Coach USA

Top coachCoach USA is growing profitability through focusing on core services and delivering customer satisfaction. CEO Dale Moser spoke to Ruari McCallion. ItÔÇÖs not often you encounter a company that is happy with revenues 50 percent down on six years ago . . . . . .┬ábut Dale Moser, chief executive officer of Coach USA, is quite happy. ÔÇ£Our revenues are half what they were but weÔÇÖre more profitable,ÔÇØ he said. For over a year after 9/11, air travel was significantly down and passengers looked for other methods of transportation. Rather than leap on what would probably be a temporary phenomenon, Coach USA took a more considered view. ÔÇ£We reassessed our business segments and looked at the operation from a more cyclical standpoint. What we did was ÔÇÿrightsizeÔÇÖ Coach USAÔÇöwe took a step back and made it into a more manageable company. We disposed of certain segments and focused our attention and assets on the more reliable sectors, those that were already profitable, and made them more so.ÔÇØ Coach USA is owned by UK-based Stagecoach plc, one of the worldÔÇÖs largest bus operators. It created the American organization through acquisition of a number of smaller operators across the country, including some long-established names that continue today including Butler Motor Transit in Pennsylvania; New York operator, Community Coach; Pittsburgh tour operator Lenzner Coach Lines; and deluxe coach tour operator Mountaineer Coach, of West Virginia. Coach USAÔÇÖs area of operations are focused on the US Northeast and Midwest.  ÔÇ£Our commuter and transit bus operations in New York and New Jersey transport around 400,000 passengers in and out of Manhattan each day,ÔÇØ said Moser. ÔÇ£We also operate commuter services in Chicago, Milwaukee and other cities and our scheduled airport services go into Newark, NJ, and OÔÇÖHare and Midway airports in Chicago. The important education sector is engaged in contract work to provide shuttle services on and around college and university campuses, and operates over 800 yellow school buses, primarily for school districts in Wisconsin.ÔÇØ  Coach USA charter and tour operations transport groups including professional sports teams and college and university students on external trips, as well as private groups either touring or attending special events. If you encounter British-style open-topped double-decker buses in New York and Chicago, they will probably be operated by Coach USA companies. ÔÇ£Even in inclement weather, people who are visiting New York for three to four days want to take in as much as they can and theyÔÇÖre willing to spend two-three hours on an open-top bus.ÔÇØ Coach USA has around 5,000 full and part-time employees deployed to manage the peaks and troughs of the annual business cycle. The peak time for tourist operations is April to November; conversely, the schools are out from June to mid-August, so thereÔÇÖs no need for school drivers in that period. While most of the companyÔÇÖs operations are regional or community-based, it has a growing presence in the longer-distance market, which provides a different offer to traditional competitors.ÔÇ£ We brought megabus.com to the US in April 2006 in the Midwest and itÔÇÖs been very successful. It utilizes the Internet as the booking source and provides an express service, with seats starting at just $1 for early reservation,ÔÇØ said Moser. ÔÇ£We launched megabus.com services in California and the Southwest in August 2007 and itÔÇÖs made a very satisfactory start.ÔÇØ Coach USA has a fleet totaling around 2,500 vehicles, including school and community services. As well as being presented in a pleasant and eye-catching style, the company ensures reliability through paying close attention to every one of its vehicles, to ensure reliability and good service.ÔÇ£ We have a fairly aggressive replacement cycle, so our coaches and buses are never more than a few years old,ÔÇØ he said. ÔÇ£We pretty much set the standard in our industry for how frequently we maintain our vehicles and bring them into the shop. We strive to reduce the likelihood of breakdown by catching any problems in advance; our parts replacement programs catch them ahead of failure.ÔÇØ  The company is always looking for tools, technology and techniques to improve standards. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre putting pressure monitors on our tires that will give readouts if they lose pressure or run too hot or give other indicators prior to failure. Safety is always our number one priority,ÔÇØ he explained. ÔÇ£We work with designers and manufacturers, piloting and refining designs and go back to our coach OEMsÔÇöVan Hool in Belgium, Motor Coach Industries in Quebec, and Alexander Dennis of the UKÔÇöto get the improvements incorporated when we order another coach.ÔÇØ  Coach USAÔÇÖs biggest ongoing challenge is driver recruitment and retention. While thereÔÇÖs no shortage of trained and qualified drivers, not everyone enjoys being out on the road, interacting with people, possibly working irregular hours, and who can keep their cool while maneuvering a 56-foot vehicle through streets filled with cars, taxis, trucks and cyclists, and still get to the destination safely and on time. ÔÇ£We poll our customers through surveys and focus hard on meeting and exceeding expectations,ÔÇØ said Moser. ÔÇ£We use mystery shoppers to monitor, observe and listen to our customers with quality task forces. WeÔÇÖre enhancing our timetables to meet certain peak demands and investing in everything from handing out newspapers to commuters to selling videos on inter-city tripsÔÇöthings that separate us from other companies.ÔÇØ  While America is a car-based culture, cities are investigating and investing in improved mass-transit services. New York has bus lanes running into Manhattan, for example. ÔÇ£With rising congestion, they have to look at alternatives,ÔÇØ said Moser. ÔÇ£If we can get 57 people out of their cars and onto a bus, it will reduce fuel demand, cut the amount of CO2 going into the atmosphere and make our cities more livable. We are delivering a reliable, dependable service, offering great value for money and reducing the headaches of traveling. We expect that, in five yearsÔÇÖ time, youÔÇÖll see a bigger Coach USA, with more services and more passengers. ThatÔÇÖs where weÔÇÖre headed.ÔÇØ  First Published January 2008