Peter Pan Bus :: News

Peter Pan Bus Lines Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

From "Pots and Pans" to "The People Professionals"

When it was first suggested that National Bus Trader publish an article on Peter Pan Bus Lines, we immediately answered in the affirmative. It is a classic American success story of how an immigrant family, who changed their family name to sound more American, became successful in the bus business. It is also a family story, on how three hard working generations improved upon what was handed to them and grew from a fleet of four limousines to more than 300 vehicles and the largest independent regular route bus company in the nation in seven decades. In addition, it is also a story of traditional, conservative scheduled service operations that were once the backbone of this industry. To some extent, this article is also a tribute to the late Peter L. Picknelly who worked with us on four Bus Bash events and on several other projects.

After spending many, many hours in research we discovered that one article was hopelessly inadequate to tell the full story of Peter Pan Bus Lines. In fact, a book has already been written about the company. It is titled Driving Vision, The Story of Peter Pan Bus Lines and covers company history through 1999. Hence, our job was to sift through notes and information in order to decide on what to include in this article. The decisions were not easy.

In the Beginning

The story behind Peter Pan Bus Lines actually starts in Picarelli, Italy, in the province of Avellino, a small community of 4,000 located in Southern Italy about 30 miles northeast of Naples. Carmine Picariello, the son of a subsistence farmer, was drafted into military service in 1885 where he learned road construction and utility work. When he returned from the military, he discovered that economic conditions were poor and that many were jobless. In order to support his family, Carmine went to the United States where his military experience landed him a position with the Department of Public Works in East Orange, New Jersey.

His wife and two sons joined him in the United States in 1899. Three more children were born and Carmine changed the family name to Picknelly to sound more American, and the names of the children were Americanized at this same time.

Carmine died unexpectedly in 1907 and Peter C., then only 15 and the second-born son, took over responsibility for the family. Family tradition holds that Peter C. got involved with motor transportation because of his father's background with roads. For several years he was employed as a chauffeur. In 1919, Peter C. was able to buy into the association running a route along Central Avenue from East Orange to Newark. Peter C., along with three other Italian bus operators, sold their vehicles and licenses to Public Service of New Jersey in late 1925 and then moved to Springfield, Massachusetts to start a new bus company.

Interstate Busses Corp. was formed in 1926 with operating authority for an initial route from Hartford, Connecticut to Providence, Rhode Island. Peter C. served as president of the company and secured operating rights for an additional route to Albany, New York. In spite of the fact that the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression, Peter C. sold out his share of the partnership at the end of 1932 to strike out on his own. Interstate Busses continued operating and was eventually merged into Bonanza Bus Lines.

In 1933, Peter C. purchased the Yellow Cab Air Line. Based in Springfield, MA, the company operated four seven-passenger limousines on a route from Northampton and Springfield, Massachusetts to Boston via a somewhat roundabout route through Connecticut. Peter C. named the new company Peter Pan Bus Lines after the main character in the Sir James Matthew Barrie classic about the boy who lived in Neverland and refused to grow up. Family tradition holds that two of Peter"s children, Janet and Peter L. Jr., bore a resemblance to the characters of Wendy and Peter Pan in the book. In the following years, Peter C. expanded the company and secured more operating rights that made Peter Pan the dominant player on the Springfield-Boston route.

The Fleet

Like many other bus companies, Peter Pan Bus Lines operated a wide range of equipment in the years prior to World War II. The original fleet of 1933 consisted of two 1930 Buicks, one 1929 Packard and one 1929 Pierce Arrow, all seven-passenger limousines. The fleet was soon enhanced by Chevrolets that were stretched by Fitzjohn to seat 11 passengers and operated more economically. As the number of passengers increased, the company switched to buying smaller Beck buses until 1940.

