Charter Bus Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 1,000 charter bus firms in the US provide long-distance and local transport on the client’s schedule. Charter bus firms do not operate regular fixed schedules or routes and typically do not engage in scenic or sightseeing transport. Customers include schools, churches and religious organizations, civic groups, senior living centers, businesses (retreats and conferences), government, event planners (festivals, sports competitions, conventions), sports teams, performing arts groups, and individuals (weddings, parties, family trips).
Crashes and Passenger Injury
Accidents involving injuries or fatalities create liability for charter bus services and damage their reputation with prospective customers.
Volatile Fuel Prices
Low mileage per gallon for charter buses makes firms susceptible to increases in fuel prices.
Technology on Buses
Buses are increasingly equipped with a variety of technology related to operations, safety and customer experience.
Industry size & Structure
A typical charter bus services firm operates out of a single location, employs fewer than 20 workers, and generates about $4 million annually.
- The charter bus services industry consists of about 1,000 companies, which employ about 82,000 workers and generate about $4.2 billion annually.
- The industry operates about 33,000 motorcoaches with the average firm operating 11 vehicles.
- The average small motorcoach firm operates a fleet of up to 25 vehicles and makes about 88 million passenger trips per year. Small firms account for 15.5% of passenger trips and 47% of passenger miles.
- Mid-sized firms operate a fleet of 25-99 vehicles and make about 87 million passenger trips annually. Mid-sized firms account for 15.5% of passenger trips and 27% of passenger miles.
- Large firms operate a fleet of 100 or more vehicles and make about 398 million passenger trips per year. Large firms account for 69% of passenger trips but just 26% of passenger miles.
- Most companies are small, independent operators - 90% have a single location and 68% employ less than 20 workers.
- Large companies include US Coachways, USA BusCharter, and Dattco. BusBank schedules clients for independent charter bus firms, and doesn’t own or operate buses.
Industry Forecast
Charter Bus Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Sep 24, 2024 - Industry Leader Files For Bankruptcy Protection
- One of the biggest operators of private bus service in the US has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Coach USA runs the Megabus service throughout the US and a network of commuter services, mostly in the Northeast. Its ridership decreased early in the coronavirus pandemic and hasn’t fully recovered. Bus trips have continued to lag while airlines and cruises are again seeing record bookings, according to Peter Pantuso, CEO of the American Bus Association. “We lost somewhere between 40% and 50% of the industry,” he said. The biggest hit has been to commuter services, he noted — typically between outer suburbs and city centers.
- Intercity bus operators with routes that are 250 miles less are showing more interest in electric vehicles (EVs), according to Smart Cities Dive. Experts say that electric busses have not caught on with charter services because thier range is typiclly less than required for most routes and they must recharge for 3 to four hours. Charter bus companies serving universities and other institutions that prioritize sustainability are also showing more interest. “The EV bus would give a much-needed image boost,” said Joseph Schwieterman, director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University. “The industry could use that.”
- Electric motorcoaches are not catching on as quickly with charter bus services compared to the city transit and the personal sectors, according to industry experts. Electric motorcoach range is inadequate for most trips, and the 3- to 4-hour recharge required in the middle of routes would double the travel time for passengers and make the trip so long that one driver would not have the legal hours to complete it. Range is not as critical for a city transit bus on fixed routes around a community because it is able to recharge on a recharging pad at each bus stop within minutes of each other, but it is for a motorcoach that needs to get its passengers to their destination 400 to 500 miles away within a 10-hour window.
- Total revenue for transit and ground passenger transportation increased 22.9% year over year and 8.1% quarter over quarter in the second quarter of 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. Charter bus transportation industry employment increased slightly while average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first seven months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Charter bus transportation industry sales are forecast to increase at a 5.67% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
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