Backpacker Bus in the USA

I think it’s a great idea. One of the biggest problems for the hostel industry in the US (and tourism in general, for that matter) is a lack of affordable transportation between destinations. If you put together hop-on-hop-off bus routes that can move people from one cool place to another without breaking the bank or having to deal with renting cars, I think there would be a market for it. Scotch Argus mentioned that this type of tour is losing ground to the full itinerary tours in Europe, but unlike the States, transportation in general is very easy in Europe. In the US a hop-on-hop-off service would fill a need that no one else is really tackling to my knowledge.

A lot of the clients on the bus tours in Europe are American, right? I’ll bet they would travel around their own country if it were cheap, easy, and social. People coming from abroad would like it too, simply because it’s such a pain in the butt to get around such a big country.

The full itinerary model would probably make more money though, especially if you have your own hostels and alcohol sales built into the price of the tour. I just wonder what impact the drinking age would have if you followed that model. In Europe the bus tour crowd tends to be full of pretty young partiers, and the involvement of alcohol is rather central to the trip. That part wouldn’t work as well in the US due to more restrictive laws. That’s not to say it couldn’t be done though. You just have to be careful who you sell to.

As you mentioned, you could set up an east coast and a west coast loop. For the west coast loop I would picture stops in San Diego, LA, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, etc. If you set up something in the middle of the country as well, maybe each of the loops could overlap at some point. Then you could offer discounts for doing multiple loops. Of course most of the middle is just farmland, so it’s not so exciting. Maybe somewhere in the Midwest you could organize a pub crawl with cow tipping at the end!

I definitely think the idea has potential. As Scotch Argus said, you’ll have to decide which clientele will constitute the biggest market and target them specifically.

Really? That's not my impression. I thought on the Scottish ones they are typical backpackers who have allowed only 3 days or 6 days for "Scotland", and found that the backpacker tours are the most efficient way to see the best places.

There are a number of "backpacker" buses in scotland. Some cater for the youth market, some for older travellers. I think the younger orientated ones are as much about the experience of the tour (nightlife, socialising) as they are about seeing the sights. As such they are a drawcard for working holiday makers in London - it's part of the Overseas Experience. I'd imagine that the current financial crisis will adversely effect them, as temp jobs in the London financial and accounting sectors are being lost very quickly. Working holiday makers may well be the first to go.

In Australia, backpacker tours are almost the only way (except renting or buying a car) to see places such as Wilpena Pound, Kings Canyon and other scenic sites that are far from the routes traversed by Greyhound. Jump on/off doesnt work well in the Australian interior at least; you dont want to stop in some of those spots for several days, and if you use Greyhound you might arrive (and leave) at 3am because that's the time that the once-a-day bus passes through.

You can also do them using a combination of long distance bus and local tours - eg go to Alice springs and then get a tour to Uluru. But again, for a lot of people the experience of the long bus journey on the backpacker bus is as important as seeing the sights.

Take a look at Green Tortoise before you plan anything. But I do think there's a gap in the market because Green Tortoise dont go to so many places now.

Green Tortoise is a great example, as they've created a business which is far more than just a bus journey. I think to be successful you have to offer an "experience" as much as transport from A-B. How you actually do that I'm not sure - if you ever had the opportunity going on some of the different tours would be a great start. Whilst a bit expensive, it would give an idea of how things are done in other countries, and what sort of people use these services.

I wish they had offered that for the month of November... :)