While the War years brought an increasing number of passengers, the number of new buses available was reduced because of the War effort. As a result, Peter Pan Bus Lines expanded their fleet wherever they could find buses. Buses added to the fleet at this time included three gas-powered Yellow Coaches, a pair of Fitzjohns, three Becks, two Aerocoaches and a ubiquitous Ford Transit that presumably only saw local service. The company"s first diesel powered bus was a GM PDA3702 acquired in 1944. Records indicate that the company had grown to operate approximately 13 vehicles at this time.

This resulted in a rather diverse fleet at this time and earned Peter Pan Bus Lines the sobriquet "Pots and Pans" from detractors, particularly Trailways and Greyhound drivers. When normalcy returned in the post-war years and buses became available again, Peter Pan began moving to a more standardized fleet. With very few exceptions, the company purchased GM coaches almost exclusively for the next three decades. In common with most major bus operators, the Peter Pan fleet included the PD4103, PD4104 and PD4106.

The early post-war years also saw two personnel changes that would substantially affect the company. Carmen Picknally, the son of Peter C's brother Bill, enlisted after his junior year in high school and spent the War years in the Navy. (He finally received his high school diploma in 2003 at the age of 77). Carmen returned to Peter Pan in 1946 and started a career in bus maintenance that was to last for more than four decades. Carmen became well known throughout the industry and was very highly regarded. Bill Picknally served as operations manager and his untimely death in 1948 caused a serious gap in the administration of the bus line. At this time Peter L., the son of Peter C. and also known as Peter Jr., was 18 years old and attending his first year at Northeastern University. Peter L. "temporarily" left school and returned to Springfield to fill this void. He never did return to college. This marks the start of the second generation of the Picknelly family in management of the bus company.

At about the mid-century mark in 1950, Peter Pan Bus Lines began outfitting its buses with white wall tires, a rather unusual procedure for bus operators. As a result, Peter Pan became known as the company "with the white wall tire fleet." In 1958 the company celebrated its 25th anniversary. Two Flxible Starliners were purchased in 1958 and became the only Flxibles purchased new by the company. By that time the fleet had grown to 27 coaches.

Peter C. died in January of 1964 at the age of 72. Peter L., then only 33 years old, struggled to fill his father's shoes. His mother, Jennie Picknelly, assumed more responsibility with the company at this time and served for 18 years in several capacities including vice president and office supervisor.

Peter Pan continued to rely on GM coaches for several more years. Typically, the company placed orders once each year for at least three to five coaches. The first of the PD4107 coaches arrived in 1966. Peter Pan moved up to 40-foot coaches when the PD4903 became available in 1968. From there, the company embraced the PD4905 and P8M4905A models until 1973.

Like many of the larger bus companies, Peter Pan took the conservative route and made a switch from GM to MCI coaches in the 1970s. In 1974, Peter Pan purchased its first order of MCI coaches, two of the MC-8 model. They were soon followed by many more and Peter Pan has remained loyal to MCI buses for more than 30 years. Today, their fleet is almost exclusively MCI coaches.

In 1977, Peter Pan introduced its first billboard bus, which had most or all of its exterior covered with special paint or graphics. This first billboard bus was a 1975 MC-8 that advertised Canadian tourism destinations. Subsequent billboard buses promoted various areas, celebrated a company anniversary, or highlighted the Peter Pan storybook characters. In 1978, Peter Pan put the first wheelchair-assisted coach in service. This was a 1975 MC-8 that was equipped with a wheelchair lift by the Peter Pan staff. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1983. By that time the fleet had grown to 65 MCI coaches.

Peter L. Picknelly began moving his own son, Peter A., into the business at an early date. On his 21st birthday in 1980, Peter A. was named vice president of Peter Pan Bus Lines. He then became president in 1984 at 25 years old when his grandmother passed away. In 1991, Peter A. became CEO.

Peter L. Picknelly coined the phrase "The People Professionals," which was later incorporated into a campaign that in 1987 received a first place award from the Travel Industry Association of America. Peter Pan has won this award twice and is the only bus line to have done so.

