Bus Line to Offer Bay Area Trips in Style

One of the state’s busiest transportation corridors, from Los Angeles to the Bay Area, has just gotten busier with the introduction today of first-class bus service.

The founders of Deluxe Express hope to lure passengers from crowded airlines by substituting luxury for speed. The company’s customized buses offer spacious seating, conference tables, movies, music and even food and beverage service.

“We spent two years investigating this business,” said co-owner Christopher Albert. “And most people we spoke to were real displeased with the current transportation options.”

In some ways Deluxe Express recalls the days of early train travel, when transportation was more civilized. The company maintains that its red, blue and silver buses--which seat 42 people and cost $250,000--offer every imaginable convenience.

The one bump in the road, other than the seven-hour commute time, may be the fare. At $40 each way, Deluxe Express is more expensive than some airlines--which, in the midst of a price war, are charging as little as $20 each way.

One-way fares on Greyhound buses, by comparison, range from $29.25 to $48.75.

Despite some grumbling from her clients about the price, Carol Leon of Arcade Travel sees a niche for Deluxe Express.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Leon said. “Corporate clients like it because it gives them a lot of lead time. They can leave town on a Sunday and prepare all of their paper work during the trip. Basically, it’s for people who aren’t in a big hurry and who don’t mind buses.”

The elderly are also seen as likely customers, especially those who don’t like to fly.

The service was the brainchild of Albert and two partners--his brother Mark and Gerald Brown. The three Oakland men had no experience in the bus business when they conceived the idea two years ago. After several lenders denied them financing, they raised more than $200,000 in seed money from friends and relatives. They also hocked most of their own possessions.

“The idea was cultivated out of a lot of travel between L.A. and San Francisco,” Christopher Albert said. “We were looking for a way to make it more comfortable.”

Deluxe Express travels along not-so-scenic Interstate 5. Albert said the company compensates for the lack of scenery by offering as many as three “family oriented” movies per trip.

The Deluxe Express service runs five days a week, Thursday to Monday. The company has terminals at the Holiday Inn in downtown Los Angeles, the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco and the MacArthur BART station in Oakland.

Buses initially will depart downtown Los Angeles at 3 p.m. Albert said the service will increase to three departures daily, seven days a week, if the demand warrants it.