Peter Pan Bus Lines Past Present and Future

Founded in 1933

Founded in 1933 by Peter Carmine Picknelly, Peter Pan Bus Lines got its name from the founder’s children’s favorite bedtime story, Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie.

The company started out with just four 1933 Buick Jitney vehicles. Peter Pan’s first route, Northampton to Boston via Stafford Springs, CT, was a circuitous route that took 3 1/2 hours with a round trip fare of $3.50!

In 1940, Peter Pan Peter Pan won approval from the State of Massachusetts to operate direct to Boston via Route 20, cutting the travel time to 2 ½ hours.

In 1957, when the Massachusetts Turnpike opened, the company gained authority to travel on this express route to Boston, decreasing the travel time to less than 2 hours… as quick as the automobile and faster than the train… giving birth to the concept of affordable, convenient mass transit.

1963 – A Milestone for Peter Pan Bus Lines

1963 marked a milestone for Peter Pan Bus Lines as the company achieved $1 million in annual sales. At this point, Peter Pan’s fleet consisted of 28 buses. In January of 1964, founder Peter Carmine Picknelly died suddenly leaving the company’s helm to his 33-year old son, Peter Louis Picknelly. The next few years brought tremendous success and growth to Peter Pan.

Peter Pan began offering all expense included tours from Springfield to the New York World’s Fair. The $10.50 fare included admission and a breakfast snack. The tours were a phenomenal success for the newly formed Peter Pan World Travel Service, a division that brought substantial financial growth to the company.

Soon after, in 1969, the Springfield Bus Terminal opened at 1776 Main Street, the current home for Peter Pan Bus Lines. By now the company had over 70 employees and a fleet of 38 motorcoaches.

Focusing on the success created by the World’s Fair initiative, Peter Pan continued to expand its charter and tour

business, and quickly became the true pioneers of the charter bus industry throughout the 60’s and 70’s. By the end of the decade, tours and charters accounted for two thirds of all company sales.

During the 80’s, Peter Pan experienced a major expansion, acquiring over a half-dozen transportation companies. During this decade, Peter Pan established Coachbuilders, the only bus body shop in the Northeast, offering complete repairs and restorations for its own fleet as well as those of other companies.

1985 – Peter Pan Buys Trailways New England

With the purchase of Trailways New England in 1985, the size of the company doubled, as Peter Pan began line run service into New York City, still our Number one destination.

By the mid-nineties, Peter Pan acquired American Coach Lines, expanding service to Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia.

The late 90’s brought with them significant competition and intense “fare wars” between Peter Pan and Greyhound, which eventually led to a business alliance between the two companies. The Greyhound relationship with Peter Pan continues to remain strong today.

2003 – Peter Pan Doubles with purchase of Coach USA

Once again, in 2003 the company doubled in size by acquiring Coach USA companies including Arrow Lines, Boston Coach and Bonanza Bus Lines, bringing the company’s sales to over $2 million per week.

2005 – ShowBus Tours expands Peter Pan Bus Lines offerings

In 2005, Peter Pan purchased the Connecticut-based tour company, ShowBus Tours, expanding their offerings to include Broadway shows as well as Yankee and Red Sox baseball games and other popular ticketed events. This acquisition gave Peter Pan Bus Lines a breadth of travel services unmatched by any other company in the industry.

2007 – BoltBus – Joint Venture with Greyhound

In 2007, Peter Pan and Greyhound cooperatively began a new bus service, BoltBus, to provide center city-to-center city service using non-terminal pick-up locations. BoltBus vehicles feature WiFi, extra leg room and plug-ins.

Peter Pan Bus Lines was also a pioneer online, becoming one of the first bus lines to offer e-ticketing and online schedules. Over 2.5 million travelers visit Peter Pan’s website each year for tickets, travel information and promotions.

Today – Peter Pan Bus Lines leads the industry.

Today, Peter Pan is one of the largest privately owned intercity bus companies in the industry with the most modern fleet on the road. Our new state-of-the-art motorcoaches have changed bus travel forever, offering passengers exciting amenities such as Wi-Fi, electrical outlets for laptops and cell phone chargers, tray tables, extra legroom, safety restraints and more.

Peter Pan’s 1000+ employees include the best drivers in the industry, with more accident free miles on the road than any other company. Peter Pan coaches travel over 25 million miles a year: The equivalent of nearly 100 trips to the moon annually… or one of our buses going around the world three times every day!

Safety is of paramount importance at Peter Pan. We are proud to consistently achieve the Highest Safety Ratings from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense.

Peter Pan is still a family owned business, operating under the guidance of current president, Peter A. Picknelly. Its values and mission are also still the same:

“We connect our customers with the people, places and services that enhance the quality and enjoyment of their lives by providing equipment, technology, professional knowledge and experience required to manage and operate safe, comfortable and cost efficient ground transportation systems.”

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