In recent years, Peter Pan has continued to buy regular orders of MCI coaches most every year. In some cases, they were the first to order a new MCI model. After the MC-8 model, Peter Pan purchased the MC-9, 96A3, 102A3, and 102B3 models. In 1993, Peter Pan purchased some of the first 45-foot 102DL3 models. The 102DL3 model was purchased for eight years and eventually made up the majority of the fleet. In 2001, Peter Pan took delivery of the first of the new MCI J4500 models and has continued to purchase more of this same model on a regular basis.

The Strike and Other Investments

A turning point for the company came in 1971 when it experienced its only strike...on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving, the company's busiest day of the year. Peter L. shut down the company rather than try to operate with management personnel. The strike was settled but it made Peter Pan management think about diversification into ventures other than the bus line. Some of these proved to be interesting and profitable.

One of the more interesting sidelights to the Peter Pan story is the old trolley barn that was built in 1897 when the Springfield Street Railway changed over from horse cars to electric trolley cars. Peter Pan bought the building in 1958, at a time when its fleet consisted of 27 buses and it had outgrown its current facility. For many years the building was used as both a bus garage and as a corporate office. Additional expansion eventually forced the garage and corporate office into larger facilities, and the trolley barn was renovated in 1980-82. At that point the building was used by a new Peter Pan affiliate, Coach Builders, Inc., which specialized in rebuilding and refurbishing buses.

At one time or another the Picknelly family were involved in several other bus operations. Travel Time operated school bus service in the Springfield area and eventually grew to own 600 buses and transported 17,000 students daily. U.S. Bus was a coach operation in Washington, D.C. in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Peter L. Picknelly was also involved with Sunshine Bus Lines in Florida and VIP Coach Line in Atlantic City. Over the years the family has also been involved with insurance as well as bus leasing including Eastern Leasing.

One of the more interesting investments is a national firearms distributor called Camfour, one of the largest firearms distributors in the country, with office locations in Massachusetts and Texas. Camfour continues to be an important part of the combined business portfolio. The family also owns a company called Belt Technologies, which is a leading manufacturer of metal belts used in high-tech machinery.

In the transportation area, a 49-seat sightseeing riverboat appropriately named Tinker Belle was launched in 1997. It offered cruises on the Connecticut River from Springfield"s Riverfront Park. In 1998, Peter Pan introduced its Pirate Ship land and water tours using British Stalwart amphibious vehicles.

While there have been several investments in real estate, the most noteworthy was the 1993 acquisition of Monarch Place in downtown Springfield. Built in 1986 at a cost of $110 million, Monarch Place is a 25-story office tower that also includes a 304-room Sheraton hotel. It has become a major factor in the renaissance of downtown Springfield. An interesting side note is that Monarch Place is located on the site that was used for the very first Springfield terminal for Peter Pan Bus Lines when Peter C. Picknelly purchased the company in 1933.

The family also operates two other hotels in Western Massachusetts; a Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield at the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Country Inn & Suites in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Future expansion includes a $30 million Hilton Garden Hotel in Worcester, Massachusetts. Additionally, they have been selected as preferred developer and builder for the Holyoke Multimodal Transportation Center and are in negotiations for developing a $50 million transportation center in Springfield.

Peter Pan Bus Lines and the Picknelly family have been very supportive of their native Springfield, Massachusetts. Each of the three Peter Pan management generations has served with civic groups including the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and supported numerous charitable organizations.

Bus Bashes

A total of four different Bus Bash events were either hosted or co-hosted by Peter Pan Bus Lines and affiliates. Until today, this stands as an all-time record.

