Megabus has some issues. Does it matter?

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Big, blue double-decker buses roll in and out of Cincinnati every day mostly full of passengers – further proof that cash is king in the new world of non-business travel in the U.S.

Dirt cheap tickets and limited-stop service to places like Chicago ensure coach operator Megabus continues to thrive here – despite multiple problems in the past year. Perhaps the most obvious of those problems: Megabus canceled a trip to Atlanta on Christmas Eve, leaving customers stranded in a cold, desolate Queensgate parking lot.

Still, customers say, it's worth the risk for ticket prices that can be as low as $1 one-way.

"For all its faults, I do appreciate having Megabus as a cheap alternative," said AJ Knee, a graduate student at the University of Cincinnati who has taken nearly 30 trips on Megabus, including one to Chicago this weekend. "It's not always the best option, but it's a good option."

Cincinnati likes its low-cost travel options. Megabus is the highway version of Allegiant Air, which has been a huge success since arriving at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport last year. Arriving here in 2006, Megabus has grown from offering a couple of daily trips to Chicago to carrying 220,000 passengers a year to 10 cities – making Cincinnati a top 15 market for the company.

Chicago-based Megabus promotes more city-to-city direct routes than its competitors. It has won over millennials and college students across 100 U.S. cities, helping the company to avoid the stigma that intercity buses are for lower-income citizens. It has several stops on college campuses across the U.S., including UC.

Transportation experts aren't surprised by Megabus' success.

"There's a huge untapped intercity bus market in this country," said Joshua Schank, president and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. "We have a completely inadequate rail system, and air travel between city pairs – particularly smaller markets – is declining. You've certainly seen that in Cincinnati with all the (Delta Air Lines) cuts."

Schank added: "That provides an opening for buses to come in and offer a real alternative. Yeah, it's going to take you two or three hours longer to get to your destination, but there's a real benefit: It's cheaper than flying or driving."

Paying a price for cheap tickets

Megabus can offer cheap fares because it does business on the cheap. It's known for keeping overhead costs down, but that can sacrifice customer service. Megabus promotes wireless internet service on its buses, but several people report that the service isn't reliable. The company also prefers not to pay rent for its pickup and drop-off locations, when possible. That's been a particular problem in Cincinnati.

Megabus has moved its Downtown pickup and drop-off spot three times since fall 2013, essentially because it's looking for a free or inexpensive location. The Downtown destination has bounced from street corners to parking lots.

Megabus' original stop at Fourth and Race streets worked when Tower Place mall was open. The mall provided an indoor public waiting area with a food court and restrooms. But after it closed, nearby residents started complaining to the city about passengers being noisy and littering.

Complaints by residents or businesses also prompted moves from two other sites. In October, Megabus moved to its current location, a parking lot at 691 Gest Street. It's supposed to be a temporary site, with a porta-potty, four benches, a trash can – and no shelter.

"It's not a good situation," said Derek Bauman, a local transit advocate. "It's bush league, and we're above that."

Local passengers can wait in their cars. But those on a layover are stuck outside. Three women traveling from Cleveland on Thursday stood on a sidewalk during a 2 1/ 2 -hour layover on their way to Atlanta. It was 20 degrees and snowing. Alysia Paul paid $49 for a round-trip ticket, but the extra savings wasn't worth sitting in the cold.

"I'll never do it again," said Paul, 58. "They might as well have cornfields out here, so at least if you wanted to go the bathroom, you could get behind a stalk."

Said Schank: "With these discount carriers, people have to remember: You get what you pay for – and you shouldn't expect more than that."

Transit center not 'option right now'

The cancellation of a trip on a cold and rainy Christmas Eve prompted Bauman to call for Megabus to move to the Riverfront Transit Center. The $23 million enclosed center at The Banks was designed for buses and has been mostly unused since opening in 2003. It's close to hotels, restaurants, bus stops and the upcoming streetcar line.

But it looks like Megabus' Downtown stop will remain in Queensgate for the foreseeable future.

"The problem is Megabus doesn't want to pay," said City Councilwoman Amy Murray, who chairs the council's transportation committee. "Hopefully, the transit center (option) is never dead, but it doesn't seem like an option right now."

Megabus officials say they're willing to pay for the transit center, just not Metro's asking price. Metro runs the transit center, and the agency's former CEO Terry Garcia Crews originally asked Megabus to pay $20,000 a month to lease the facility, Metro spokeswoman Sallie Hilvers said.

Megabus officials scoffed. In cities where Megabus operates out of a transit center, it typically pays $1,000 a month for rent, said director of operations Bryony Chamberlain. Rental costs for the Riverfront Transit Center would have to cover security, utilities and facility maintenance, Hilvers said.

Megabus and Metro haven't talked since September.

"It looks to be the most logical option," Chamberlain said. "You have a huge facility, which has been paid for. I would love to be able to get in there."

Megabus safe, federal data shows

Megabus has had some high-profile crashes and highway mishaps in recent years. One of those occurred in Greater Cincinnati in January 2014. An 81-seat double-decker bus en route to Chicago from Cincinnati caught on fire on Interstate 74 near Harrison. A tire problem caused a fire inside the luggage compartment. None of the 51 passengers were injured, but some luggage was destroyed.

In 2012, a woman was killed when a Megabus blew a tire and crashed in Illinois; a bus struck and killed a pedestrian in Chicago; and a double-decker caught fire in Georgia. Late last year, Megabus coaches had three wrecks in three months across Indiana.

Megabus, however, has received overall satisfactory safety ratings from the federal government in the past 24 months. The divisions of the company that operate buses in Cincinnati – Megabus USA and Megabus Southeast – have had a total of five crashes with injuries and no fatalities, according to an Enquirer analysis of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data.

"Their overall numbers are very good for intercity bus service," Schank said. "Yeah, there's been some high-profile accidents, and people love to say we need more regulation. In most cases, though, it's not a regulation thing. It's a random-things-happen issue."

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