Suzanne Thornburg, president and CEO of Capital and Colonial Trailways, has been elected chair of the Trailways Transportation System board of directors, succeeding Robert Brisman of West Point Trailways.
Thornburg has served in several leadership roles within Trailways, most recently as vice chair and treasurer of the board, as well as a member of the executive committee. She has also been active in the motorcoach industry through her service on the American Bus Association board of directors and its foundation board, as well as the association’s Women in Buses Council. She is also a member of the United Motorcoach Association and the Alabama Motorcoach Association.
She became involved in the daily operations of Capital and Colonial Trailways in April 2019, after serving on the companies’ board of directors since 2011. Less than a year later, she assumed full-time leadership as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the motorcoach industry nationwide.
Capital and Colonial Trailways are fifth-generation, family-owned Trailways member companies. Thornburg continues a leadership legacy that began with the family of her late former husband, Frank Montgomery III, more than 95 years ago. Her four adult children now represent the fifth generation of ownership, with her son Frank Montgomery IV serving as vice president.
The companies operate from three Alabama locations — Montgomery, Madison-Huntsville, and Mobile — providing charter and scheduled-service transportation throughout the Southeast and beyond. Capital marked 95 years of service in 2025, while Colonial will celebrate 90 years.
As chair, Thornburg will help guide the network’s focus on advocacy, safety, education, growth, and innovation across the motorcoach industry.
Founded in 1936, Trailways is a national network of independently owned motorcoach companies that provide charter bus and scheduled route service across the United States.