The fourth Bus Bash was held in May of 1982 at the U.S. Bus facility in Tuxedo, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. Peter Pan Bus Lines hosted the 14th Bus Bash in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1987. In 1996, Peter Pan Bus Lines joined with Gold Line to host a Bus Bash in Tuxedo, Maryland which included a tour of Washington, D.C. May of 2001 saw Peter Pan Bus Lines host a Bus Bash in its home town of Springfield, Massachusetts. This included a look at some of the first J4500 coaches in regular service and a ride on the new Tinker Belle boat.

Recent Expansion

One of the more interesting aspects of the Peter Pan story is that each succeeding generation of Picknelly management builds upon what the family has done in the past and continues to expand. Peter A. Picknelly, the son of Peter L. and the third generation of Picknelly management, assumed more and more responsibility between 1980 and 1991. By 1988 the company was already operating 134 coaches. Since that time, Peter A. has expanded the company throughout much of New England and has grown in size to more than 300 coaches.

The company's first major expansion came in 1986 when they acquired the assets and route authority of Trailways of New England. This acquisition brought Peter Pan from its traditional New England routes into New York City for the first time. It doubled the number of cities served, as well as the number of its employees. With this new service the company also established its first Connecticut division and garage location in Milford, CT. Today, New York City is the core of Peter Pan's regular route business.

The second major expansion came in 1992 when Peter Pan Bus Lines acquired a terminal in Washington, D.C. and began operating scheduled service to New York City. What resulted was a major fare war between Peter Pan and Greyhound that brought the one-way Washington-New York fare down to $5. Peter Pan was eventually successful in expanding service to other major cities including Baltimore and Philadelphia. In 1999, Greyhound and Peter Pan entered into a strategic alliance in the Northeast corridor with the two companies pooling routes and terminals.

An interesting note is that Peter Pan Bus Lines joined the National Trailways Bus System in 1992. In the operating areas where the Peter Pan name was well known, the Trailways name was added in smaller letters to the buses. However, on the newer routes further south where the Peter Pan name was not so well known, the Trailways name was larger on the side of the bus while the Peter Pan name was smaller.

It should be mentioned that while most bus companies offer charter service, very few provide scheduled service. Peter Pan Bus Lines continues to be considerably different than the average bus company. In 1998, 82 percent of Peter Pan"s revenue came from scheduled services, 13 percent came from charters and tours while the last 5 percent came from other sources.

Peter Pan's third major expansion in recent years came about in conjunction with Coach USA, a subsidiary of Stagecoach Holdings in Great Britain. Coach USA had acquired several bus operations in the New England area in 1998 and 1999. In early 2003, it was announced that Peter Pan had reached an agreement with Coach USA to purchase five of these affiliates. Companies included were Bonanza Bus Lines and Pawtuxet Valley Lines, both based in Rhode Island. Arrow Lines is based in East Hartford, Milford and Waterford, Connecticut. Coach USA Boston is based in Boston, while the Maine Line is located in Portland, Maine.

This acquisition became official in June of 2003 and effectively doubled the size of Peter Pan Bus Lines. It added approximately 175 buses to the fleet. It also doubled the size of the work force from approximately 750 to approximately 1,500. In early 2004, Peter Pan sold the Maine Line operation in Portland to Cyr Bus Line in Old Town, Maine. Maine Line operated 23 coaches in Portland but provided no scheduled service.

Today, Peter Pan Bus Lines is the largest independent regular route bus company in the United States. It serves more than 100 communities, and it operates more than 300 buses that travel more than 25 million miles annually. Would Peter C. Picknelly have dreamed that the little operation with four limousines that he purchased in 1933 could grow to this size seven decades and three generations later?

Peter Pan Bus Lines is truly a family business. In addition to those already mentioned, several other family members are actively involved in the company on a day-to-day basis. Melissa Picknelly (Mrs. Peter A.) is the executive director of tours for Peter Pan. The company recently acquired Show Bus Tours, which is headquartered at Peter Pan"s Milford, Connecticut location. It is the leading transportation company to Broadway, offering hundreds of departures annually throughout New England to New York City theaters. Mary Jean Picknelly, the sister of Peter A., manages Show Bus tours.

