Company to make another stab at LV-to-LA bus route

Passenger carrier Megabus will take another try at the West, including a revival of the Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles route that was discontinued four years ago.

The company will launch a schedule on Dec. 12 with four daily double-decker buses from one bay at the RTC South Strip Transfer Terminal. The trips will take from five hours, 45 minutes to six hours depending on traffic, according to Megabus spokesman Mike Alvich, to reach downtown Los Angeles after one stop in Riverside.

The move comes less than a month after Greyhound converted part of its Las Vegas-Los Angeles daily schedule to an express service that shortened that running time by eliminating all but one stop. However, Silver State Trailways halted its service on the route at the end of October.

Megabus tried trans-desert service in 2007, one year after first moving into the American market, as part of a hub running out of Los Angeles. In the face of weak ridership, the company abandoned Los Angeles to build its network on the East Coast and in the South.

"We are much better known now and people are asking for us," said Alvich. "We are rolling the dice, but we think we have learned the market better over the past five years."

The Megabus coaches will each have 81 cloth upholstered seats, with on-board Wi-Fi and power outlets. The fares or times were not disclosed - except that all seats will cost $1 during the first week of service - but will become available on the company's website starting today . All buses will be new, part of a 95-fleet addition the company announced in December.

One way Megabus holds down its costs is by not building its own stations but leasing space from others. Besides departing from the transfer terminal, located on Sunset Road just south of McCarran International Airport, the route will end outside Los Angeles Union Station.

Much like airlines, Megabus prices its seats according to demand. For example, it will sprinkle the $1 fares throughout the schedule even after the initial promotion has ended, but will have most of them early in the week, said Alvich. In addition, people who purchase tickets in advance have a greater chance of snagging the discounts than those who wait until the last minute.

Megabus is part of Coach USA, a subsidiary of Scotland's Stagecoach Group PLC. Megabus started in the United Kingdom in 2003, but has expanded to five other countries including the U.S. and Canada.

During the year ended April 30, Megabus' U.S. revenues grew 53 percent to $115.9 million as it has accelerated its spread across the map. From 90 cities in April, Megabus will grow to 120 with the addition of several routes from Los Angeles.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley
@reviewjournal.com.