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Company Branches Out With Double-Decker Buses

Company Branches Out With Double-Decker Buses

Tourism: Business Aims to Take the Lid Off San Diego

BY TANYA RODRIGUES

Staff Writer





A Houston company is bringing double-decker buses to the routes between many San Diego tourist attractions.

Coach USA, which already has a transportation business in town, has made a $5 million investment as of late to accommodate the new venture.

The costs include new headquarters at the Home Avenue exit off Interstate 805, bringing four buses to San Diego and hiring close to 30 new employees, said Lee Schissler, vice president of national marketing and sales for Coach.

The company is planning to launch the business in several gateway cities, Schissler said.

“There are certain cities that have what we think is an excellent tourism index , climate, density of visitors, and overall business climate,” he said. “We feel very positively about San Diego as being one of those places.”

The company launched the service with 40 buses in New York last April, and in Chicago in the summer with 15 buses.

San Diego’s buses could increase from four to eight, Schissler said.

Sunny Outlook

Even with the sluggish economy and post-Sept. 11 tourism slump, the new service might not face as stiff a challenge from the market itself, said Sal Giametta, vice president of community relations for the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau. Coach USA is a member of the bureau.

“I don’t think so, from the standpoint that we expect the fallout from 9-11 and the soft economy to be a temporary setback,” Giametta said. “All indications are that things are picking up incrementally.”

Schissler said the company had reconsidered whether to postpone the bus service after Sept. 11, but ultimately decided that it could still be profitable.

“There was a time after 9-11 that we had to evaluate whether this is a priority that we can commit to and stick with,” he said.

The strong drive-in market convinced the company, he said.

Coach USA’s stiffest challenge will likely come from the longtime visitor shuttle service offered by Old Town Trolley Tours, which has been in San Diego for 13 years.

Enhancing San Diego

Lorin Stewart, director of San Diego operations for Historic Tours of America, which owns the trolley tour company, said he’s happy the region can attract a company and a new product.

Two companies, rather than competing, can together enhance San Diego, Stewart said.

Also, he said, competition is inevitable in tourism.

“Any good experience out there that’s offering good value for your money is competition for the tourist dollar,” Stewart said.

Old Town Trolley has 17 vehicles, with a pick-up time scheduled for every 10 minutes. Each segment of its route includes part of a two-hour narrative about the various tourist areas in town, such as Balboa Park and San Diego Bay.

Coach’s four buses are expected to reach the stops every half hour.

The costs are similar, with Coach charging $25 and Old Town Trolley charging $24 per 24-hour pass. Coach will run its vehicles from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., said Jim von Dreele, general manager of the San Diego operations.

Schissler said there’s enough room , and customers , in town for both companies.

“We think the market is big enough that we can co-exist,” Schissler said. “Their approach is much more historic. Our approach has been making it a fun experience taking the lid off San Diego.”

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