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| {{COI|date=November 2008}} | |||
| {{Infobox Bus transit | {{Infobox Bus transit | ||
| | name = | | name = | ||
| | logo = Sebanner white.png | | logo = Sebanner white.png | ||
| | logo_size = 250 | | logo_size = 250 | ||
| | image = Intermodal Transportation Center.JPG | | image = Intermodal Transportation Center.JPG | ||
| | image_size = | | image_size = | ||
| | image_caption = Illini Shuttle, operated by Suburban Express, at | | image_caption = Illini Shuttle, operated by Suburban Express, at ] in Champaign, Illinois. | ||
| | company_slogan = | |||
| ] in Champaign, Illinois. | |||
| | |
| parent = | ||
| | parent = | |||
| | founded = 1983 | | founded = 1983 | ||
| | headquarters = 714 S Sixth Street<br />Champaign, Illinois 61820 | | headquarters = 714 S Sixth Street<br />Champaign, Illinois 61820 | ||
| | locale = | | locale = | ||
| | service_area = Illinois, Indiana, Iowa | | service_area = Illinois, Indiana, Iowa | ||
| | service_type = ] | | service_type = ] | ||
| | alliance = | | alliance = | ||
| | routes = | | routes = | ||
| | destinations = 6 Universities served and Chicago |
| destinations = 6 Universities served and Chicago Suburbs | ||
| | stops = | | stops = | ||
| | hubs = | | hubs = | ||
| | stations = | | stations = | ||
| | lounge = | | lounge = | ||
| | ridership = | | ridership = | ||
| | fuel_type = | | fuel_type = | ||
| | operator = | | operator = | ||
| | ceo = | | ceo = | ||
| | website = http://www.suburbanexpress.com | | website = http://www.suburbanexpress.com | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| '''Suburban Express''' is a ] company which serves six ] universities: ], ], ], ], ], and ]. Weekend services transport students from all six campuses directly to several Suburban ] locations.<ref></ref> The '''Illini Shuttle''' runs every day from ] and ] to the Chicago Airports of ] and Chicago suburbs.<ref></ref> | |||
| '''Suburban Express''' is a ] company which serves six ] universities: [[University of | |||
| Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]], ], ], ], ], and ]. Weekend services transport students from all six campuses directly to several Suburban ] locations.<ref></ref> The '''Illini Shuttle''' runs every day from ] and ] to the Chicago Airports of ] and Chicago suburbs.<ref></ref> | |||
| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| ===Early history=== | |||
| A student of the University of Illinois started Suburban Express in 1983 as a "virtual" bus company that did not own any buses or facilities. Rather, it contracted buses from carriers, sold tickets through a travel agent, and used public streets and suburban malls as its bus stops.<ref name=farewars>''Fare wars - Bus service run by student butts heads with Greyhound''. Dan Rozek. ]. Chicago, Illinois. Sunday, October 20, 1985. Page 20.</ref> | |||
| The first charter of six buses carried about 300 students to the Chicago suburbs for the ] break in 1983 undercutting Greyhound's prices by $4 to $8. The concept was partially encouraged by a Greyhound ]'s ] around the same period. UIUC refused to allow Suburban Express ticket sales at the university travel center because the school received a ] for selling Greyhound tickets and they feared Greyhound's reaction to selling competing tickets.<ref name="farewars"/> | |||
| Students of the ] ("UIUC") have had a variety of transportation options over the life | |||
| of the university. In the early 1980s, most students wishing to travel to the Chicago area used ] (]s), ] (]es) and ]. | |||
| ===Competition=== | |||
| In 1983, a student of the University of Illinois became dissatisfied | |||
| A ] ensued between Greyhound and Suburban Express. By February 1985 both sides had reduced round trip ticket prices from $36 to $14.75. In 1984, Greyhound also contacted the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) which initiated two separate investigations of Suburban Express. The first ICC investigation in Spring of 1984 found Suburban Express to be operating a regular service without the ICC's approval. In response Suburban Express changed the operation to a private charter for UIUC students and staff excluding it from ICC jurisdiction. The second investigation was in fall of 1984 and found the company to be operating according to ICC rules.<ref name="farewars"/> | |||
| with the Amtrak's high fares and Greyhound's unreliable service, and | |||
| started Suburban Express. Suburban Express used a novel [[business | |||
| model]] - that of a "virtual" bus company - in that it did not own | |||
