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Suburban Express is a bus company which serves several midwest universities.
History
Students of the University of Illinois have had a variety of transportation options over the life of the university. In the latter part of the 20th century, most students wishing to travel to the Chicago area employed one of the following modes/carriers: Amtrak (trains), Greyhound (buses), 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.
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.
The Suburban Express model has been copied at other midwestern universities:
- Hoosierbus.com serves Purdue
- Catcharide.com serves Indiana University
- Burbsbus.com used to serve Iowa
Current Service
Suburban Express currently serves the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eastern Illinois University, and the University of Iowa. Annual ridership is in the range 50,000 - 60,000 passengers.
Illini Shuttle by Suburban Express provides daily service to Chicago airports O'Hare and Midway.
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
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