Peoria Charter Coach Company

Peoria Charter Coach Company
Slogan Our service is what makes us grow[1]
Founded 1941 (1941), by Walter Winkler
Commenced operation 1941
Headquarters Peoria, Illinois
Service area Illinois
Service type Charter bus services, custom group tours, transportation from several universities in Illinois to Chicago suburbs and airports
Destinations Various locations in Illinois, mainland United States, international
Fleet 60[2]
Annual ridership 470,000[2]
Manager William Winkler, President
Website peoriacharter.com

Peoria Charter Coach Company is a family-owned bus company based in Peoria, Illinois, which provides charter bus services, custom group tours, and transportation from several universities in Illinois to Chicago suburbs and airports. It is a contract charter bus service provider for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

History

Peoria Charter Coach Company's first bus in 1941

Peoria Charter Coach Company was founded in 1941 by Walter Winkler, who traded in the family car and received a loan from his sister to buy a bus to shuttle Caterpillar workers between Spring Bay and a new factory in Peoria, when gas was rationed during World War II. In 1979, Winkler stepped down and his sons Roger and Stanley took over the business. In 1990, Roger bought Stanley's share of the business when the latter retired. In 1999, Roger's son William and his wife Cindy took over the business, buying it from Roger.[3][4]

In 2010, Peoria Charter opened a new terminal in Urbana.[5] In 2013, the company moved its pick up location in Joliet from the Joliet Mall parking lot to the Union Station parking lot, in order to meet customers' demand for overnight parking.[6]

The company introduced online ticketing in 2010.[7]

Services

A Peoria Charter bus on Wright Street on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Peoria Charter serves five universities - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State University, Western Illinois University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bradley University. It provides transportation from these universities to Chicago suburbs, and to Chicago O'Hare and Midway airports. It also provides inter-city transportation to people in Chicago suburbs, Peoria, Urbana, Champaign, Bloomington, Normal, and Joliet. It organizes group tours to various locations in Illinois and mainland United States, and to international destinations.[8][9]

Peoria Charter is one of the two approved contract charter bus service providers for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the other being Monticello Bus Company.[10]

Awards and distinctions

In 1995, Peoria Charter won the Mississippi Valley Family Business of the Year award.[11] In 2003, it received an honorable mention distinction for Better Business Bureau's International Torch Award for marketplace ethics, a competition in which there were 1,500 contestants.[12] In 2012, it received a Department of Defense safety certification from Trailways.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Gordon, Paul (September 20, 1999). "New owners oversee Peoria, Illinois-based charter bus firm's expansion". Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois.
  2. 1 2 "Peoria Charter moving to Joliet for daily airport trips". Bolingbrook Bugle. Bolingbrook, Illinois: Bugle Newspapers. August 27, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  3. ↑ Browning, Sara (September 2010). "Experience a Family Legacy: Peoria Charter Coach". Peoria Magazines. Peoria. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  4. ↑ Sorensen, Karen (August 22, 2013). "Peoria Charter Moves Its Service to Downtown Joliet". Joliet Patch. Joliet, Illinois: Patch Media. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  5. ↑ Pressey, Debra (March 26, 2006). "Peoria Charter Coach opens building". News Gazette. Champaign, Illinois: May 26, 2014.
  6. ↑ Cain, Cindy (August 25, 2013). "Airport shuttle lot moves to downtown Joliet". SouthtownStar. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media.
  7. ↑ Tarter, Steve (December 21, 2010). "Peoria Charter Coach ticket sales go online". Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Website of Peoria Charter Coach Company". peoriacharter.com. Peoria Charter Coach Company. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Peoria Charter Travel". WCIA. Champaign, IL. May 6, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Making Charter Bus Arrangements". University of Illinois. May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  11. ↑ Gordon, Paul (August 8, 2000). "Family businesses being sought". Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois.
  12. ↑ "Peoria Charter lauded". Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois. November 4, 2003.
  13. ↑ "Approved Department of Defense bus, van, and limo carriers" (PDF). Trailways. July 18, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
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