| any buses or facilities. Rather, it contracted buses from established | |||
| carriers, sold tickets through a travel agent, and used public | |||
| streets and suburban malls as its bus stops.<ref name=farewars>''Fare | |||
| wars - Bus service run by student butts heads with Greyhound''. Dan | |||
| Rozek. ]. Chicago, | |||
| Illinois. Sunday, October 20, 1985. Page 20.</ref> | |||
| By October 1985, UIUC allowed sales of Suburban Express tickets at the Illini Union Travel Center to recover revenue lost by the decline of Greyhound ticket sales. At that time, the manager of the Travel Center said that Suburban Express tickets accounted for over half of the tickets sold weekly.<ref name="farewars"/> | |||
| The first charter of six buses carried about 300 students to the | |||
| Chicago suburbs for the ] break in 1983 undercutting | |||
| Greyhound's prices by $4 to $8. The concept was partially encouraged | |||
| by a Greyhound ]'s ] around the | |||
| same period. Charter service continued in the spring of 1984, but | |||
| encountered a few problems. UIUC refused to allow Suburban Express | |||
| ticket sales at the university travel center because the school | |||
| received a ] for selling | |||
| Greyhound tickets and they feared Greyhound's reaction to selling | |||
| competing tickets.<ref name="farewars"/> | |||
| Suburban Express eventually displaced Greyhound as the most popular mode of transportation to/from the Chicago suburbs.<ref>''Champaign man takes one of the last Concorde trips''; Lynda Zimmer. News-Gazette Staff Writer. News Gazette. Champaign, Ill. Oct 29, 2003. pg. B.5.</ref> In 1989, Greyhound pulled out of the Champaign-to-Suburbs market altogether.<ref>Russell's Guide September 1999 - GLI Schedule 397 removed from publication</ref> Suburban Express added ] in Charleston, IL to its route structure in 1985.<ref name="farewars"/> Illinois State University was served from 1989-1993 and from 2003–present. As of 2003, annual ridership was approximately 55,000 passengers.<ref>http://www.suburbanexpress.com/bulletpoints.html</ref> | |||
| The company also met stiff competition from its main rival, | |||
| Greyhound. A ] ensued and by February 1985 both sides had | |||
| reduced round trip ticket prices from $36 to $14.75. In 1984, | |||
| Greyhound also contacted the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) which | |||
| initiated two separate investigations of Suburban Express. The first | |||
| ICC investigation in Spring of 1984 found Suburban Express to be | |||
| operating a regular service without the ICC's approval. In response | |||
| Suburban Express changed the operation to a private charter for UIUC | |||
| students and staff excluding it from ICC jurisdiction. The second | |||
| investigation was in fall of 1984 and found the company to be | |||
| operating according to ICC rules.<ref name="farewars"/> | |||
| ===Lawsuits=== | |||
| In the spring of 1984, the Illini Union Travel Center also attempted | |||
| Since 1994, Suburban Express has filed 204 lawsuits, with 125 of them filed in 2013.<ref name="DI-26Apr2013">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyillini.com/news/local/article_43a45b74-ae1a-11e2-9a0d-0019bb30f31a.html |title=Suburban Express lawsuits reach 125 this year; conversation continues on Reddit |last=Ruff |first=Corinne |publisher=] |date=26 April 2013 |accessdate=27 April 2013}}</ref> Many of these lawsuits target passengers for alleged violations of Suburban Express' terms of service,<ref name="Ars-26Apr2013">{{cite web|url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/express-to-internet-hate-bus-company-threatens-redditor-with-lawsuit/ |title= | |||
| to create its own charter service to recover increasing losses of | |||
| Express to Internet Hate: Bus company threatens redditor with lawsuit |last=Gallagher |first=Sean |publisher=Ars Technica |date=26 April 2013 |accessdate=27 April 2013}}</ref> including failing to pay penalty fares of $100 for presenting invalid or misdated tickets, or for canceling payment for buses that did not show up.<ref name="News-Gazette-26Apr2013">{{cite web|url=http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-04-26/bus-firms-lawsuits-criticized.html |title= | |||
| commissions on ticket sales. Unable to compete with Greyhound and | |||
