Indian Trails, which operates one of the largest fleets of deluxe motorcoaches in Michigan, has launched a national bus-ticketing system developed by Transcor Data Services (TDS).
The TDS system, called the Multi-Modal Cloud Platform, or MMC, enables Indian Trails to expand connections with almost 80 independent interlining bus companies nationwide. Interlining allows travelers to buy one ticket online or from an agent for a trip with two or more carriers in the national transportation network.
Thanks to interlining, passengers can buy a single ticket for travel across America on buses and trains for decades. But Greyhound — which operated the former ticketing system called TRIPS — announced in September 2022 that it was terminating interline agreements with all carriers and discontinuing TRIPS effective Feb. 21. As a result, many passengers were unable to buy bus tickets after that date, and there was a widespread disruption in the national transportation network.
Former arrangement ends
Greyhound was acquired by Flix SE, a German company, in November 2021. Flix proposed new interline agreements with all carriers in October 2022. Indian Trails objected to the terms of the proposed new contracts and ended its nearly 100-year interlining arrangement with Greyhound.
Indian Trails has served as Michigan’s premier, family-owned, intercity motorcoach carrier for 113 years and is based in Owosso, Michigan. Its daily scheduled routes — connecting with Amtrak trains — extend throughout Michigan and into Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In addition, its services include group charters, the Michigan Flyer airport shuttle, the D2A2 Express Bus service, airport transfers, and more.
Using Transcor’s MMC ticketing platform, Indian Trails — which currently operates 31 schedules serving over 80 locations — will continue to interline with all other carriers nationwide, including those providing intercity services in Michigan, such as Miller Transportation, Barons Bus and, soon, Adirondack Trailways, which plans to begin Detroit-Toronto service this spring.
“We’re excited about the expanded capabilities of the new MMC ticketing platform,” said Chad Cushman, president of Indian Trails. “This new system will allow Indian Trails to grow its current network of interlining carriers throughout the country while providing our mutual customers with a much-improved ticket-buying experience.”
Maximizing opportunities
“The bus industry, especially the intercity bus network, is evolving rapidly, creating new and better opportunities for passengers,” said Terry Cordell, CEO of TDS. “With the MMC platform integration, Indian Trails is well-positioned to maximize these opportunities.”
Starting March 1, Indian Trails will also expand its own daily routes to include new service between Detroit and Chicago with three round trips per day. The new service will connect with all of its schedules north of Interstate 94.
Thanks to the greater flexibility of the new MMC interline ticketing system — which supports interline ticketing with all carriers, online booking, point of sale transactions, schedule and fare management, and more — the U.S. intercity bus network is expected to expand by 15–20 carriers.
Indian Trails will continue to provide numerous outlets for purchasing tickets, including its web store at https://www.indiantrails.com/bus-tickets, as well as ticket agencies statewide and beyond. Anyone who experiences difficulties in purchasing a ticket should call Indian Trails’ customer service toll-free at 800-292-3831, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
