The Red Coach company may be unfamiliar to many college students, but to others it’s a convenient and affordable way to travel during the holidays and any other time of the year.
The company is a division of the Grupo Plaza, one of the largest transportation agencies in South America. Nicola Cirigliano in Argentina created Grupo Plaza more than 50 years ago. About 20 years ago, he saw the need to expand his market to North America and has begun to create a refreshing way to travel by motor coach in the Southeast.
The buses come through Tallahassee twice daily and feature amenities that you will not find traveling on the Greyhound. Whereas the normal motor coach seats approximately 55 passengers, the Red Coach bus only seats 27. This leaves a great amount of space for the passenger to lounge and feel comfortable on the ride. The seats are all black leather, recline 140 degrees and feature Wi-Fi and large TV’s throughout the bus.
MiNeeshia Williams, a first-year biology student from Sanford, Fla. is excited about the opportunities presented with Red Coach.
“Instead of having to find rides with different people, I could just ride the Red Coach,” said Williams. “It sounds really nice too. I’ll definitely give it a try for the Christmas break.”
Kim Hinton, spokesperson for the travel company makes the point that the ticket prices vary based on the pickup and drop off area, and is meant to be around the price of gas when traveling.
“We understand that most college students don’t have a lot of money, so we wanted to makes sure it was accessible to everyone,” said Hinton.
Ticket prices are also reduced 10 percent for college students.
The buses make stops in Orlando, Miami, Gainesville, several other cities in Florida. It also ventures into Georgia making a stop in Atlanta.
“One of the main differences between Red Coach and other motor coach companies is that we try to make each trip a direct shot,” said Hinton. “Whereas other buses will stop in every small town along the way, we only stop in major cities to make your traveling that much smoother and quicker.”
The local stop for the Red Coach buses is across St. Thomas Cathedral on Tennessee Street and since the buses come every day it’s not too late to get a ride back home for Thanksgiving.
For more information and to book, please visit www.redcoachusa.com.