| Bus firm's lawsuits criticized |last=Brumleve |first=Will |publisher=News-Gazette |date=26 April 2013 |accessdate=27 April 2013}}</ref> Students and journalists have questioned the company's practice of filing lawsuits in neighboring ], rather than in ],<ref name="DI-26Apr2013"/><ref name="News-Gazette-26Apr2013"/> as students at ] are not entitled to aid from Student Legal Services for lawsuits outside of county boundaries.<ref name="News-Gazette-26Apr2013"/> | |||
| Suburban Express, the university's charter service ended after only | |||
| one weekend of service. By October 1985, UIUC allowed sales of | |||
| Suburban Express tickets at the Illini Union Travel Center to recover | |||
| revenue lost by the decline of Greyhound ticket sales. At that time, | |||
| the manager of the Travel Center said that Suburban Express tickets | |||
| accounted for over half of the tickets sold weekly.<ref | |||
| name="farewars"/> | |||
| In April 2013, representative(s) of Suburban Express posted favorable comments about their company on a forum on ] dedicated to the ] by using several ] accounts, and insulted members of the forum who criticized them. This led the forum moderator to delete the offensive comments and post a note on the forum frontpage warning readers about Suburban Express, including their litigious behavior which involved suing 125 customers this year for alleged violations of their terms of service. Suburban Express's legal representation then threatened to sue the forum moderator, demanding in a letter that "libelous postings" be removed. Suburban Express retracted its threat to sue the moderator and also withdrew the 125 lawsuits it had filed against its customers after receiving widespread negative reactions<ref name="SubEx_BoingBoing">{{cite news| url=http://boingboing.net/2013/04/27/suburban-express-bus-line-send.html | work=BoingBoing | title=Suburban Express bus-line sends bullying, cowardly legal threat to Reddit, discovers Streisand Effect | first=Cory | last=Doctorow | date=2013-04-27}}</ref><ref name="Ars-26Apr2013">{{cite news| url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/express-to-internet-hate-bus-company-threatens-redditor-with-lawsuit/ | work=Ars Technica | title=Express to Internet Hate: Bus company threatens redditor with lawsuit | first=Sean | last=Gallagher | date=2013-04-26}}</ref><ref name="SubEx_Popehat">{{cite news| url=http://www.popehat.com/2013/04/28/suburban-express-took-the-first-bus-to-the-streisand-effect-have-they-disembarked-in-time/ | work=Popehat.com | title=Suburban Express Took The First Bus To The Streisand Effect. Have They Disembarked In Time? | first=Ken | last=White | date=2013-04-28}}</ref> in the media and on the internet. This incident has been called an example of the ] by some, including ] of ]<ref name="SubEx_BoingBoing">{{cite news| url=http://boingboing.net/2013/04/27/suburban-express-bus-line-send.html | work=BoingBoing | title=Suburban Express bus-line sends bullying, cowardly legal threat to Reddit, discovers Streisand Effect | first=Cory | last=Doctorow | date=2013-04-27}}</ref>, Ken White of ]<ref name="SubEx_Popehat">{{cite news| url=http://www.popehat.com/2013/04/28/suburban-express-took-the-first-bus-to-the-streisand-effect-have-they-disembarked-in-time/ | work=Popehat.com | title=Suburban Express Took The First Bus To The Streisand Effect. Have They Disembarked In Time? | first=Ken | last=White | date=2013-04-28}}</ref>, and Sean Gallagher of ]<ref name="SubEx_ArsTechnica3">{{cite news| url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/express-to-internet-hate-bus-company-threatens-redditor-with-lawsuit/ | work=Ars Technica | title= | |||
| Suburban Express eventually displaced Greyhound as the most popular | |||
| Troll road: Bus company posts “dirt” on complaining passenger | first=Sean | last=Gallagher | date=2013-05-13}}</ref>. | |||
| mode of transportation to/from the Chicago suburbs.<ref>''Champaign | |||
| man takes one of the last Concorde trips''; Lynda Zimmer. | |||
| News-Gazette Staff Writer. News Gazette. Champaign, Ill. Oct 29, | |||
| 2003. pg. B.5.</ref> In 1989, Greyhound pulled out of the | |||
| Champaign-to-Suburbs market altogether.<ref>Russell's Guide September | |||
| 1999 - GLI Schedule 397 removed from publication</ref> Suburban | |||
| Express added ] in Charleston, IL to | |||
| its route structure in 1985.<ref name="farewars"/> Illinois State | |||
| University was served from 1989-1993 and from 2003-present. As of | |||
| 2003, annual ridership was approximately 55,000 | |||
| passengers.<ref>http://www.suburbanexpress.com/bulletpoints.html</ref> | |||
| Similar ventures were formed at other midwestern universities to | |||
| transport students to the Chicago suburbs. | |||
| * HoosierBus serves ] and [[Indiana University | |||
