BTS Issues Report Showing First Quarter 1996 Operating Results of Ten of the Nation's Largest Bus Companies

Contact DOT 254-96 Carolee Bush Media 202-366-6946 David Mednick Technical 202-366-8871

Friday, November 8, 1996 -- The Department of Transportation s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today issued a report comparing the revenues, earnings, and ridership of ten of the nation's largest intercity and charter bus companies for the quarter ending March 31, 1996, with the same period for 1995.

The report is based primarily upon quarterly reports submitted by the carriers to the Bureau. These ten companies account for between 80 and 90 percent of the total intercity and charter revenues generated by Class I bus companies.

Congress recently transferred to DOT responsibility for collecting financial and operational data from motor carriers of passengers and motor carriers of property, a function previously performed by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Because of the transition, the reports for the last three quarters were delayed.

Greyhound -- the only transcontinental bus company -- showed a substantial loss in earnings for the quarter ending March 31, 1996, accompanied by a rise in revenues and ridership. While the regional carriers had slight increases in revenues, net operating income, and ridership for the quarter, they experienced a decline in ordinary income compared with the same period in 1995.

The nine regional carriers, on a composite basis, experienced a very slight decline in their operating ratio between the three months ending March 31, 1996, and the same period for 1995, as revenues increased at a fractionally higher rate than expenses. For the same period, Greyhound reported a greater increase in its operating ratio. Because of Greyhound's size, compared with the nine regional carriers, its operating ratio increase resulted in a slight unfavorable increase for the ten carriers as a group.

To order a copy of any of the reports, contact the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by telephone on (202) 366-4383, Fax (202) 366-3383, or by writing to the Bureau at BTS/DOT, K-27, Room 4125, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590. The report can also be viewed and downloaded on the Internet worldwide web at www.bts.gov/mcs, under Products and Reports.