Windstar Lines and Megabus team up for Coralville-Chicago bus service

CORALVILLE - Windstar Lines Inc. will team up with New Jersey-based express transport company Megabus to bring bus services connecting Chicago to Lincoln, Neb., back through Johnson County.

Sean Hughes, director of corporate affairs with megabus.com, said Carroll-based company Windstar Lines will manage the drivers and buses, which will include Wi-Fi and power outlets, while Megabus will handle ticket sales and customer service through the megabus.com website.

The new service, which includes a stop at Coralville's Transit Intermodal Facility, 906 Quarry Rd. at Iowa River Landing, will begin March 1 and marks Megabus's return to the area after a two-month hiatus.

The route will run one service daily in both directions - with additional buses on weekends and holidays - and make stops in Lincoln, Omaha, Des Moines, Coralville, Moline and Chicago.

The Lincoln and Moline stops are additions from Megabus's previous service through Iowa.

'We have a relationship with megabus.com that spans several years providing operational support, and we look forward to building on that experience to provide safe affordable travel for our communities,” Jeff Greteman, president of Windstar Lines, said in a Tuesday news release.

To kick off the new route, Megabus will offer 500 seats for $1 in the first week of service.

Windstar Lines primarily offers charter bus services, but Greteman on Tuesday said providing trips for individual passengers is a new venture for the Carroll-based company.

Tickets are to be offered through Megabus, which boasts rates as low as $1 per ticket, based on demand and availability. Buses will carry the Windstar Lines banner.

The Coralville City Council lasts month approved a one-year lease agreement with Windstar Lines for use of the city's terminal area in the Coralville Transit Intermodal Facility, beginning March 1.

That one-year, $750-per-month lease will continue on an annual basis with a 2 percent increase in rent each year. Windstar's lease is comparable to the former lease for Megabus.

Revenue generated by the lease agreement will be used to fund operations and capital needs of Coralville's transit department, according to city documents.

Megabus in 2011 expanded service from Chicago to Omaha, which added stops in Des Moines and Iowa City.

The route's original Johnson County stop was at Iowa City's Court Street Transportation Center, 100 E. Court St.

In 2015 the stop moved to the Coralville Transit Intermodal Facility.

However, the Megabus route ceased operation Jan. 9 as the company reorganized its Midwest network.

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com