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| In the spring of 1984, the Illini Union 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 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 the spring of 1984, the Illini Union 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 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 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 2013, annual ridership was approximately 100,000 passengers. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.suburbanexpress.com/ord033113statement.html |title=April 24 Suburban Express statement |publisher=] |date=4-24-2013 |accessdate=2013-05-01}}</ref> | |||
| Similar ventures were formed at other midwestern universities to transport students to the Chicago suburbs. | Similar ventures were formed at other midwestern universities to transport students to the Chicago suburbs. | ||
Revision as of 16:41, 2 May 2013
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 Illini Shuttle, operated by Suburban Express, at the Illinois Terminal in Champaign, Illinois. | |
| Founded | 1983 (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 that serves six midwest universities: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State University, Eastern Illinois University, Purdue University, Indiana University, and the University of Iowa. Weekend services transport students from all six campuses directly to several Suburban Chicago locations. The Illini Shuttle runs five times each day from Champaign to O'Hare and the suburbs.
History
Students of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have had a variety of transportation options over the life of the university. In the early 1980's, 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 started Suburban Express. Suburban Express was a "virtual" bus company - in that it did not own any buses or facilities. Instead, 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, as UIUC refused to allow Suburban Express ticket sales at the university travel center since 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 Illini Union 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 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.
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 2013, annual ridership was approximately 100,000 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
Lawsuits Against Passengers
Since 1994, Suburban Express has filed 204 lawsuits, with 125 of these 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, Suburban Express' legal representation threatened to sue a Reddit forum moderator, demanding in a letter that "libelous postings" be removed from a thread devoted to University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. These legal threats were reported on negatively by a number of publications, including Ars Technica, in what Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing called an example of the Streisand Effect. Suburban Express has since retracted its threat of legal action against the Reddit moderator.
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.
- Russell's Guide September 1999 - GLI Schedule 397 removed from publication
- "April 24 Suburban Express statement". Suburban Express. 4-24-2013. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - https://www.hoosierbus.com/about.html
- "Red flush online casino » Online Slots Casino". Catcharide.com. 2013-04-13. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Brumleve, Will (26 April 2013). "Bus firm's lawsuits criticized". News-Gazette. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ Doctorow, Cory (27 April 2013). "Suburban Express bus-line sends bullying, cowardly legal threat to Reddit, discovers Streisand Effect". Boing Boing. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
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.)