Amid rising fuel cost, expensive upgrades and a growing roster of big-name competitors, a local charter bus company is producing steady revenues despite the turbulent economy.
Executives at Collins Bus Services in South Windsor credit the company’s success on its ability to adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs.
The business is the oldest bus service under the same family ownership in continuous operation in the U.S.
Stalled on the side of the road a few years back, the company reinvented its business model and figured a way to use the economic downturn to its advantage.
While other companies hit the brakes when the economy went south, Collins Bus Service transformed its tour, charter and commuter divisions by investing in amenities and adding routes.
Today, Collins Bus Services earns $2.5 million a year driving 3 million passengers around in the company’s 18 mini- and luxury-sized motor coaches.
“The motor coach industry today is trying to change by offering amenities to make the travel time more comfortable and enjoyable,” said Bruce Snow, the fourth-generation to head the family’s charter bus company.
Amenities include DVD players for movies, Wi-Fi modems for internet surfing, wheelchair lifts, electrical outlets for laptops and cell phones, overhead reading lights, air conditioning, reclining seats and foot rests.
“If you don’t have what people are looking for, they will find it elsewhere,” said Snow. “As a company, you need to continually upgrade your equipment to make these options available to your customers.”
The company’s three divisions — Post Road Stages, Collins Bus Services and Post Road Tours — provide charter buses, customized tours and express daily commute services between Vernon and Hartford.
The company expects to sell out all of its tours, which include the Statue of Liberty, Fenway Park, 911 Memorial and Niagara Falls, to name a few. It does about 50 trips a year, according to executives.
A recent study by DePaul University in Chicago shows motor coach travel nationwide has increased each of the past five years. Last year saw an increase of 7.1 percent over the previous year, the study says.
And traveling by motor coach is the second most utilized of leisure travel behind flying. The study reported that “increases of fuel costs and airline ticket prices played a major role this year in making bus service appealing to the general public.”
Snow, president of the company, knows his passengers could easily turn to other modes of travel to get to where they want to go.
“Back in its heyday, bus transportation was looked upon as an exciting and prestigious adventure,” said Snow. “The bus drivers were compared to today’s airline pilot. That industry has kind of taken that front seat as the luxurious way to travel.”
“The advent of the motion picture industry portraying airlines and pilots as heroes and television giving us Ralph Cramdon as your typical bus driver turned the public away from looking at bus travel as a good option,” said Snow.
During high school in the mid-1970s, Snow, 53, cleaned buses part-time for the family business. He left the job to pursue a computer programming degree at Eastern Connecticut State University and worked for several years in the insurance sector.
Snow came back to work at Collins Bus Services in 1989, where he worked as the office director; since his uncle retired in 1998, Snow has been in the driver’s seat of the company.
A lot has changed since 1912 when company founder John Collins started transporting local children to and from school in a horse-drawn sleigh and wagon.
“There are certainly many more requirements placed on our operation now than ever before,” said Snow. Stricter regulations include employee background checks, licensing requirements and medical fitness limits on drivers.
“There are restrictions on engine idle time and restrictions on how much carbon dioxide your engines can produce,” said Snow. “All of this is making it more expensive to operate and keep your head above the rising fuel cost. I all but wonder how the next 100 years will turn out.”
