KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The nation's newest luxury intercity coach service has been started between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Bieber Business Class, a division of Carl R. Bieber Tourways of Kutztown, Pa., began service late last month with three Prevost coaches and free trial runs.
The service operates two round trips Monday through Friday between Washington and Philadelphia / Lehigh Valley, and one trip on Sunday afternoon.
The Washington-bound trip from Philadelphia begins at the Quakertown Park-N-Ride north of Philadelphia, with early stops at Philadelphia Marriott Downtown and at Colonial Airport Parking, which is two miles south of Philadelphia International Airport. The end point is the Washington Marriott at Metro Center, which also is the start point for return trips to Philadelphia. A one-way trip takes roughly 4 and one-half hours.
The cost is $69 one-way.
The standard Greyhound fare between Philadelphia and Washington's Union Station is $25.
The Bieber service includes free Internet hookups and power outlets at each seat and complimentary refreshments and snacks. The travel time on Bieber is about 45 minutes less than Greyhound.
To launch its service, Bieber purchased the three Prevost coaches that had been used two years ago to launch ExecConnect, the luxury service that operated for nine months between Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
Bieber has priced its one-way service $10 below what ExecConnect charged between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, which had a travel time of roughly two hours and 40 minutes.
Bieber hired Amadas Coach of Suffolk Va., to make upgrades to the former ExecConnect coaches that were outfitted with 27 extra-wide leather seats, power ports for lap-top computers, Internet connections, galley and four-person meeting areas.
The coaches were rewired with CAT5 cabling (the kind that networked offices typically use), wireless Internet connections, three XM radios, and KVH TracVision satellite receivers. The REI-based system also has DVD and VCR players.
John Kowalski, general manager of Carl R. Bieber Tourways and the driving force behind the Bieber Business Class service, said the interior appointments also were refined with - among other things -- new headliners and marble entry tile with nonskid coverings.
Between Nov. 29 and Dec. 12, Bieber offered complimentary service with those customers using the Internet to make reservations charged $1 on their credit card. However, when passengers boarded the coach, the $1 was refunded in cash.
Full fare was scheduled to go into effect Dec. 13.
Marketing plans include a direct mail program. The service is being positioned as "premiere service/executive treatment."