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 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, Iowa |
| Service type | Intercity coach service |
| Destinations | 3 Universities served and Chicago suburbs |
| Owner | Dennis Toeppen |
| Website | http://www.suburbanexpress.com |
Suburban Express is a bus company which serves three midwest universities; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eastern Illinois University and the University of Iowa. Weekend services transport students from all three campuses directly to several suburban Chicago locations.. The Illini Shuttle runs every day from Champaign to the Chicago Airports of O'Hare and Midway and the suburbs.
History
Students of the University of Illinois (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 Amtrak (trains), Greyhound Lines (buses) and private automobiles.
In 1983, a student of the University of Illinois became dissatisfied 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.
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. 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 commission for selling Greyhound tickets and they feared Greyhound's reaction to selling competing tickets.
The company also met stiff competition from its main rival, Greyhound. A price war 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.
In the spring of 1984, the university travel center also attempted to create its own charter service to recover increasing losses of commissions on ticket sales. Unable to compete with Greyhound and Suburban Express, the university's charter service ended after only a month of service. By October 1985, UIUC allowed sales of Suburban Express tickets at the travel center to recover revenue lost by the decline of Greyhound tickets. At that time, the manager of the university 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 2003-2007. As of 2003, annual ridership was approximately 55,000 passengers.
Similar ventures were formed at other midwestern universities to transport students to the Chicago suburbs.
- HoosierBus serves Purdue University and Indiana University and was founded in 2003 by two University students.
- Catch A Ride, Inc. serves Indiana University, founded by a parent of IU students.
- Burbsbus.com used to serve Iowa
Competition
Suburban Express currently provides an alternative to the following carriers:
- Champaign-Urbana: Greyhound, LEX, Megabus. Amtrak and various airlines operating out of University of Illinois Willard Airport
- Eastern Illinois University: EIU bus service, which runs sporadically.
- University of Iowa: Burlington Trailways, Greyhound.
References
- 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.
- Special Weekend Service Between U of I and Chicago Suburbs
- Illini Shuttle service between Champaign and Chicago Airports
- Would you like to fly...? ; Champaign busman taking a busman's holiday - aboard the soon-to-be- retired Concorde; Lynda Zimmer. News-Gazette Staff Writer. News Gazette. Champaign, Ill.: Jul 31, 2003. pg. D.1.D.4.
- ^ Fare wars - Bus service run by student butts heads with Greyhound. Dan Rozek. Daily Herald. Chicago, Illinois. Sunday, October 20, 1985. Page 20.
- Russell's Guide September 1999 - GLI Schedule 397 removed from publication
- http://www.suburbanexpress.com/bulletpoints.html
- https://www.hoosierbus.com/about.html
- http://www.catcharide.com/about.html
- Daily Herald, August 25, 2005 - Section 1, Page 13
Further reading
- Fare wars - Bus service run by student butts heads with Greyhound. Dan Rozek. 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.)