Tom Picknally is the senior vice president of maintenance. He took over from his father Carmen when he retired a few years ago. Tom's son, Joe Picknally, is the fourth generation of Picknellys to work for the company. He works in the Maintenance Department and manages the East Hartford garage facility.

Looking into the Future

Looking into the future of Peter Pan Bus Lines, we posed several questions to Peter A. Picknelly seeking his input and insights on where Peter Pan Bus Lines is headed in the future. Here are his replies:

How is Peter Pan doing in scheduled service? Does it still represent the major share of Peter Pan operations? Do you see this changing in the future with additional emphasis on charters or tours?

Presently, Peter Pan is primarily a regular route company. Approximately 75 percent of our company's revenues are generated from our regular route business. While the regular route service will always be the mainstay of Peter Pan, effective fleet utilization is the key to our company's success.

Charters allow us to effectively utilize our equipment during non-peak periods of our regular route business. We continue to look for opportunities to utilize our equipment better, as an example, the purchase of Show Bus Tours, as well as our Boston Division that primarily handles conventions in that city. They effectively complement our regular route operations as they are generally busy during the times when our regular route business is not. We certainly have an interest in expanding this part of our business.

What has been the impact of the ethnic bus operators? My understanding is that some of the lines have actually been starting new routes.

There certainly has been an increase in the number of ethnic operators . . . competition from ethnic bus operators is not new to our industry. However, what is troubling is the lack of regulatory enforcement by FMCSA and Department of Transportation.

Essentially, these ethnic companies are allowed to operate line runs without proper authority, without compliance to ADA regulations, and clearly do not have the same level of vigorous safety measures or driver training. In fact, FMCSA doesn"t follow proper protocol by issuing authority prior to dealing with appeals.

The City of Boston has been extremely proactive in enforcing compliance by these curbside operations; it is discouraging that other major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. have shown little to no interest in controlling these activities. We are continuing to work with regulatory authorities to have these operators improve in these areas as a means of protecting the public and the image of the bus industry overall.

Has deregulation made the scheduled service business better or worse?

Overall, the concept of deregulation makes good sense. It gives the consumer more alternatives and has given legitimate companies an opportunity to compete that otherwise might not have been able to enter the marketplace. It encourages well-managed bus companies to lead in the marketplace, be creative and provide better service.

However, deregulation can be disastrous for our industry if illegitimate carriers are allowed to operate without regard to basic qualities of service such as safety, training, insurance, ADA, etc. If carriers are allowed to operate in this manner, it is bound to have a devastating effect on our industry.

What changes have you made in new coach options and specifications in recent years? What about things like wheelchair lifts, fire suppression systems, backup cameras, etc.?

The coaches are becoming more and more sophisticated. All of our new coaches are MCI J4500s. We think it's a great bus . . . it's much safer . . . it's more comfortable for the passengers . . . it's a workhorse . . . and it has strong curb appeal . . . equally efficient for both line regular route and charter service.

Our buses are video-equipped for many years now for the entertainment aspect. Specifications for all our new buses include: wheel chair lifts, full length driver"s barrier, Amerex Fire Suppression (one of the curbside carriers had a bus fully engulfed in flames a few months ago on the Massachusetts Turnpike), ISR onboard GPS, Pro Heat auxiliary heaters, REI DVD/VCP entertainment with individual headsets on select routes, reading light test switch, and e-stroke electronic brake monitors (on test).

We worked with MCI on designing side view mirrors with directional signal lights that have helped dramatically reduce side impact accidents. We are currently working on backup sensors (similar to SUVs) that alert the driver when they are too close to an object. This will reduce backing up accidents. We continually work closely with MCI on improving the safety, performance and creature comforts of the vehicle.

What does Peter Pan see in its future? Is there going to be more expansion? Will there be a move into different markets or more or less cooperation with Greyhound and the Trailways organization?

