May 15, 2008

LimoLiner sees demand rise, plans Hartford service

While BoltBus and MegaBus are preparing to duke it out with their $1 bus routes out of New York City, the high-end LimoLiner is seeing its own uptick in business while holding its own with its $89 one-way fare between Manhattan and Boston, Peter Pescatore, the company's CEO, said in an interview today with NewYorkology.

LimoLiner's six vehicles are operating above 60 percent capacity and the company plans to add extra service to Hartford in September. With only 28 seats, each LimoLiner amenities include satellite TV and radio, complimentary snacks and drinks served by an attendant, reclining leather-seats, sockets and plugs at every seat, cell-phone signals and two separate wi-fi bubbles with "very robust broadband strength signals," Pescatore said. He said the signal disappears only among Manhattan's skyscrapers and in the hills of Connecticut, but it's on and strong for 95 percent of the trip.

The fare -- (which is reduced to $80 each way if you purchase a round-trip ticket) -- will stay where it is unless gas prices rise to an unpredictable level. "When it starts to crack $5.25 for diesel fuel, toward $6, then we’ll have to talk again," he said. (Currently diesel in NY is under $4.50, according to NYStateGasPrices.com.)

The additional service to Hartford would come as a new stop between New York and Boston. It would be offered three or four times every weekday. "It would be a supplement over and above what we're doing" on the existing Boston-New York service, Pescatore said.

Unlike the upstarts that keep adding city after city, LimoLiner has been conservative since it launched in 2003. The only other route that almost makes sense in this corridor, Pescatore said, would be to add service to Washington D.C. But the train tracks into D.C. are actually of a higher quality than the Boston-to-NY stretch, giving the time advantage to Amtrak into D.C., he said. ( Limoliner's Boston to New York route is advertised as "as little as four hours.")

One not-so-conservative amenity LimoLiner hopes to add is free wine service on the last trip of the day. "But just one glass," Pescatore said. "We'd like to be able to do that."

Earlier: BoltBus selling $1 tickets between Boston and NYC
New $1 MegaBus to launch May 30 with free rides
'Luxury' bus DC2NY offers on-board wi-fi to D.C.
Limoliner touts 90 pct on-time rate, hates on airlines
LimoLiner bus to Boston upgrades onboard wi-fi

May 15, 2008 4:01 PM in Arrivology, Techology

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