Upscale Piuttsburgh-Harrisburg bus (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Lancaster: homes, transfer, luxury)

[pman]

A trio of local businessmen plan to launch an upscale Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg bus service that will also link travelers to Amtrak destinations farther east.
The service is designed as an alternative to driving and to fill a void created by US Airways, which eliminated flights to the capital this summer.
...
Mr. Posner teamed with his business partner, Robert Pietrandrea, who is RDC's president, and George DeBolt, of DeBolt Unlimited Travel, to develop the bus service, which they've named the Steel City Flyer.
Service is slated to start Nov. 24 and will operate out of a Downtown station, stopping in Monroeville before heading to three stops in Harrisburg.
From there, travelers can connect to high-speed Amtrak service to such destinations as New York City, Philadelphia, Lancaster and Trenton, N.J., among others.
A one-way ticket costs $69. The group is also working on a through-ticketing plan with Amtrak, he said.
The bus, a 50-passenger Mercedes model with business class amenities, including WiFi service, will depart twice daily.
"This is going to be designed to connect from a schedule and ticket perspective, and it will be a good example of intermodalism," Mr. Posner said. "We're taking the best of two modes; the speed east of Harrisburg on the train, and the speed west of Harrisburg on the bus."
The service is the first of its kind in Pittsburgh, Mr. Posner said.
The men each are deeply rooted in transportation. Mr. DeBolt heads the Homestead-based tour bus company DeBolt Unlimited Travel, which provided bus service between Pittsburgh and neighboring communities in the days before the Port Authority was formed to cover the entire county.
Mr. Posner and Mr. Pietrandrea run Railroad Development Corp., a small rail management and investment company that privatizes former state-run railroads in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe.
The Pittsburgh-Harrisburg bus service is a joint venture between RDC and an affiliate of DeBolt Unlimited, Le Grand America.
"I'd had this idea for years, but with the flights I never really pushed it," Mr. DeBolt said. Mr. Posner approached him in August with the same idea. "We see this as the future of short-distance, intercity travel from Pittsburgh."
Sadie Gurman can be reached at sgurman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1878.

Business trio launches luxury service to Harrisburg to fill US Airways' flight void

[Lellobeetle]

I come from an area of the country where you're pretty much dead in the water without a car. I just can't imagine the need for this being too overwhelming.

[pman]

Originally Posted by Lellobeetle

I come from an area of the country where you're pretty much dead in the water without a car. I just can't imagine the need for this being too overwhelming.

I see the transfer as a problem, the the bus image but more people are riding trains than in decades. who knows. I see it as a consequence of the lack of decent rail service to Pitt. I saw nearly 1.2 million people rode the Keystone between Philly and Harrisburg last year.

[PeterRabbit]

That's a long time to be stuck on a bus. I wonder why they didn't mention more of the upscale features? WiFi service alone isn't that impressive. It's much cheaper to drive yourself.

[pman]

looks to be about four hours. I guess it's better than the hound, wish they'd fix the train so it didn't take so long.

www.steelcityflyer.com.

New Harrisburg bus service a Capitol gain for Pittsburgh

[Katarina Witt]

The price seems a bit steep to me.

[Copanut]

It may not be such a bad idea. My wife has been spending a lot of time in Philly lately. She refuses to fly into that airport after so many bad experiences, so on more than one occasion I have driven her there. Sure, it's cheaper if you drive it compared to the 69 bucks on the Flyer. But, a plane ticket on short notice will cost you close to 450 bucks, thank you USAir and Gov. Rendell.

Sitting in a bus for 4 hours with all the amenities might be worth it to a lot of business travelers fed up with airline service, or lack of.

[PeterRabbit]

I forgot how horrid the turnpike can be until I was on it Saturday night. They have a whole lot of nerve charging to use it. It's been under construction for years where I get on. No white lines in the far right lane just some scattered orange cones and barrier walls, very narrow lanes, tight curves, awful for driving at night.

With that in mind and considering the high airfares, maybe a luxury bus ride for $70 isn't too bad of a deal.

[pman]

Originally Posted by PeterRabbit

I forgot how horrid the turnpike can be until I was on it Saturday night. They have a whole lot of nerve charging to use it. It's been under construction for years where I get on. No white lines in the far right lane just some scattered orange cones and barrier walls, very narrow lanes, tight curves, awful for driving at night.

With that in mind and considering the high airfares, maybe a luxury bus ride for $70 isn't too bad of a deal.

For me, the key will be the through ticketing. For example, if it is $70 with the train segment I'll be happy. Philly airport is hit or miss. It's well used and lacks the needed capacity for the volume it has. OTOH, Southwest also flies 6x's a day between the cities I believe. US Air has improved baggage claim dramatically...and it's been ranked as one fo the best airports to be delayed in (good thing too). OTOH, weather is unpredictable. Hmm, well if she tries it, let us know how it goes.