We continue to look for ways to expand our company through new business opportunities. The purchase of Show Bus Tours was a great fit for our company and an important source of new revenue. Convention work throughout the northeast is an important component of our business that we continually pursue. We continue to work closely with our pool partner, Greyhound, seeking new market areas to expand our line run operations. As an example, we opened in New Carrollton, Maryland a few months ago and it is really taking off . . . we will carry well over 100,000 passengers this year alone from this new market. We are constantly looking for new market areas in the northeast and mid-Atlantic states to expand our business.

How will increased fuel prices impact Peter Pan Bus Lines and the bus industry?

I am optimistic that it will help both Peter Pan and the bus industry in the long run. Initially, increased fuel costs caused operating costs to rise. The first six months of 2005 increased fuel costs and (delete) caused a negative impact on our bottom line.

However, since July 2005 we have seen a dramatic spike in business on our regular route service systemwide. Every route has shown an increase in double digits. It is obvious that higher fuel prices are putting people on buses. This is providing us with a new customer base that is hopefully here to stay. In a recent speech, President Bush suggested that Americans should make better use of mass transit.

Assuming that higher fuel prices are here to stay, more and more people will seek bus transportation for their travel needs. We believe there is a strong future for the motorcoach industry and, in particular, Peter Pan.

My major negative concern is over home heating oil. Many homes in our service area use home heating oil. A substantial increase in the cost of home heating oil this winter could impact family budgets and reduce travel. I have always felt that bus passengers are people with more time than money while airline passengers are people who have more money than time.

What other information or comments do you feel are important?

We are diligently working to improve our service for our employees and our customers. For example:

For the convenience of our customers, we are making significant inroads in the area of internet/website sales. Just eighteen months ago, internet sales were a very small percentage of our business...today over 30% of our sales in all major markets are made online ... and growing.

We are looking into technology that will allow our customers to print their tickets at home, by-passing the ticket counters altogether, as well as bus-side scanners vs. collection of tickets that will enhance the customer experience and improve accounting.

We have retrofitted our entire fleet with Nextel telephones. We are currently retrofitting 100 percent of our fleet with GPS units which will allow us to track the exact, real-time operation of the vehicle including location, speed, idling time, braking patterns, etc. It will be further expanded to provide real-time arrival information for our customers in our terminals and online.

We are looking at several safety and security enhancements to improve service for our customers. As example, with the GPS technology, we will also deploy a driver "panic alert" system in the vehicles, wherein if there were an emergency situation on the bus, local, state and Federal law enforcement officials will automatically be notified, can track the vehicle and assist the driver.

We are exploring new pricing models for our regular route system . . . more like the airlines, i.e. prices depending on when a ticket is sold. We will perhaps consider a reservation system for a limited number of our seats.

Memorials to Peter L. Picknelly

Both the family and the bus industry were saddened by the unexpected death of Peter L. Picknelly on October 4, 2004 while on a trip. Although he was no longer active in the day-to-day management of the bus company, he was involved in other family enterprises and continued to be involved in the bus industry.

In his honor, the Springfield Bus Terminal has been renamed the Peter L. Picknelly Transportation Center. A monument has been erected at the terminal that is lighted at night and carries his name. In addition, a perpetual scholarship is offered through the American Bus Association in the name of Peter L. Picknelly. It is open to anyone in the bus industry.

How will increased fuel prices impact Peter Pan Bus Lines and the bus industry?

However, since July 4 of 2005 we have seen a dramatic spike in business on our regular route service systemwide. Every route has shown an increase in double digits. It is obvious that higher fuel prices put people on buses. This is providing us with a new customer base that is hopefully here to stay. In a recent speech, President Bush suggested that Americans should make better use of mass transit.

Assuming that higher fuel prices are here to stay, more and more people will seek bus transportation.

* This article was originally published in the National Bus Trader Magazine.