Concord Coach Lines, Inc., formerly known as Concord Trailways, and often referred to as Concord Coach, is an inter-city

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

company based in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

. It serves parts of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, New Hampshire and eastern

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and has a route to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The company was founded in 1967, and expanded in 1988 with the purchase of the

Trailways The Trailways Transportation System is an American network of approximately 70 independent bus companies that have entered into a brand licensing agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. History The predecessor to Trailwa ...

franchise. Service to Maine commenced in 1992. The company's relationship with Trailways Transportation System was dissolved in 2008, and the name reverted to "Concord Coach Lines".About Concord Coach Lines
It operates two subsidiary bus lines:

Boston Express Boston Express is a subsidiary bus company of Concord Coach Lines that operates between New Hampshire and Boston. It serves locations between Logan Airport and southern New Hampshire, including Nashua, New Hampshire, Nashua and destinations along I ...

. which runs between points in central New Hampshire and Boston; and Dartmouth Coach, which runs from

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...

and the Upper Valley area to Boston and to New York City.

Equipment

The current fleet consists entirely of

Prevost Prevost, Prévost or Prévôt may refer to: Places * Prévost (electoral district), Quebec, a provincial electoral district * Prévost, Quebec, a community in the Laurentians region of Quebec, Canada ** Prévost station * Prevost, a community ...

X3-45 buses. The buses wear a red, white, and blue color scheme over a white base. Previous vehicles in the fleet have included the

Motor Coach Industries Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is a North American multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in production of motorcoaches. Best known for coaches produced for intercity transit and commuter buses, MCI produces coaches for a variety of appli ...

J4500, MC-8, MC-9 and D4500.

Service area

Concord Coach Lines operates along the

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

corridor between

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, and Boston, Massachusetts, as well as the

Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...

corridor in New Hampshire with service from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and Littleton through Concord to Boston and

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

. Specifically it connects the following locations: ;Maine * Orono (

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

) * Bangor * Searsport *

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

* Lincolnville * Camden/ Rockport * Rockland * Waldoboro * Damariscotta * Wiscasset * Bath * Brunswick (

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

) * Waterville (

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

) * Augusta *

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

;New Hampshire *

* Gorham *

Pinkham Notch Pinkham Notch (elevation 2032 ft. / 619 m) is a mountain pass in the White Mountains of north-central New Hampshire, United States. The notch is a result of extensive erosion by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Wisconsinian ice age. Pin ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

North Conway North Conway is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in eastern Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, North Conway is the second-largest village within the town ...

* Conway * West Ossipee * Moultonborough * Center Harbor * Meredith * New Hampton * Littleton *

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

* Tilton *

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

* Londonderry ;Massachusetts *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(

South Station Bus Terminal The South Station Bus Terminal, owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is the main gateway for long-distance coach buses in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at 700 Atlantic Avenue, at the intersection with Beach Street, ...

) *

(

) ;New York *

Connections

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

service at Boston

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...

'' Downeaster'' at

Portland Transportation Center Portland Transportation Center is a bus and train station in Portland, Maine, United States, served and run primarily by Concord Coach Lines (18 round-trips a day) and Amtrak '' Downeaster'' passenger trains (five round-trips a day). It is also ...

Concord Coach Lines provides

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transit ...

service from Portland to Bangor and from Manchester to Boston.

Rider controversies

Concord Coach Lines bus at Concord bus station, October 2021

On May 28, 2018, a Customs and Border Patrol agent was recorded asking passengers about their citizenship status while they waited at the

, terminal to board a bus to

. When asked, a Concord Coach employee stated that passengers must be US citizens to ride. Concord Coach Lines later released a statement on Facebook clarifying their policies, indicating that the employee was unprepared to answer that question, and that company-wide training had been put in place to address the issue. The following August, a 14-year old

Pakistani-American Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...

was prevented from boarding a bus leaving

Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination. It is a departure point for the Maine State ...

, by the driver. Despite being accompanied by an adult, the bus driver asked him for identification and would not let him board without it. The bus left without the teen, who had to ask the family of his friend to get a ride back to Massachusetts. Concoard Coach Lines policy does not state that children have to show ID. Concord denied that the teen was stranded due to the color of their skin, stating that the driver did not notice the teen's ethnicity.

References

External links

* {{Maine transit agencies Intercity bus companies of the United States Bus transportation in Maine Bus transportation in Massachusetts Bus transportation in New Hampshire Transportation in Portland, Maine Companies based in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Transportation companies based in New Hampshire