Flagship Bus. Co. last week announced that its trademark bright blue buses are getting a splash of red in time for the holidays, because the company has joined up with Fairfax, Va.-based Trailways Transportation System, becoming Flagship Trailways of Rhode Island.
“They are the first Rhode Island motor coach company to represent the Trailways brand in many, many years,” Gale Ellsworth, president and chief executive officer of Trailways National, told Providence Business News.
“Trailways approached Flagship,” she said. “We had heard of their success and reputation.”
“We were impressed with the brand recognition and great reputation Trailways represents,” said Thomas McCaughey, Flagship’s president, “as well as [its] progressive actions in partnering with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Defense.”
“The fact that they approached us was very flattering,” he later told PBN.
Founded in 1936, Trailways has 78 member companies in 31 states, plus Ontario, Germany and The Netherlands that operate more than 3,000 late-model vehicles.
“Essentially, Trailways is a franchise,” Flagship’s Dennis Ryan explained. “So you do have to pay to become a part of them, but they do have some pretty exacting standards.”
Among them, McCaughey noted, “All Trailways companies must be DoD certified.”
He added, “We actually began pursuing certification before Trailways approached us,” in part because of the area’s strong Navy presence. The process took about two years.
McCaughey bought Flagship in 2001 – “a lousy time.” Despite several bad months after the 9/11 attacks, he has grown the company from three aging buses to 10, and has just moved Flagship from a residential section of Warwick to a new facility just off Interstate 295 in Johnston.
“We can get on the highway literally in one minute,” he said, and that will be handy not just for Flagship, but also for other Trailways operators. “We’re in a great position to help them.”
The network’s members agree to service each others’ vehicles, he explained. “When you’re 2,000 miles from home and you need service, it’s nice to have a friendly face.”
Neither company would reveal the financial details of their agreement. But when asked whether Trailways would get a share of Flagship’s revenue, or vice versa, Ellsworth replied: “A partnership with Trailways is a quid pro quo relationship (yes and yes).”
And McCaughey added: “What began as a small Rhode Island company over 25 years ago is now positioned to grow business through this association and the expanded network it represents.”
Flagship Trailways (www.flagshipbus
.com) provides charter transportation throughout New York, New England and eastern Canada, and operates daily service to the Mohegan Sun.