| (Bloomington)|Indiana University]] and was founded in 2003 by two | |||
| University students.<ref>https://www.hoosierbus.com/about.html</ref> | |||
| * Catch A Ride, Inc. serves Indiana University, founded by a parent | |||
| of IU students.<ref>http://www.catcharide.com/about.html</ref> | |||
| * Burbsbus.com used to serve University of Iowa | |||
| ==Competition== | |||
| Suburban Express currently provides an alternative to the following | |||
| carriers:<ref>Daily Herald, August 25, 2005 - Section 1, Page 13</ref> | |||
| *Champaign-Urbana: ], [[Megabus (North | |||
| America)|Megabus]], ], ] and various | |||
| airlines operating out of ] | |||
| *Eastern Illinois University: EIU bus service, which runs sporadically. | |||
| *University of Iowa: ], ]. | |||
| ==Collection Action== | |||
| Since 1994, Suburban Express has filed 204 lawsuits, with 125 of them | |||
| filed in 2013.<ref name="DI-26Apr2013">{{cite | |||
| web|url=http://www.dailyillini.com/news/local/article_43a45b74-ae1a-11e2-9a0d-0019bb30f31a.html | |||
| |title=Suburban Express lawsuits reach 125 this year; conversation | |||
| continues on Reddit |last=Ruff |first=Corinne |publisher=[[Daily | |||
| Illini]] |date=26 April 2013 |accessdate=27 April 2013}}</ref> Many | |||
| of these lawsuits target passengers for alleged violations of | |||
| Suburban Express' terms of service,<ref name="Ars-26Apr2013">{{cite | |||
| web|url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/express-to-internet-hate-bus-company-threatens-redditor-with-lawsuit/ | |||
| |title= | |||
| Express to Internet Hate: Bus company threatens redditor with lawsuit | |||
| |last=Gallagher |first=Sean |publisher=Ars Technica |date=26 April | |||
| 2013 |accessdate=27 April 2013}}</ref> including failing to pay | |||
| penalty fares of $100 for presenting invalid or misdated tickets, or | |||
| for canceling payment as a result of other disputes.<ref | |||
| name="News-Gazette-26Apr2013">{{cite | |||
| web|url=http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-04-26/bus-firms-lawsuits-criticized.html | |||
| |title= | |||
| Bus firm's lawsuits criticized |last=Brumleve |first=Will | |||
| |publisher=News-Gazette |date=26 April 2013 |accessdate=27 April | |||
| 2013}}</ref> Students and journalists have questioned the company's | |||
| practice of filing lawsuits in neighboring [[Ford County, | |||
| Illinois|Ford County]], rather than in [[Champaign County, | |||
| Illinois|Champaign County]],<ref name="DI-26Apr2013"/><ref | |||
| name="News-Gazette-26Apr2013"/> as students at [[University of | |||
| Illinois, Urbana-Champaign]] are not entitled to aid from Student | |||
| Legal Services for lawsuits outside of county boundaries.<ref | |||
| name="News-Gazette-26Apr2013"/> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | {{reflist|2}} | ||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| *''Fare wars - Bus service run by student butts heads with | |||
| Greyhound''. Dan Rozek. [[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)|Daily | |||
| Herald]]. Chicago, Illinois. Sunday, October 20, 1985. Page 20. | |||
| (Large article about the company, covers 3/4 of the page. Discusses | |||
| the creation of the company, two attempts by the Illinois Commerce | |||
| Commission to shut it down and fare war with Greyhound.) | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 04:53, 14 May 2013
 | |
 Illini Shuttle, operated by Suburban Express, at Illinois Terminal in Champaign, Illinois. | |
| Founded | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 714 S Sixth Street Champaign, Illinois 61820 |
| Service area | Illinois, Indiana, Iowa |
| Service type | Intercity coach service |
| Destinations | 6 Universities served and Chicago Suburbs |
| Website | http://www.suburbanexpress.com |
Suburban Express is a bus company which serves six midwest universities: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State University, Eastern Illinois University, Purdue University, University of Iowa, and Indiana University. Weekend services transport students from all six campuses directly to several Suburban Chicago locations. The Illini Shuttle runs every day from Champaign and Urbana to the Chicago Airports of O'Hare and Chicago suburbs.
History
Early history
A student of the University of Illinois started Suburban Express in 1983 as a "virtual" bus company that did not own any buses or facilities. Rather, it contracted buses from carriers, sold tickets through a travel agent, and used public streets and suburban malls as its bus stops.
