AUSTIN, Texas — More than a decade after beginning its operations in Austin, Megabus has ended all of its Texas services.
The company abruptly ended all routes operating between Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio on Aug. 16 as part of nationwide route changes.
Megabus operated in more than 500 different cities and university campuses across North America, including several popular routes between New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Routes launched in Texas in 2012, offering services to all four major Texas cities and Galveston. At least one ticket on each bus sold for $1, with prices rising as more tickets were sold. However, the trips remained affordable because the company kept costs down with hardly any overhead.
July 2012 began Megabus' tumultuous history in Austin, thanks to legal conflicts regarding bus terminals and other bus companies. One month later, a deadly Megabus crash in Illinois created more concerns after a bus blew a tire and slammed head-on into a concrete pillar.
In 2013, Austinites complained about the noises caused by a Megabus drop-off and pick-up spot on the University of Texas campus, saying the bus and its safety sirens would go off dozens of times at all hours of the day.
In 2015, Megabus threatened to stop services in Austin before a new terminal was built at 15th Street and San Jacinto, which residents tried to block the opening of. The historic gas station-turned-Megabus terminal opened in early 2017.
The changes come just months after Megabus owner, Coach USA, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Megabus says customers with tickets booked in Texas have been notified of the changes and will be refunded.