Making a bolt for dominance on Boston-N.Y. route
As new service starts, observers wonder if 5 bus lines can survive
BoltBus's inaugural run yesterday from Boston's South Station to New York's Penn Station started smoothly, but ended with a screech - literally - as the shiny new motor coach, which was running more than an hour late, loudly scraped against construction equipment.
But the mishap, which gouged the side of the new motor coach and ground the trip to a halt, didn't faze officials at BoltBus, the new joint venture between Greyhound Lines Inc. and Peter Pan Bus Lines.
"In New York City, it's going to happen. It's almost bumper cars," said David Hall, the Greyhound manager who led BoltBus's development and stood on the street yesterday awaiting the new service's first arrival from Boston. "We'll replace the rubber strip. It happens all the time."
BoltBus's rough start contrasts how it has tried to set itself apart along the fiercely competitive Boston-to-New York route, which generates more revenue for Greyhound than any other city pair.
BoltBus is trying to stand out by offering at least one seat per bus for $1, outfitting its motor coaches with free onboard wireless Internet access and electrical outlets, and touting its drivers' safety records. In fact, to further differentiate itself from Fung Wah Bus Transportation Inc. - a Chi natown-based rival that has made headlines in the past few years for unsafe driving - BoltBus said all of its drivers receive more than 100 hours of training.
The differences may be critical if there's a competitive shakeout along the route. Bus company representatives and industry experts predict more people will ditch automobiles, trains, and planes in the coming months to ride the low-cost bus carriers - which include Fung Wah, Lucky Star, and another joint service between Peter Pan and Greyhound - as gas prices surge and flight delays become more frequent. Even so, they doubt all five low-cost contenders will survive long after the debuts of BoltBus and MegaBus, which launches service May 30.
"I don't remember any time in US transportation history where there were five carriers in a market all with high frequency service," said Joseph P. Schwieterman, a DePaul University professor who studies the bus industry.
BoltBus admits some of its amenities didn't turn out as envisioned. Hall said he himself was surprised when the custom-ordered motor coaches arrived with eight seats around the handicap ramp missing seatback electrical outlets.
Still, several passengers who departed from Boston on the 7:30 a.m. bus said during the ride they thought the BoltBus was much cleaner and safer compared with rival carriers. That is, until the bus ran an hour behind schedule and the driver sideswiped equipment on the side of a street just a short distance from Penn Station.
When the driver got off the bus to investigate the damage, several flustered passengers joked that this was their chance to bolt.
"We need to get off this bus," said 49-year-old Curtis Fitzpatrick from South Boston. "That's what we've got to do."
But several grumbling passengers were ready to cut BoltBus some slack by the time the bus arrived at Penn Station at 12:52 p.m. - almost 80 minutes late.
After all, they each only paid $2.50 round trip - all the seats during the first few days of service are $1 plus a 50 cent booking fee.
"It's an hour late. That's precious shopping time," said Helen Wong of Pembroke, who decided on a whim to take her teenage daughter to Times Square. "But they're new. I excuse them."
Nicole C. Wong can be reached at nwong@globe.com.
