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Paramus, N.J. — An agreement has been reached for the sale of Coach USA to an affiliate of Variant Equity Advisors subject to certain conditions, including the approval of the Surface Transportation Board. The sale is expected to be finalized by end of April 2019.
Coach USA & Coach Canada combined are one of the largest transportation companies in North America, incorporating more than 29 local carriers with more than 4,500 employees and approximately 2,200 buses and coaches. It provides megabus.com inter-city coach services, commuter services, airport transportation, sightseeing tours, charters, and contract services across North America. The North American business is currently owned by Stagecoach Group, a Scotland-based international public transport group, which operates buses, coaches, trams, and trains, with close to 31,000 employees in the UK and North America.
“Coach USA has been hugely successful in delivering safe, high quality, affordable, and greener travel for people across North America. I believe we have the best team in the industry who will continue to deliver the best travel experience possible to our passengers every single day. We are excited about this tremendous opportunity and look forward to delivering our strategy alongside our Variant,” said Linda Burtwistle, president and COO of Coach USA North America.
“Coach USA has a stellar reputation for delivering safe, reliable travel throughout North America,” said Variant Equity Managing Partner Farhaad Wadia. “We look forward to partnering with the business’ management team to continue driving Coach’s growth under Variant’s ownership.”
Visit coachusa.com for more information.
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Harrington Limousine Service President Jonathan Wilner
Edison, N.J. — A. Harrington Limousine Service (HLS) has acquired Regal Limousine of South Amboy. Through this acquisition, Harrington will build on its already impressive fleet, adding Regal’s fleet of vehicles. Both companies have been family owned and operated for decades, and both take pride in their ability to provide the upmost service to their clientele. HLS “looks forward to providing a new home and an overall elevated experience for Regal’s customers under its safeguard.”
The procurement allows HLS to expand its services, which include uniformed chauffeurs, 24/7/365 reservations and dispatching, worldwide availability, GPS tracking of all vehicles, email and text confirmations, and an online booking portal that provides passengers the ability to create new or modify existing reservations, receive confirmations, and obtain ride receipts in real time. Passengers will also now have more access to interact with their drivers and a wider variety of vehicles.
“I have seen the industry go from zero to where it is today, and Harrington is going to take it to the next level,” said Robert Duffy, owner and operator of Regal Limousines since 1984.
Today, HLS is in its 95th year, with President Jonathan Wilner at the helm of what is now one of the “nation’s oldest chauffeured-driven services” under continuous family ownership. About the acquisition, Jon says, “We saw a company with great potential and great clients we felt … could benefit from the additional services we could provide.”
Visit harringtonlimo.com for more information.
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The Exclusive Sedan Service team at their new location in Van Nuys, Calif.
Van Nuys, Calif. — Rapid growth and operational expansion has led Exclusive Sedan Service to move to a new premises on Densmore Avenue in the Central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles.
CEO Brandan Stein says the new location is a big step forward for the family-owned business. His parents Ron and Jackie Stein originally founded the company back in 1980, and since then it has grown extensively to incorporate a much wider range of transportation options and vehicle types.
“The company has been operating for 38 years, and we were in our previous location for 15 years,” explains Brandan. “The business was growing and expanding into new areas, and we were simply running out of warehouse space.”
The changes are drastic. The new location is about three times the size of their previous premises.
“We’ve gone from having 3,000 square feet to around 8,000 to 9,000 square feet with this move. This will give us much more room for our growing fleet of vehicles,” says Stein.
Previously, Exclusive stored 20 vehicles off-site at a location that was far and inconvenient to travel. Now, the storage site is now located right next door to the new location, making access to these vehicles much quicker and easier.
The company also plans to use the additional warehouse space to employ teams of in-house mechanics and auto detailing staff rather than outsourcing these functions. This will allow them to have more control over the process and further streamline their operations to save on unnecessary costs and increase efficiencies.
There are other advantages involved in moving to another part of the city, too: “Our new space is more centrally located for the Studios, and we are also much closer to LAX,” says Stein. “This will increase the company’s ability to respond quickly to trip requests and save time on journeys between headquarters and these popular L.A. destinations.”
However, despite the change in location, Exclusive insists that their clientele will see no change in service. “For our clients, everything stays the same—they won’t notice a difference, which is how it should be,” explains Stein. “The company is committed to providing the same exceptional standard of service to its customers, with a focus on expertise and professionalism at every level of the business. The new location will simply make this process a whole lot easier, quicker, and more efficient.”
The entire company is looking forward to using the new location as a catalyst to continue their impressive growth over the coming years.
Visit exclusivesedan.com for more information.
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