The first charter of six buses carried about 300 students to the Chicago suburbs for the Thanksgiving break in 1983 undercutting Greyhound's prices by $4 to $8. The concept was partially encouraged by a Greyhound bus driver's strike around the same period. UIUC refused to allow Suburban Express ticket sales at the university travel center because the school received a commission for selling Greyhound tickets and they feared Greyhound's reaction to selling competing tickets.
Competition
A price war ensued between Greyhound and Suburban Express. By February 1985 both sides had reduced round trip ticket prices from $36 to $14.75. In 1984, Greyhound also contacted the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) which initiated two separate investigations of Suburban Express. The first ICC investigation in Spring of 1984 found Suburban Express to be operating a regular service without the ICC's approval. In response Suburban Express changed the operation to a private charter for UIUC students and staff excluding it from ICC jurisdiction. The second investigation was in fall of 1984 and found the company to be operating according to ICC rules.
By October 1985, UIUC allowed sales of Suburban Express tickets at the Illini Union Travel Center to recover revenue lost by the decline of Greyhound ticket sales. At that time, the manager of the Travel Center said that Suburban Express tickets accounted for over half of the tickets sold weekly.
Suburban Express eventually displaced Greyhound as the most popular mode of transportation to/from the Chicago suburbs. In 1989, Greyhound pulled out of the Champaign-to-Suburbs market altogether. Suburban Express added Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL to its route structure in 1985. Illinois State University was served from 1989-1993 and from 2003–present. As of 2003, annual ridership was approximately 55,000 passengers.
Lawsuits
Since 1994, Suburban Express has filed 204 lawsuits, with 125 of them filed in 2013. Many of these lawsuits target passengers for alleged violations of Suburban Express' terms of service, including failing to pay penalty fares of $100 for presenting invalid or misdated tickets, or for canceling payment for buses that did not show up. Students and journalists have questioned the company's practice of filing lawsuits in neighboring Ford County, rather than in Champaign County, as students at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign are not entitled to aid from Student Legal Services for lawsuits outside of county boundaries.
In April 2013, representative(s) of Suburban Express posted favorable comments about their company on a forum on Reddit dedicated to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by using several sockpuppet accounts, and insulted members of the forum who criticized them. This led the forum moderator to delete the offensive comments and post a note on the forum frontpage warning readers about Suburban Express, including their litigious behavior which involved suing 125 customers this year for alleged violations of their terms of service. Suburban Express's legal representation then threatened to sue the forum moderator, demanding in a letter that "libelous postings" be removed. Suburban Express retracted its threat to sue the moderator and also withdrew the 125 lawsuits it had filed against its customers after receiving widespread negative reactions in the media and on the internet. This incident has been called an example of the Streisand Effect by some, including Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing, Ken White of Popehat, and Sean Gallagher of Ars Technica.
References
- Special Weekend Service Between U of I and Chicago Suburbs
- Illini Shuttle service between Champaign and Chicago Airports
- ^ Fare wars - Bus service run by student butts heads with Greyhound. Dan Rozek. Daily Herald. Chicago, Illinois. Sunday, October 20, 1985. Page 20.
- Champaign man takes one of the last Concorde trips; Lynda Zimmer. News-Gazette Staff Writer. News Gazette. Champaign, Ill. Oct 29, 2003. pg. B.5.
- Russell's Guide September 1999 - GLI Schedule 397 removed from publication
- http://www.suburbanexpress.com/bulletpoints.html
- ^ Ruff, Corinne (26 April 2013). "Suburban Express lawsuits reach 125 this year; conversation continues on Reddit". Daily Illini. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ Gallagher, Sean (26 April 2013). "Express to Internet Hate: Bus company threatens redditor with lawsuit". Ars Technica. Retrieved 27 April 2013. Cite error: The named reference "Ars-26Apr2013" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Brumleve, Will (26 April 2013). "Bus firm's lawsuits criticized". News-Gazette. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ Doctorow, Cory (2013-04-27). "Suburban Express bus-line sends bullying, cowardly legal threat to Reddit, discovers Streisand Effect". BoingBoing.
- ^ White, Ken (2013-04-28). "Suburban Express Took The First Bus To The Streisand Effect. Have They Disembarked In Time?". Popehat.com.
- Gallagher, Sean (2013-05-13). "Troll road: Bus company posts "dirt" on complaining passenger". Ars Technica.