport and tourism companies that operate North America’s largest and most-respected private motorcoach transportation network that spans to Europe with affiliated passenger bus companies located in the Netherlands and Germany. Trailways has been transporting North American citizens and international visitors for more than 75 years with point-to-point passenger transport on modern transport coaches and other high-styled vehicles at practical fares. The network of Trailways’ service providers offer premium passenger transport and tourism services between, to-and from- all key tourist destinations and major cities including sightseeing and travel planning, group moves, shuttle, transit, and supplementary intermodal by means of ground, air, rail, and sea access.

Trailways; Our Goal Each Trailways passenger transport and tourism service company strives to assure travelers with safe, secure, quality, and reliable services, delivered with courtesy and value.

Trailways; Transportation Trailways offers comprehensive passenger transport and tourism services to destinations throughout North America and in Europe, by offering over 1,000 scheduled passenger ground transport services daily to more than 3,000 communities, towns, and cities across the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany. From major cities to small rural towns; across vast plains and over mountain passes; from beaches to high plateaus; the Trailways passenger ground transport and travel network goes everywhere!

Trailways; Travel Safely and Securely Proudly, every Trailways independently-owned passenger transport and tourism service company operates spacious, modern, well-equipped motorcoaches, min-buses, limos and shuttle vans, school buses as well as other vehicle styles. Each and every Trailways company possesses, through actual practice and performance, the highest safety rating recognized in North America; the entire Trailways passenger ground transport-tourism network is a “Safety Certified” system, a specialized designation that can only be authorized by the United States, Department of Defense (USDOD). Of the 4,300 legally registered for-hire passenger transport companies operating in North America, only 450 of these companies have received the official USDOD Safety Certified designation; each and every Trailways company is USDOD-Certified! As well, the Trailways passenger ground transport network of motorcoaches are continuously monitored by a network-wide global positioning security tracking system (GPS), proprietary to Trailways, which was partially underwritten by the United States, Department of Homeland Security (USDHS), through a federally funded bus security grant. The Trailways network also maintains the necessary equipment to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.

Trailways; Service Trailways is constantly striving to enhance our network of customer and passenger services by offering: • Value • Journey and excursion times, which ensure that less time is spent traveling and more at your chosen destination • Modern, well-maintained vehicles (motorcoaches, trolleys, vans, limos, executive day coaches, mini-coaches, limos, etc.), which offer a safe, secure, pleasurable and comfortable environment • Reliability; Trailways strives to get you where you want to go at the time you want to be there; safely and securely

Trailways; Intercity Schedules & Routes The Trailways Intercity Division of passenger ground transport companies provide services throughout most of North America’s Northeast corridor, which includes Ontario, Canada; and, Trailways’ Intercity division also serves areas in the Southeast, Midwest, and the far West, including California, Montana, and Washington. Within all major bus stations throughout these areas, Trailways has the support of a cooperative sales outlet, possesses its own sales outlet, or ensures a Trailways customer-care staff is located on site at other transport provider locations. FYI: Today, the majority of bus stations in North America are owned by Greyhound Bus Lines; some however, are owned by either Trailways or other local bus company operators, or the local community. Trailways passenger ground transport companies that provide intercity services strive to build strong relationships with those in charge of non-Trailways operated bus stations to ensure that our passengers are well-served by the local staff when there are no Trailways staff onsite.

Trailways; Charter & Tourism The Trailways Charter and Tourism Division of passenger ground transport companies provide the most comprehensive range of multi-modal passenger services available to travelers; world-class passenger transport services that are safe, secure, comfortable, affordable, reliable, and friendly.

Trailways; Vehicle Equipment The Trailways network of passenger transport and tourism companies operate a total fleet of more than 7,500 for-hire transport vehicles, of which 2,800 are full-size, modern motorcoaches.

Corporate Values

Team Trailways: Mission Statement To be the customer’s first choice for safe, secure, affordable, quality passenger ground transport and other related travel services.

Team Trailways: Philosophy - 1936 to 2011 Trailways has a rich heritage of providing safe, affordable, quality ground transportation, and other related travel services. Our team of brand affiliated ground transport companies is therefore committed to the following:

• Providing superior service to every customer;
• Delivering to each customer, quality products that meet the emerging needs of 21st Century travelers; and therefore,
• Rewarding its affiliated transport companies with the many positive and prosperous benefits of brand-related business ownership.

Team Trailways: Priorities - Safety and Service Trailways adheres to Federal, Provincial, and State laws; and, to our own higher doctrine of ethical business practices that succinctly states:

• Investing in passenger safety is more important than our competitor’s rates; and,
• Providing quality customer service is more important than our rates. Team Trailways: Principal 

Business Values Four of the most important business values are quality, safety, reliability, and integrity. Therefore, we pledge the following:

 Provide quality service to every customer;
 Operate safe vehicles;
 Embrace security measures that help safeguard passengers and protect our fleets’ reliability; and,
 Uphold our commitment to integrity, which we are therefore, rewarded by customer trust and patronage.  

Team Trailways: Future Corporation We pledge to further our corporation of team-oriented passenger ground transport companies, comprised of only those businesses dedicated to providing safe, secure, reliable, quality ground transport and other related travel services. Thus, we favor only those opportunities that uphold our principal business values and preserve our integrity.

Team Trailways: Independently Owned-Managed Passenger Ground Transport Companies We respect and trust each other, working together as one. Our team reflects industry diversity, encompassing millions of customers from thousands of communities in which we work, live, and serve.
Team Trailways: Business Communities Everywhere we conduct business we strive to be valuable, beneficial, and worthy business partners in our communities; assuring our communities are a better place to live, work, and prosper.

Team Trailways: Excellence