CHICAGO - megabus.com, the low-fare curbside line-run operator, began putting its new double-decker Van Hool coaches into service last week, with an inaugural run between Chicago and Minneapolis.

The company said it's offering the first double-decker intercity service in the U.S.

"These new state-of-the-art double-decker coaches are a first for the United States and will support our strategy to develop the megabus.com brand in North America," said Brian Souter, chief executive of Stagecoach Group, the Scottish-based corporate parent of Coach USA and megabus.com.

"The high-quality double-decker coaches we already operate in the (United Kingdom) have been a big hit with customers. By providing a low-cost high quality alternative to the car, we are confident we will get a tremendous response from passengers in the U.S," Souter added.

megabus.com and Coach USA are spending $10 million to buy 17 wheelchair-accessible double-decker Van Hools. By January, the coaches will be integrated into already scheduled routes to Ann Arbor and Detroit, Mich.; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo, Ohio; Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo., and Indianapolis.

Said Coach USA/megabus.com President and COO Dale Moser: "megabus.com strives to introduce new concepts in intercity express bus travel in the United States. The double-decker buses megabus.com operates in the UK have been a huge hit with customers."

The U.S.-spec'd double-decker Van Hools can accommodate 79 passengers, with seat belts for every passenger, and two wheelchair spaces. The coaches have two doors, with the rear door equipped with a wheelchair ramp.

Because luggage is stored in the back of the coach, it has a lower floor, allowing passengers in wheelchairs to enter via the rear-door ramp at curbside.

More than 500,000 passengers have traveled on megabus.com since it was launched in April of last year. Service is provided to nearly 20 cities, with hubs in Chicago and Los Angeles.