Coach USA Must Consider Rockland During Bankrupty: Legislator

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Coach USA, which runs a network of commuter services including in Rockland County, filed for bankruptcy last week.

In its statement, the Paramus, NJ-based company blamed a drop in ridership since the pandemic.

The owner of Megabus, Coach never recovered from COVID, according to Marketplace. Peter Pantuso, CEO of the American Bus Association, told Marketplace that people who were traveling to work five days a week just aren't anymore, and the bus industry is about half the size it was, with the greatest impact on commuter trips between cities and suburbs. Coach was one of the largest passenger transportation companies in the country.

The company had actually expanded services in the county in 2017, adding an express weekend service due to customer demand.

Now Rockland County Legislator Joel Friedman is urging the company to ensure that local residents who commute into and from New York City, New Jersey and elsewhere are not left stranded by the the Chapter 11 filing.

Friedman, who chairs the County Legislature’s Special Committee on Transit, said he is concerned about the company’s intentions because many Rockland commuters are nearly completely dependent on the bus company’s services.

“For decades, Rockland commuters have relied on Coach USA to get to work and home again, but now we are learning the company has filed for bankruptcy and intends to sell its Rockland Coaches and Shortline bus services to a new owner,” Friedman said. “Any interruption in service could spell disaster for the Rockland commuters who have almost no other way to get to work.”

He said the service is key for local commuters because to get to New York City by mass transit they either travel by bus, catch a bus or ferry to Westchester to pick up Metro-North, or take Metro-North to New Jersey and transfer to NJ Path.

According to a June 11 statement, Coach USA filed voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to “facilitate sale processes to preserve jobs, ensure continued service and maximize the value of its businesses.”

The company said it had asset purchase agreements with Bus Company Holdings US, an affiliate of the Renco Group, Inc., for certain bus lines, including Rockland, Shortline, and 10 additional lines, as well as another company for four lines; and is looking to sell the remainder of its businesses.

"Taken together, once completed, these proposed transactions will preserve thousands of jobs and ensure uninterrupted passenger transportation services to millions of passengers throughout the United States and Canada, many of whom rely on the Coach USA transportation network," the company said.

“Sadly, it appears that we are seeing the end of the Coach USA company,” Friedman said. "Rockland commuters relied on Coach, and Coach relied on them as loyal customers.”

Friedman said he worried any decline in bus service would only convince some to stop commuting into Manhattan altogether, further reducing revenues to the bus company and increasing the problems confronting NYC due to fewer overall workers returning to their offices since the pandemic.

“Coach needs to provide a plan for how bus service will be maintained before they can be allowed to walk away from providing this vital mass transit function,” Friedman said. “They have a duty to ensure all services are maintained until — and if — these sales actually take place."