Just one year ago, we sought out to learn more about the charter bus industry. After moving 50,000 people across 200 North American cities, we’ve come to really understand what we’ve gotten into.
The charter bus industry is outdated.
What we’re seeing is hundreds of thousands of unused buses across North America that are just… sitting there.
And the only way you or I could get access to these is by finding a reliable charter bus company, putting down a hefty deposit, and renting the vehicle and driver for a period of time. This is simple, in theory.
But as you continue through this journey, you encounter so many unknowns:
- Is this a fair price for my trip?
- Is this bus company good?
- Who is my driver?
- Is this bus good quality?
- How do I even pay for all of this?
If that was it, then maybe the situation would be passable. But as you approach the departure date, as the trip continues, and as the trip increases in complexity you encounter even more questions:
- Can I change my departure time and location?
- Can I add another bus because my group got larger?
- I’ve organized a bus in New York, but the bus companies are entirely different in New Jersey, what do I do?
- Will this bus even show up, it’s 15 minutes past departure time?
- Where the hell is this bus?!
This is ridiculous. You want to move a group of people easily, yet here you are learning more about the charter bus industry than you ever wanted to know. It becomes so cumbersome that event organizers rarely even think about organizing transportation to their events, sports teams hire dedicated travel managers just for their charter needs, and university students get swindled every time they try to organize a trip.
We recently announced that we’ve been participating in Y Combinator during the last two months. Our news has been covered by TechVibes, Montreal in Technology, Canadian Business, and others. Today, we’d like to shed some light on what exactly we’re solving.
First: we’re focusing on event organizers.
Whether it’s a small university club moving fifty people for a retreat at a national park, or a music festival moving tens of thousands of people to the middle of nowhere – we want to be your solution.
Events organizers spend significant amounts of time focusing on creating spectacles that deliver awesome experiences to their guests. How attendees arrive should be a major piece of this. We’re making this possible by handling everything necessary for the organizer.
Second: we’re simplifying the booking process.
We believe that organizers need one reliable operator across North America to handle their travel. Events are everywhere, and bus companies are plenty. We’re the only face you need to know. Our team comprises of logistics experts who love the charter bus industry, and everyone is dedicated to top customer service.
Using Sharethebus, you can provide us with the bare essentials of your trip, and we’ll instantly give you a quote range.
Update: On March 21, 2016, we’ve added the ability to provide organizers with instant pricing using our learning algorithm. This algorithm is still a work in progress, so any feedback is much appreciated.
From there, you can book with us and be guaranteed access to a real person who’ll help answer any questions you have and make changes associated with your trip if needed.
Third: we’re deploying tools that have never existed in the charter bus industry.
Soon, you won’t ever have to wonder where your bus is and when it’ll arrive. If it’s running late, you’ll simply know. We believe that information and transparency is critical to making your trip enjoyable, and that’s what we’re solving next.
