From Reuters:
Coach USA, the operator of Megabus and other commuter bus lines in the U.S. and Canada, filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware late Tuesday [June 11, 2024], seeking to sell its assets and shed debt incurred in an ill-timed 2019 private equity buyout.
Coach, the largest privately-owned bus company in the U.S., was acquired by private equity firm Variant Equity Advisors for $270 million, mostly using debt that is still on the company’s books.
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy means that current services will continue during the legal process.
Coach USA operates the following services in Wisconsin. Several are also Amtrak Thruway or interlined services:
- Airport Express (Milwaukee-Chicago)
- Van Galder (Madison-Chicago)
- Megabus (intercity)
- Subsidized commuter lines from Milwaukee to Racine, Kenosha, and Waukesha County
- Several Wisconsin DOT-subsidized intercity services
The Coach USA press release clarifies that Renco Group intends to purchase Coach USA assets in Wisconsin. The puchaser’s plans for existing services is unknown:
[Coach USA has] Entered an asset purchase agreement with an affiliate of The Renco Group, Inc., Bus Company Holdings US, LLC (“BCH US”), for certain of the company’s bus lines – Dillon’s, Elko, Megabus Retail, Montreal, Olympia, Trentway/Ontario (including Megabus Canada), Perfect Body, Rockland, Shortline (including Chenango Valley Bus Lines), Suburban, Van Galder and Wisconsin Coach – as well as certain assets of Community Coach. The existing Megabus intellectual property and retail operations will also be part of the transaction. U.S. Megabus operations will continue while the company pursues an ongoing transition to the existing partnership business model.
Source: Coach USA Press Release
Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers 