Greyhound launches Express bus services in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Two express bus services popular in the Northeast and Midwest are beginning in Birmingham this week with service from Birmingham to Atlanta and Memphis.

GREYHOUND_EXPRESS_13542701.JPGBirmingham's first Greyhound Express bus waits for passengers outside the Greyhound terminal in downtown Birmingham on Tuesday morning.

The two services are launching within a day of each other. Today,

, owned by Greyhound Lines Inc., began service. Wednesday,

-- a subsidiary of Coach USA -- will have its first trips to both cities.

Buses operated by both are equipped with free WiFi access, power outlets, and additional legroom for fares starting as cheap as $1.

Only a handful of riders were in present in Greyhound Express's waiting quarters at the Greyhound terminal in downtown Birmingham for the first trip to Atlanta this morning, which departed around 8:30 a.m. Some of the passengers said they hadn't come specifically for Greyhound Express but had chosen the route after hearing about it at the station.

Service to and from Birmingham and Memphis by both companies is part of a new Atlanta hub announced recently. Megabus.com

its creation of a hub in Atlanta in late October. Greyhound Express

its new Atlanta hub a week later.

Megabus.com will also offer service from Mobile and Montgomery to Atlanta.

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