Coach USA, the operator of Megabus and other commuter bus lines in the U.S. and Canada, filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware late Tuesday, seeking to sell its assets and shed debt incurred in an ill-timed 2019 private equity buyout.Posted: Jun 13, 2024 11:54 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago
The company is selling the majority of its bus lines — including Megabus Canada — to holding company The Renco Group, in exchange for taking on $130 million US of company debt and certain union contracts. Others will be sold to car rental service Avalon Transportation Inc. While ridership levels have rebounded somewhat since the lows of 2020, they were still only 45 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2023, and Coach has faced higher interest rates and increased costs for basic needs like employee retention and fuel, Coach said in its court filings.Coach CEO Derrick Waters said that buses will continue to run as normal during the company's bankruptcy.